Inside Mobavenue’s AI-Driven Playbook To Power The Future Of Adtech

Can we think of a world without ads? Before high-end digital technologies took over, people came across random product promotions, from the latest luxury cars to get-rich-soon investment schemes. Of late, that scenario has changed. If one is browsing healthy recipes right now, all things fitness and health are bound to pop up on the screen for the next few days. It is a powerful reminder that brands today use hyper-personalised marketing to reach their target audiences via trusted platforms.

However, a fundamental challenge persists. Most of these personalised ads residing within the internet’s walled gardens (closed ecosystems created by tech giants) fail to engage with the vast audience on the open internet. Marketing campaigns on closed ecosystems cannot reach their true potential for another reason. Those platforms not only curb audience reach but also restrict access to performance data, making it difficult for advertisers to refine their strategies.

Mumbai-based madtech (martech+adtech) startup Mobavenue is helping digital-first brands tackle this challenge. While its hyper-personalised solutions balance user privacy and marketing effectiveness, its unified programmatic media platform offers marketers greater control over operations, deeper insights into customer behaviour and more precise targeting. By 2024, the startup emerged as a leading player in the madtech space, leveraging AI and first-party data to drive results.

In an exclusive conversation with Inc42, Mobavenue CEO & MD, Ishank Joshi discussed the venture’s growth, its push into new technological frontiers and its roadmap for expansion and innovation. Here are the edited excerpts from the interview.

Inc42: How did Mobavenue evolve from a digital marketing agency into a full-stack madtech platform? What caused the pivot?

Ishank Joshi: Mobavenue is not new to structural changes. We have always made strategic pivots, solved customers’ problems and focussed on bootstrapping for greater control. 

Our journey began in late 2017 as a boutique and bespoke digital agency. Google and Meta were used to start with, besides programmatic media, and ASO (app store optimisation) solutions. That agency was a great place to start, but it soon became apparent that the model could not be scaled to address all challenges.

So, we pivoted in 2018 to become a programmatic media specialist (those who automate bidding and media buying). Using global tools and platforms, we helped our clientele set up their strategies while we built a unified programmatic media platform to provide targeted solutions for Indian and international brands.

By late 2019, we had launched our platform, and surprisingly, Covid-19 clinched things for us. As mobile usage went through the roof, marketers seeking engagement beyond Google and Meta turned to our platform, validated our model and provided valuable feedback. It was a turning point, allowing us to refine and scale rapidly. 

Of course, a full-stack madtech platform is much bigger in scope. It combines martech and ad tech so that advertisers can leverage the hyper-personalised traits of marketing and the massive scale of advertising to reach their customers. Powered by this overarching approach, Mobavenue has emerged as a resilient and innovative startup in the dynamic digital landscape.

Inc42: What has set Mobavenue apart in the global madtech market?

Ishank Joshi: At Mobavenue, our innovations are driven by consumer requirements and the rapid evolution of digital advertising and AI-ML technology. We continuously develop our core technology stack to handle challenges and opportunities in the global madtech landscape.

But what sets us apart is our commitment to developing an all-encompassing, full-stack software suite. Instead of relying on bits and pieces of tech tools scattered everywhere or contacting multiple vendors for different services, our integrated products streamline advertising and marketing across the open internet. The result? Greater efficiency, simplified processes and better earnings for our clients.

As a team, our priority is sustainable innovation, but we don’t reinvent the wheel. We invest in scalable technologies and businesses, ensuring long-term growth for Mobavenue and its clientele.

Inc42: How do you drive growth and engagement for brands?

Ishank Joshi: Mobavenue is here to help digital businesses drive engagement and corner growth. We address three critical issues – driving measurable awareness, acquiring high-value customers and maximising revenue from the existing customer pool. Our flagship products – PrsmX, SurgeX and ReSurgeX – are purpose-built solutions powered by a core AI engine and a real-time bidding (RTB) platform. They all work in sync to deliver measurable outcomes for our clients.

While PrsmX enhances brand visibility and customer engagement, helping businesses fine-tune their branding strategies, SurgeX helps them acquire high-value customers via our AI-ML-powered demand-side platform. ReSurgeX uses contextual and product-based ads to re-engage with past visitors and relapsed users. This boosts incremental revenue and delivers more personalised engagements.

With our core AI engine and platform-based approach, we help brands throughout their customer journey, increase engagement and deliver growth-driven outcomes.

Inc42: Tell us more about your core AI. How does it help navigate operational complexities?

Ishank Joshi: Fifteen months ago, we started building a centralised AI-ML workbench atop our core platform, strengthening our systems with cutting-edge capabilities. Since then, this foundation has been used to develop and deploy AI agents and automated workflows, enhancing both internal operations and customer-facing processes. These AI agents run 24×7, optimising campaigns, improving outcomes and streamlining workflows.

As part of our 2030 roadmap, we want to develop fully autonomous tools and AI agent-led systems. These innovations will empower existing and new customers with solutions that think, manage, create and optimise daily operations with minimal intervention. This AI infrastructure will seamlessly integrate our core technology platforms alongside new ones for optimised operations, and we are building it as a modular and robust stack fit for these tasks. AI-driven automation will allow businesses to achieve sustainable growth and help us stay ahead of the curve.

Inc42: How do you leverage first-party data in a privacy-conscious digital ecosystem?

Ishank Joshi: In a digital landscape where privacy takes centre stage whenever we consider tech advancements, brands are redefining their CRM and martech ecosystems by harnessing the power of first-party data [information collected directly from users]. At Mobavenue, we enable businesses to achieve these goals by leveraging data collaboration technologies aligned with Indian and global privacy standards to enhance customer engagement.

Currently in beta, our data collaboration and audience exchange technology has been designed for brands to facilitate seamless and secure data sharing among trusted partners without exposing personally identifiable information. Combining these first-party insights with external analytics and data partners in a controlled environment unlocks rich customer intelligence, successfully fuelling hyper-personalised and highly targeted marketing campaigns across platforms.

Built on privacy-first principles, our solutions ensure that marketing, analytics and data teams operate in perfect sync while maintaining complete control over sensitive information. We maximise business value with advanced encryption and privacy-preserving methodologies without compromising user trust or regulatory compliance.

Inc42: How would Mobavenue grow in the next three to five years?

Ishank Joshi: We will strive to become a strong global leader in madtech and monetisation technologies, driven by our core AI-ML workbench. In essence, we want to empower enterprises, businesses and media publishers with purpose-built, scalable solutions that spur innovation, growth and efficiency.

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision – Building from India for India and the world – we are committed to developing cutting-edge, made-in-India technologies and software to cater to global markets. We will be part of the fast-growing digital advertising ecosystem, projected to surpass $1 Tn globally by 2028, and contribute to India’s rise as a global powerhouse of technological innovation.