InMobi to tie up with Samsung to reach 650 million users

NEW DELHI – Indian mobile advertising start-up InMobi is partnering with Samsung Electronics and other device makers, as it sets its sights on over 650 million smartphone users.

The partnership will embed technology in hardware so ads display while users are on their device’s home or lock screens, InMobi chief financial officer Manish Dugar said.

The company is working with the “biggest names you can think of”, and has signed up two companies outside of India and four within, Mr Dugar said, declining to name the vendors.

InMobi makes most of its sales with ads in more than 35,000 smartphone applications, such as offers for rides through Uber Technologies’ cab-hailing service while a user is browsing Flipkart Online Services’ online store.

The embedded technology will bypass apps to reach people while they do other things on their devices, helping it compete better against Google and Facebook for revenue.

Working with manufacturers also enables InMobi to collect data on people’s locations and usage patterns. Information from dozens of internal sensors in the device helps understand the mood and activity of a phone user.

“Data enriches my understanding,” Mr Dugar said. “If the sensors show you’re looking at your phone from a reclined angle, I know you are relaxing and I will show you an ad for some soothing music from a singer that I know you like.”

This strategy, along with a new product called Miip aimed at making ads more subtle, is part of a push to recast InMobi’s identity. Instead of being seen as an advertising technology company, Mr Dugar said InMobi wants to be “valued” as a provider of insights into individual consumers.

InMobi was valued at US$600 million (S$821 million) in 2011 based on its revenue of US$25 million in the preceding year, Mr Dugar said, declining to provide a current valuation. BLOOMBERG