InMobi, formerly known as mKhoj, is an Indian multinational technology company headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Established in 2007 as mKhoj by Naveen Tewari, Mohit Saxena, Amit Gupta, and Abhay Singhal, the company transitioned from SMS-based services to mobile advertising in 2008, subsequently rebranding as InMobi. Notably, it achieved unicorn status in 2011, becoming India’s first unicorn startup. With 22 offices spanning 12 countries across 5 continents, InMobi boasts a workforce of approximately 2,500 individuals. Backed by notable investors such as Soft Bank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Sherpalo Ventures led by Ram Shriram, the company secured a total of US$215.6 million through three funding rounds – US$0.5 million in 2007, US$7.1 million in Series A funding (2008), US$8 million in Series B funding (2010), and a substantial US$200 million in Series C funding (2011).
What is InMobi?
InMobi is a global mobile advertising and technology company that provides a range of solutions for advertisers, publishers, and developers. Founded in 2007, InMobi is headquartered in Bangalore, India, with offices around the world. The company specializes in mobile advertising, offering services such as in-app advertising, mobile video advertising, programmatic buying, and data-driven targeting. InMobi’s platform leverages advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to deliver personalized and engaging mobile ads. The company plays a significant role in the mobile marketing ecosystem, helping businesses reach their target audiences effectively on mobile devices. In addition to its advertising services, InMobi also offers a mobile-first platform for developers, providing tools and resources to enhance app monetization and user engagement.
InMobi For Advertisers & Publishers :
InMobi is a global mobile advertising platform that offers solutions for both advertisers and publishers. The company focuses on delivering innovative mobile advertising products and services to help businesses reach and engage their target audiences effectively. Below is an overview of InMobi’s offerings for advertisers and publishers:
For Advertisers:
- InMobi advertising platform:
- Mobile Ad Formats: InMobi supports multiple mobile ad formats, including display, video, native, and in-app ads.
- Targeting Options: Advertisers can take advantage of advanced targeting options to reach specific demographics, interests and behaviors.
- Public orientation:
- User Targeting: Advertisers can target specific user segments based on demographics, location, device, and behavior.
- Custom Audiences: InMobi allows advertisers to create custom audience segments for more precise targeting.
- Creatives and ad design:
- Creative Studio: InMobi provides tools and services to create visually engaging advertising creatives optimized for mobile devices.
- Interactive Ads: Advertisers can create interactive and engaging advertising experiences to improve user interaction.
- Measurement and analysis:
- Performance Tracking: InMobi offers analytics tools to track the performance of advertising campaigns, including impressions, clicks, and conversions.
- Attribution: Advertisers can measure the effectiveness of their campaigns and attribute conversions to specific touchpoints.
- Programmatic advertising:
- Real-Time Bidding (RTB): InMobi supports programmatic advertising, allowing advertisers to bid in real-time for ad impressions.
For Publishers:
- Monetization Solutions:
- In-App Monetization: Publishers can monetize their mobile apps through various ad formats, including display, video, and native ads.
- Header Bidding: InMobi supports header bidding for publishers to maximize advertising revenue by allowing multiple demand sources to bid simultaneously.
- Advertising mediation:
- Mediation Platform: Publishers can use InMobi’s ad mediation platform to manage multiple ad networks and optimize revenue streams.
- Analysis and reports:
- Performance Insights: Publishers have access to analytics and reporting tools to track ad performance and revenue metrics.
- User Engagement: InMobi provides information about user engagement and behavior within the app.
- Developer Tools:
- SDK: InMobi offers software development kits (SDKs) for easy integration into mobile applications, providing a seamless advertising experience for users.
- Quality and compliance of ads:
- Ad Quality Control: Publishers can ensure that ads displayed in their apps meet quality standards and policies.
InMobi aims to bridge the gap between advertisers and publishers by offering a comprehensive platform with advanced targeting, analytics and monetization solutions for the mobile advertising ecosystem. Please note that specific features and offerings may evolve over time, so it is recommended to check the official InMobi website or contact its representatives for the latest information.
How InMobi works :
InMobi is a mobile advertising platform that helps businesses reach their target audience through various mobile channels. Here’s an overview of how InMobi works:
- Advertiser and publisher commitment:
- Advertisers: They are companies or individuals who want to promote their products or services. Advertisers interact with InMobi to create and run mobile advertising campaigns.
- Publishers: are app developers, website owners or other content providers who want to monetize their mobile platforms by displaying ads. Publishers partner with InMobi to integrate ads into their apps or websites.
