Record $19.2B invested in mobile Internet in past 12 months - study

A study conducted by financial advisory and analyst firm Digi-Capital has revealed the mobile Internet industry has benefited from a record level of investment in the past year. According to the report, mobile Internet investment peaked at $19.2 billion (£12 billion) in the 12 months up to Q3 2014.

The level of investment from venture capital firms and corporations is up by 232% to the corresponding year to Q3 2013, and investors in the mobile internet market saw returns of up to 78%.

With regards to specific areas of investment within mobile Internet, it appears as though the major winners were mCommerce (receiving $4.2 billion), travel/transport ($3.3 billion), utilities ($1.8 billion) and gaming ($1.1 billion). 10 other mobile Internet sectors each raised over half a billion dollars

Specific sectors which have yielded impressive returns to investors in the past 12 months have been travel/transport (78% return), social networking (45%), navigation (43%), messaging (40%) and gaming (39%).

Sectors which have underperformed include entertainment (-23%), mCommerce (-43%), AppStore (-51%), Advertising (-56%) and Utilities (-67%).”

It is worth noting that poor return this year does not necessarily indicate performance in 2015. The report also compared revenue potential against investment, and identified potential growth markets, or “hidden gems”. Primary causes for investment optimism are in navigation, gaming and entertainment, with major opportunities coming from app-store growth, advertising, B2B and wearable channels.

“While mobile internet investment is going mainstream, Digi-Capital’s Mobile Internet Investment Quadrant shows the best is yet to come,” said Tim Merel, Managing Director of Digi-Capital.

Indeed, Merel’s comment may ring true, if investment in mobile internet markets continues to rise at a rate of 232% year on year, which would be exceptional, 2015 could see potential investment of up to $44.54 billion.