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Vungle Raises $17 Million to Build Its App Install Ad Business, and Branch Out of App Install Ads

App install ads are booming. But the startup wants more.

Peter Kafka covers media and technology, and their intersection, at Vox. Many of his stories can be found in his Kafka on Media newsletter, and he also hosts the Recode Media podcast.

Vungle, a startup that sells video ads that run inside of mobile apps, has raised a $17 million B round led by Thomvest Ventures.

Earlier investors who have put $8.5 million into the company since 2012, including CrossLink Capital, Google Ventures and AOL Ventures, are back as well.

Vungle is booming because it is part of the booming market for app install ads, which developers buy to boost their presence on Apple’s iOS platform and Google’s Android; CEO Zain Jaffer says his company is serving up ads to 100 million people a month.

But Jaffer says one of the things he’ll do with the money — he says none of the investment is coming via secondary sales — is to build out a “mobile video ad exchange” that’s designed to help Vungle break into a different market, fueled by advertisers interested in brand building instead of app sales.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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