- Ad creation and targeting:
- Advertisers create their ads using the InMobi platform. This can include various ad formats, such as banners, interstitials, native ads, and video ads.
- Advertisers establish targeting parameters to define the audience they want to reach. This may include demographics, location, interests and other criteria.
- Service and Ad Placement:
- InMobi uses its ad serving technology to deliver ads to the target audience. When a user interacts with a mobile app or visits a website that is part of the InMobi network, the platform determines which ads to show based on targeting criteria.
- Real Time Bidding (RTB):
- InMobi typically uses real-time bidding, an auction-based system, to determine the value of an ad impression in real time. Advertisers bid for the opportunity to show their ads to specific users, and the highest bidder gets their ad shown.
- Ad display and user interaction:
- Users see ads while using mobile applications or browsing websites within the InMobi network. Ads are displayed seamlessly within the app or website, providing a non-intrusive user experience.
- Users can interact with ads by clicking on them, leading to actions such as visiting the advertiser’s website, downloading an app, or making a purchase.
- Monitoring and analysis:
- InMobi provides advertisers and publishers with tools to track the performance of their campaigns. This includes metrics such as impressions, clicks, conversion rates, and other key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Advertisers can use this data to optimize their campaigns, refine targeting strategies, and maximize return on investment (ROI).
- Monetization for publishers:
- Publishers earn income by displaying ads on their platforms. InMobi shares a portion of advertising revenue with publishers, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
- Data and Privacy:
- InMobi adheres to data privacy standards and policies. The platform usually uses advanced technologies for the anonymization and protection of user data.
In essence, InMobi acts as an intermediary, connecting advertisers with their target audience through a network of mobile applications and websites, facilitating the buying and selling of advertising space in a dynamic and efficient way.
InMobi Acquisitions and partnerships :
- August 2011: InMobi acquires Sprout
- InMobi acquired US mobile advertising provider Sprout, backed by Polaris Partners.
- Sprout, a platform for HTML5 rich multimedia advertising, was renamed InMobi Studio in 2012.
- Partnership with Amobee (2011-2014)
- InMobi partnered with Amobee, an end-to-end mobile advertising and services provider, for three years.
- During this partnership, campaigns were run through the InMobi advertising network.
- July 2012: Acquisition of MMTG Labs
- InMobi acquired MMTG Labs, a San Francisco-based startup.
- MMTG Labs operated the Facebook app marketplace Appbistro and a white-label app distribution platform, AppGalleries.
- The acquisition led to the creation of the new platform, AppGallery.
- Acquisition of Metaflow Solutions (2012)
- After the acquisition of MMTG, InMobi acquired Metaflow Solutions, a mobile application distribution and management company.
- This provided InMobi with another platform to connect with independent app developers and publishers.
- September 2015: Monetization Partnership with APUS Group
- InMobi entered into a monetization partnership with China-based APUS Group.
- The partnership enabled customization of Android screens for APUS users and provided InMobi access to a broad user base in China and exclusive access to APUS users in India.
- October 2016: Partnership with Moat
- InMobi partnered with Moat, a New York-based SaaS analytics company.
- The collaboration aimed to offer advertisers mobile video measurement and currency measurement through InMobi Exchange.
- December 2016: Partnership with Integral Ad Science
- InMobi partnered with Integral Ad Science to release an open source SDK for mobile ad viewability.
- The SDK code was accredited by the Media Rating Council.
- December 2016: Exclusive Partnership with Tapjoy
- InMobi has partnered exclusively with US-based Tapjoy, a mobile ad and app monetization company.
- Tapjoy had around 40 million unique users in India.
- January 2018: Acquisition of Aerserv
- InMobi acquired Los Angeles-based Aerserv for $90 million in cash and stock.
- The acquisition aimed to create the world’s largest programmatic video platform for mobile publishers.
- June 2018: Global partnership with Microsoft
- Microsoft Corp announced a global partnership with InMobi to facilitate the transition from digital to mobile marketing for new-age CMOs.
- November 2019: Glance acquires Roposo
- Glance from InMobi, a mobile content platform, acquired the short video content platform Roposo.
- December 2020: Glance achieves unicorn status
- Glance, part of the InMobi Group, achieved unicorn status after securing $145 million in funding from Google and existing investor Mithril Capital.
- October 2021: Appsumer Acquisition
- InMobi acquired UK-based Appsumer.
- August 2023: Acquisition of Quantcast Choice
- InMobi acquired Quantcast Choice, Quantcast’s consent management solution.
