[6][7][8] Originally an SMS-based search engine, it now operates a mobile-first platform to enable contextual mobile advertising.

[9] The company was founded in 2007 under the name mKhoj by Naveen Tewari, Mohit Saxena, Amit Gupta and Abhay Singhal.

[12][13] The company is backed by Soft Bank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Ram Shriram's Sherpalo Ventures.

"InMobi" was also thought to be easier to pronounce in English as compared to mKhoj – which is a derivative of the Hindi word for "search".

[19] In August 2011, InMobi acquired US-based mobile advertising provider Sprout, which was backed by Polaris Partners.

[26][27] In September 2015, InMobi entered a monetisation partnership with China-based APUS group, which allows users to customise their android screens.