It seems that Mpire has had nearly as many lives as a cat. The company started in 2005 as a search engine for used products, morphed into a provider of online tools for eBay sellers, then switched gears into an online advertising network known as WidgetBucks. It dropped the ad network strategy last year in favor of AdXpose. And it appears that’s where the company is hoping to make its mark for good. The Seattle startup today is announcing $3 million in venture financing from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and officially changing its name to AdXpose.
The company also promoted president and chief revenue officer Kirby Winfield to the position of CEO and senior vice president Ryan Polley to the new position of COO. Winfield also is joining the board.
AdXpose is an ad verification and optimization technology which helps online advertisers make sure that their ad dollars are being spent wisely. Among other things, the technology helps clients determine if their advertisements are showing up in the appropriate spots. It also determines whether ad impressions are being wasted.
The new funding comes just a few weeks after Adometry — which also developed an online ad verification technology — was sold to Click Forensics of Austin, Texas.
AdXpose didn’t disclose revenues. But the company said that its revenue grew by 150 percent each quarter in 2010. It added more than 100 customers last year, including Interclick, AdMeld, ContextWeb, United Online and Cox. The company now employs 23 people, and it previously raised $10 million in 2008.
