• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 6, 2012

Mobile demand-side platform (DSP) StrikeAd on Monday announced its expansion into Asia with the opening of a new office in Singapore. Leading its Asian operations is Carl Costa, previously a founder and managing director of mobile gaming and advertising network 24MAS. Before that, Costa was VP of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Enpocket, which was acquired by Nokia in 2007.

In the last year, StrikeAd has partnered with Tokyo-based advertising firm mediba Inc. to bring its platform into the Japanese market. With the launch of its own office and operations in Asia, the company aims to broaden its presence in the region, including Australia and New Zealand.

“With mobile advertising in Asia Pacific expected to reach nearly one quarter of the global spend in online advertising by 2014, we felt it was extremely important to establish a strong and independent foothold early on in the region,” said StrikeAd CEO and Founder Alex Rahaman, in a statement. As part of that effort, Costa is building a local sales team in Singapore to help educate the market about using a mobile DSP.

StrikeAd in June moved its headquarters from London to New York and closed an additional $500,000 to close its first-round financing of $3.5 million.