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Skype founders invest in online ad firm Wunderloop
The founders of online telephone service Skype have revealed that they will invest in online advertising firm Wunderloop.Niklas Zennstrom, Klaus Hommels and Howard Hartenbaum are putting money into the Luxembourg-based firm, which has apparently developed a ground-breaking kind of targeted advertising.
The move is the latest instance of a big name firm recognising the huge growth potential of internet advertising and putting their money where their mouth is.
The Carlyle Group recently oversaw the merger of Scottish firm bigmouthmedia with Global Media, a "landmark move" that created a company worth £150 million.
Wunderloop is already working with the likes of AOL and Lycos, and believes that its technology, which closely monitors user behaviour, can improve ad revenues by 10 or 15 times.
Mr Hartenbaum told the New York Times: "When I am surfing the web, I get a lot of ads that are a waste of my time and a waste of the advertisers' time – weight-loss products for women, for example.
"Wunderloop means that I get a better experience, and it works for the advertisers."
Meanwhile the rising price of advertiser keywords has led to direct link advertising delivering impressive results.
Online Advertising news posted on 30 January 2007
