‘Adtech companies today are expected to take ownership of outcomes’
Provider of marketing and monetisation technologies InMobi has been vocal about the necessity of AI adoption, saying it is a winner-takes-most market and early players will have a disproportionate advantage. In this interview, Abhay Singhal, co-founder, InMobi, & CEO, InMobi Advertising, tells Alokananda Chakraborty about how technology tools — Artificial Intelligence specifically — are driving some fundamental shifts in the advertising business. Edited excerpts:
Q: Take us through some of the latest adtech innovations transforming this space.
A: There are three key areas where innovation is reshaping the space: The first is AI-driven creative production: The process of creating ad content—whether static, dynamic, or video—is being radically redefined by generative AI. What used to take days or weeks can now be done in real-time, with personalised, high-impact creatives generated at scale. This unlocks both agility and relevance in brand storytelling.
Then you have smarter, automated targeting. Traditional targeting relied heavily on human-defined keywords. That model is fast becoming obsolete. AI agents today can intelligently parse web content, understand context, and autonomously identify brand-safe and high-relevance placements—making targeting far more precise and scalable than ever before.
Third, next-gen measurement and attribution. Advertisers want certainty around outcomes—and that’s where the third wave of innovation lies. We’re moving away from probabilistic models to more deterministic, AI-powered measurement frameworks. Through partnerships with leading measurement providers and the use of large language models, we’re now able to better capture true campaign impact and attribution.
Q: Are there any common mistakes you see adtech companies making when building and growing their business? Can they be avoided?
A: While every adtech company is trying to thrive in an increasingly complex ecosystem, one recurring challenge that stands out—not so much as a mistake, but as a continuous balancing act.
A core challenge lies in maintaining a fair and transparent incentive structure between the three key players—advertisers who spend the money, publishers who earn it, and the adtech company that sits in between. Many companies either over-index on one side or fail to evolve the value they add, which can lead to a breakdown in trust or long-term viability.
Another concern has been to continuously prove value. Today, expectations have evolved, and it is no longer enough to just aggregate supply. First, it was about scale, then it became about intelligence — adding targeting and optimisation layers. Now, adtech companies are expected to take ownership of outcomes, especially advertiser ROI. Companies also run the risk of becoming irrelevant if they are unable to clearly articulate and deliver their value in the larger ad-tech chain.
Q: These challenges couldn’t be insurmountable…
All of these challenges can be avoided—but only with relentless focus on value creation and a deep understanding of all stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Companies also need to evolve consistently, aligned with the transitional shift in the industry as the bar is constantly rising. Adtech brands need to evolve in their role — from being middlemen to becoming true enablers of efficiency and impact. While this isn’t a common mistake, such strategic blind spots are likely to impact long-term growth synergies.
Q: How should a brand go about choosing the right infrastructure and tech stack in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape?
A: Choosing the right infrastructure and tech stack is foundational for a brand’s success in the rapidly evolving AdTech landscape. The decision hinges on three critical factors. First, it starts with clarity on your goals—what outcomes are you optimizing for, and how can your infrastructure drive a higher return on investment for those outcomes?
Second, it’s about futureproofing. Companies should adapt a tech stack that is extensible – thus not limiting a brand to a niche category, thereby reducing scalability. Instead, the approach should be to innovate & adapt to emerging opportunities.
And finally, brands should go beyond the sales pitch and really engage with the technological core of their potential partners, as it adds a new layer of depth to the offerings. For example, engaging with data science leaders, the AI teams, the engineers will unlock new insights differentiating between personas and requirements of partners, who may otherwise seem identical on paper.
The revenues on ad placements on smart TVs and gaming consoles are now outpacing broader ad market growth—and it seems like we’re just scratching the surface.
Q: What do you see for smart TV adoption in India, and how will the digital ad market evolve on that real estate?
A: We’re seeing tremendous innovation in ad formats for smart TVs, and the IAB recently published a comprehensive standardization of ad opportunities in this space, creating an exciting new frontier—something that didn’t even exist until six to eight months ago.
There’s also a secular demand from consumers to watch content on larger screens at home, and naturally, advertisers are starting to follow the eyeballs. However, the real leap will come from connecting smart TV viewing with mobile actionability. We at InMobi and Glance are deeply investing in this area. We see the TV and mobile as co-viewing devices, and by bridging the two, we can make smart TV advertising far more accountable and measurable, unlocking significant advertising dollars that have so far remained on the sidelines.
We truly believe that what is today seen as an experimental or novelty buy will soon become a “must-buy” for advertisers in India—especially as the tech infrastructure catches up with the scale of consumer adoption.
Q: What do you think could be the next big thing that could disrupt this space even more? What are you tracking?
A: The next wave of disruption in adtech is undoubtedly going to be powered by AI. We’re already seeing companies begin to rewrite the entire AdTech stack—and that’s where the most exciting transformation is underway.
Personally, I’m closely tracking innovations in targeting and measurement. These are two of the most critical pillars in digital advertising, and they’re ripe for reinvention. We’re talking about areas like verification, viewability, tracking, attribution—the mechanics that ensure digital advertising is not just creative, but also credible, effective, and accountable.
With the advancement in AI, especially in large language models and intelligent agents, these elements are being rebuilt from the ground up. I believe within the next one to two years, many of the systems we take for granted today will look entirely different—and far more intelligent.
This space is deeply important to me, not just from a business perspective but from a product and innovation lens. The companies that crack this will shape the next decade of digital advertising.
Q: As companies learn to adapt to an uncertain global economy, how can adtech companies implement more cost-efficient solutions?
A: AdTech companies are embracing a multi-pronged approach to drive cost efficiency and deliver higher value in a rapidly evolving economic landscape.
Companies are leveraging AI to drive efficiency across the board, increasingly integrating AI across all facets—from campaign optimization to operations and customer support. This has paved the way for faster decision-making, reduced manual overhead, and smarter resource allocation, significantly improving overall business efficiency.
Companies are also extensively deploying ML for infrastructure optimisation. By leveraging machine learning, adtech platforms are now able to optimise the massive infrastructure required to run their systems. This not only reduced operational costs but is also contributing to sustainability by lowering energy consumption and carbon emissions—making it a win-win for business and the planet.
Moreover, the focus is also shifting towards maximising the value of every advertising dollar, enabling a new era of transformation in the ecosystem. For instance, we are investing deeply in combating fraud and ensuring spending goes toward high-quality, verified inventory. We recently removed over 400 fraudulent publishers to protect advertiser interests. These efforts ensure that each dollar delivers the impact it deserves—boosting both trust and ROI.