Startups > InMobi

InMobi

InMobi helps brands and publishers buy and sell mobile advertising programmatically.

Debt Financing $815.6M total Founded 2007 Bangalore, Karnataka 1667 employees

InMobi is a full-stack mobile advertising platform that combines a demand-side platform (DSP) for advertisers, a supply-side platform (SSP) and exchange for publishers, AI-powered audience targeting, and privacy-compliance tools. The company serves brands, app marketers, and publishers across in-app, mobile web, and emerging channels with programmatic, data-driven media buying. Beyond advertising, InMobi operates Glance, an AI-powered content discovery platform for smartphone lock screens that has achieved unicorn status separately.

Problem solved

Brands struggle to efficiently reach mobile audiences at scale while maintaining privacy compliance, and publishers lack sophisticated monetization tools for their app inventory.

Target customer

Mobile app marketers, brand advertisers, media agencies, app publishers, and media buyers seeking to reach audiences through in-app and mobile web inventory.

Website LinkedIn Crunchbase Twitter / X

Founders

Naveen Tewari

Founder & CEO

MBA from Harvard Business School, mechanical engineering degree from IIT Kanpur; previously worked at McKinsey & Company and Charles River Ventures; built India's first unicorn (InMobi in 2011) and second unicorn (Glance).

Mohit Saxena

Co-Founder

Co-founded InMobi in 2007 as mKhoj.

Amit Gupta

Co-Founder

Co-founded InMobi in 2007 as mKhoj.

Abhay Singhal

Co-Founder

Co-founded InMobi in 2007 as mKhoj.

Funding history

Seed $0.5M 2007 Led by Mumbai Angels

Series A $7.1M 2008 Led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Series B $8M 2010 Led by Unknown

Series C $200M 2011 Led by SoftBank Group

Venture Debt $100M September 2015 Led by Tennenbaum Capital Partners

Series D $45M September 2019 Led by Mithril Capital

Series E (Glance) $145M December 2020 Led by Google

Debt Financing $350M December 2025 Led by Consortium

Total raised: $815.6M

Industries

Advertising Platforms Advertising Artificial Intelligence (AI) Digital Media Marketing

Pricing

Dynamic Cost-Per-Mille (dCPM) model with real-time bid optimization. Additional revenue from premium publisher services, custom solutions, and analytics tools. Glance offers flexible pricing models based on campaign goals and verticals; contact sales for specifics.

Integrations

HubSpot, Google Analytics, Demandbase, LinkedIn Ads, AdRoll, Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Azure

Tech stack

React (JavaScript frameworks) GSAP (JavaScript frameworks) Next.js (Web servers) ScrollMagic (JavaScript libraries) jQuery (JavaScript libraries) core-js (JavaScript libraries) Webpack Open Graph HubSpot Analytics (Analytics) Google Analytics (Analytics) Demandbase (Analytics) Linkedin Insight Tag (Analytics) Sentry (Issue trackers) Nginx (Reverse proxies) Node.js (Programming languages) Apple iCloud Mail (Webmail) Microsoft 365 (Email) HubSpot (Marketing automation) Linkedin Ads (Advertising) AdRoll (Advertising) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Azure (PaaS) AdRoll CMP System (Cookie compliance) HubSpot Cookie Policy Banner (Cookie compliance) Sectigo (SSL/TLS certificate authorities) Microsoft Application Insights (RUM)

Website

inmobi.com/

Competitors

Google Remarketing

Larger market share (32.22%) but tied to Google ecosystem; InMobi offers independent, multi-platform DSP/SSP.

Zemanta

19.15% market share; InMobi differentiates with global independent reach and privacy-first identity solutions.

Affle

Direct competitor in mobile advertising; InMobi offers broader full-stack platform with DSP, SSP, and data products.

Vungle

Mobile-focused ad network; InMobi includes both demand and supply sides with integrated data and privacy tools.

Moloco

AI-driven mobile advertising platform; InMobi differentiates with independent exchange and publisher SDK.

Why this matters: InMobi is India's first unicorn and built a second unicorn (Glance), demonstrating rare founder capability. As an independent mobile ad platform, InMobi competes against tech giants by specializing in privacy-first, first-party data targeting and owning both demand and supply sides of the mobile ad ecosystem—a rare integrated advantage in a fragmented market.

Best for: Mobile-first brands and agencies seeking independent, programmatic ad buying across multiple channels with privacy-safe audience targeting, and app publishers looking to monetize inventory with a full-featured exchange and SDK.

Use cases

Mobile App User Acquisition

App marketers use InMobi DSP to programmatically buy in-app inventory across global publisher networks, leveraging machine learning to optimize for installs and cost per acquisition while maintaining privacy compliance.

Publisher Monetization

App developers integrate InMobi's SDK to automatically sell their ad inventory through the InMobi Exchange, reaching a global base of advertisers and optimizing fill rates and CPMs without building their own sales team.

Privacy-Safe Audience Targeting

Brands need to reach specific audiences without relying on third-party cookies; InMobi's proprietary first-party data and consent-management tools enable compliant targeting across iOS, Android, and web.

Mobile Lock Screen Content Discovery

Glance delivers personalized, AI-curated content on smartphone lock screens, allowing brands to reach users at high-intent moments and publishers to monetize a typically unutilized ad surface.

Alternatives

Google Display Network Larger scale and reach but integrated into Google ecosystem; InMobi offers independent platform with first-party data advantage.

The Trade Desk Broader multi-channel DSP including CTV and audio; InMobi focuses specialized depth on mobile with integrated supply.

Programmatic.com (now Zeta Global) Broader marketing automation; InMobi specialized for mobile-first, performance-driven ad buying with publisher monetization.

FAQ

What does InMobi do? +

InMobi is a full-stack mobile advertising platform combining a demand-side platform (DSP) for advertisers to buy campaigns, a supply-side platform (SSP) and exchange for publishers to sell inventory, plus AI-driven audience targeting, analytics, and privacy-compliance tools. Beyond advertising, InMobi operates Glance, an AI-powered content discovery platform that surfaces personalized content on smartphone lock screens.

How much does InMobi cost? +

InMobi uses a Dynamic Cost-Per-Mille (dCPM) model that adjusts pricing based on real-time optimizations and performance. Premium publisher services, custom solutions, and advanced analytics incur additional fees. For Glance, pricing varies by campaign goals, target audience, and verticals; contact the InMobi sales team for specific quotes.

What are alternatives to InMobi? +

Key alternatives include Google Remarketing (larger but tied to Google), The Trade Desk (broader multi-channel DSP), Vungle (mobile-focused ad network), Moloco (AI-driven mobile ads), and Affle (mobile advertising competitor).

Who uses InMobi? +

InMobi serves mobile app marketers, brand advertisers, media agencies, media buyers, and app publishers. Specific customer names are not widely publicized, though the company regularly demonstrates capabilities through case studies and subsidiary announcements.

How does InMobi compare to Google Remarketing? +

Google Remarketing has larger market share (32.22% vs. InMobi's 1.68%) and is tightly integrated with Google's ecosystem, but InMobi offers an independent, multi-platform DSP/SSP with proprietary first-party data and privacy-safe identity solutions not tied to a single tech giant.

Is InMobi profitable? +

InMobi remains a private company with no disclosed profitability metrics. The company has raised $815.6M and recently closed a $350M debt round in December 2025, with founders buying back SoftBank's stake using proceeds.