Mobile Internet companies saw a record $19.2B investment in the year up to Q3 2014. This represented a substantial and exciting growth of 232% compared with the corresponding year up to Q3 2013. The largest investments were in the mCommerce ($4.2B), Travel/transport ($3.3B), Utilities ($1.8B) and Games ($1.1B) sectors, but as the below graph shows 10 other mobile internet sectors also raised over half a Billion dollars each, showing that the growth in investment is spread fairly evenly, rather than in one specific direction
Further analysis shows that Institutional investors have been rewarded for their faith in mobile internet, with Digi-Capitals Mobile Internet index of 78 public companies in and around mobile internet giving an average 28% return in the last 12 months. The graph below shows that there has been especially strong returns in the travel/transport, social networking, messaging and gaming sectors.ly evenly, rather than in one specific direction.
Digi-Capital have also created a quadrant highlighting opportunities where revenue outperforms investment/consolidation activity. According to the graph, there are major opportunities in mCommerce, Appstore/ Distribution, Advertising/Marketing, Enterprise/B2B, Wearables, Business, Eduication and Books. Hidden gems include Navigation, Games and Entertainment, and there are exit opportunities in Social Networking. Selective opportunities are also available in Health & Fitness, Music, Photo & Video, Messaging, Lifestyle, Travel/Transport, Utilites and Finance. This shows that throughout the varying segments in the sector, there are possibilities to make good investments, rather than one sector more obviously dominating. This can only be good news for the Mobile Internet sector.
Tim Merel, the Managing Director of Digi-Capital, sums up this positivity around the Mobile Internet sector by pointing out that “There have been lots of big numbers already, but for Mobile Internet investors the best is yet to come”.