A few weeks ago it was revealed that Microsoft had acquired
online gaming advertising platform Massive
for “between $200-$400 million”. Now I’ve discovered that a kiwi (from
Wellington of course!) was one of the co-founders. According to this
NZ Herald story, 31-year-old Wellingtonian Claudia Batten founded Massive
Inc four years ago with two expat Australians in New York. They developed
pioneering software that dynamically delivers advertising into online video
games:
“Tapping into the “Lost Boys” market – hard-to-target 18- to
34-year-old males – was the key to the company’s success, Batten said.
“We told advertisers: ‘We’ve found the Lost Boys. They’re playing
games and we can get you in front of them’.”
Speaking to the Herald on Sunday from Seattle, Batten was coy about how
much she got from the sale, reported at between US$200-400 million ($643m).
“It’s all under wraps. I’m really pleased with the outcome, it’s better
left at that,” she laughed.”
Thanks Dave
ten Have for the tip. There’s a lot of software talent in Wellington –
TradeMe (NZ’s eBay) got
bought for nearly half a billion US dollars in March and AfterMail went
for US$45M in January. Must be something in the water here 🙂
