Indian mobile advertising technology leader InMobi is initiating early-stage talks to raise a significant new round of capital, aiming to secure between $100 million and $150 million. This strategic move is designed as a pre-IPO funding round, setting the stage for the company's anticipated public market debut in the financial year 2027.
Strategic Fundraise for IPO Benchmarking
According to sources familiar with the ongoing discussions, the primary objective of this capital infusion is to realign the company's capitalization table and establish a clear valuation benchmark ahead of the Initial Public Offering (IPO). The company is reportedly collaborating closely with its appointed IPO bankers to engage with growth-stage investment firms. While the conversations are still in preliminary phases, several calls with potential investors have already taken place.
The company's IPO bankers are expected to lead this fundraising process, given InMobi's established market presence, which reduces the need for separate bankers for private funding. This development coincides with InMobi's ongoing corporate restructuring, which involves shifting its legal domicile from Singapore to India.
Recent Capital Reshuffle and Financial Health
This new funding initiative follows closely on the heels of a major financial transaction reported recently. InMobi secured approximately $350 million in financing from investors including Varde Partners, Elham Credit Partners, and SeaTown Holdings. A substantial portion of these proceeds was utilized to facilitate a share buyback from existing investors, most notably SoftBank.
As a result of this transaction, SoftBank's stake in InMobi's core adtech business reduced dramatically from around 35% to approximately 5-7%. This deal valued the company at under $1 billion. Over its lifetime, InMobi has raised more than $700 million through a combination of debt and equity, with past investors including prominent names like Kleiner Perkins and Sherpalo Ventures.
Business Diversification and Market Position
Founded in 2007 by Naveen Tewari, InMobi has grown from a pure-play mobile advertising network into a diversified technology group. Its core business provides AI-driven solutions for mobile display advertising and app-install campaigns, serving both marketers and publishers with data-driven analytics and monetization tools. This core unit has been profitable since 2016, although margins have seen fluctuations.
A significant growth engine for the group is Glance, a lock-screen content discovery platform launched in 2019. Pre-installed on smartphones, Glance has rapidly scaled to reach 450 million devices across India, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Backed by Google and Jio Platforms, Glance achieved unicorn status and has an ambitious target of touching one billion lock screens by 2028. While it operates as an unconsolidated subsidiary with a separate balance sheet, InMobi earns fees from advertisements arranged on the Glance platform. Glance is also on its own path toward a public listing, expected after InMobi's IPO.
Financial Snapshot and Industry Outlook
For the financial year ending 2024, InMobi Group reported total revenue of approximately $600 million. The core adtech business contributed over $300 million, while Glance posted revenues of about ₹614 crore (roughly $73 million). The company had earlier set a revenue target of $700 million for FY25. In the previous fiscal year (FY23), the adtech business reported revenue of $281 million with a profit of $41 million.
The fundraising push comes at a time when India's digital advertising economy is poised for explosive growth. According to consultancy Bain & Company, India's overall advertising market was valued at $16–18 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at 10–15% annually over the next four years. Digital advertising, already constituting 50–60% of total ad spend, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 15%, reaching $17–19 billion by 2029, positioning India as one of the fastest-growing ad markets globally.
InMobi's journey toward the public markets will be closely watched as a bellwether for India's adtech and consumer internet sector, testing investor appetite for homegrown technology giants with global reach.
