India's first unicorn emerged from a business that initially failed to find its footing. In 2007, Naveen Tewari and his co-founders started mKhoj, an SMS-based search engine. When the idea failed to gain traction, they changed direction, turning their venture into InMobi, a mobile advertising platform that went on to secure a $1 billion valuation in 2011.
Nearly two decades later, InMobi has expanded beyond mobile advertising into artificial intelligence (AI)-led consumer technology, with Glance emerging as a key part of its growth strategy. The company has also attracted global investors, acquired several businesses and explored funding options ahead of a potential public listing.
The journey, however, has not been without financial challenges, with revenue fluctuations and losses marking some periods of its growth.
Born and raised in Kanpur, Tewari grew up in an academically sound family. His father and grandmother were professors at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, while his aunt also pursued doctoral studies at the institution.
After completing his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Tewari graduated from IIT-Kanpur in 2000 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He subsequently joined consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he worked for three years before moving to the US to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School.