How InMobi’s Naveen Tewari cracked the US market

InMobi CEO Naveen Tewari

For years, Silicon Valley's venture capitalists and tech gurus have given entrepreneurs a simple piece of advice: focus on your home market. Build where you are strongest, where you understand the culture, the consumer behaviour, and the ecosystem. I have echoed this same message to global entrepreneurs, especially in this era of rising nationalism, tightening immigration policies, and a tech boom that offers more promise in countries such as India and Indonesia than anywhere else in the world.

But Naveen Tewari, founder of InMobi, has done what few have dared—and even fewer have succeeded in doing. He has proved us all wrong.

The Rise of InMobi

InMobi is one of India’s true global tech success stories. Founded in 2007, it quietly grew into a mobile advertising powerhouse, competing with giants like Google and Facebook in markets across Asia, Africa, and eventually the United States. At one point, InMobi became India’s first unicorn. The company has generated hundreds of millions in annual revenue and today operates in over 60 countries. It was the first Indian startup to crack the code of global adtech and achieve scale outside its home market—and it did so long before Indian SaaS and fintech startups began making international headlines.

The Glance Moonshot

Now, Naveen is aiming even higher with his latest moonshot: Glance. Glance is an AI-powered consumer platform that turns your smartphone’s lock screen into a dynamic interface for personalized content, shopping, and entertainment. It is an ambitious attempt to rethink mobile engagement—and one that is beginning to gain attention in the U.S. market.

Yes, the United States. In an era when foreign startups rarely break into this market, and when most Indian companies choose to focus on domestic or emerging markets, Glance has surprised industry observers by signing up over 1.5 million active users in the U.S. within weeks of launch. While early numbers are promising, long-term traction will depend on continued user engagement and meaningful retention.

What Glance Got Right

First, Naveen and his team built for the market they were entering. Glance AI was not a repurposed Indian product pushed into the U.S. It was designed from the ground up for American consumers. The team partnered with hundreds of U.S.-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and launched features tailored to U.S. shopping behaviour, like selfie-based fashion recommendations and influencer-driven styling tips. They integrated with Samsung Galaxy devices to offer Glance as a native lock screen feature—ensuring visibility and ease of access.

Second, they embraced the moment. In the AI gold rush that has swept through tech in the past two years, many companies have made big promises but delivered clunky or gimmicky tools. Glance took a more grounded approach: it built something practical. Users take a selfie, and Glance curates outfits from brand partners that reflect their style. The experience is smooth, visual, and accessible. This is how AI can be most effective: subtle, personalized, and actually useful.

Third, they invested in infrastructure that mattered. InMobi built a consent management platform compliant with all major U.S. privacy laws—California’s CCPA, Virginia’s VCDPA, and others—ensuring that Glance could operate at scale without legal hiccups. They also focused on sustainable advertising, launching carbon-aware media segments that appealed to both advertisers and eco-conscious consumers.

All of this was backed by smart execution and bold ambition. Naveen is not new to taking risks. When I first met him a decade-and-a-half ago, he spoke of building an Indian company that could rival Silicon Valley titans. Most dismissed it as bravado. I took him seriously. Today, that vision looks more real than ever.

Why This Matters

The early momentum of Glance in the U.S. offers a rare glimpse into what it takes for Indian consumer tech to break into the world’s most competitive market. For decades, it was taken as gospel that Indian startups should build for India, while Western tech dominated globally. Naveen Tewari is proving that under the right conditions, this script can be flipped.

It is noteworthy that Chinese companies also spent years trying—and failing—to break into the U.S. consumer market. Then came the wave: ByteDance with TikTok, Shein with fashion, Temu with e-commerce. But let us not confuse those wins with entrepreneurial breakthroughs like InMobi and Glance. These were government-supported, state-controlled conglomerates executing heavily funded global expansion campaigns.

They bought their way into the American market through brute force—massive subsidies, relentless discounting, and marketing budgets that dwarfed anything a startup could dream of. They literally had the weight of the Chinese Communist Party behind them.

What makes Glance noteworthy is that it is attempting a similar kind of cultural and commercial leap—not with the weight of a government behind it, but with the ingenuity and ambition of a startup. It may not yet be a household name, but it is showing that Indian innovation can resonate globally in ways that once seemed improbable.

This should encourage Indian entrepreneurs to think bigger. While India’s domestic market remains one of the best places in the world to build technology—thanks to its scale, digital infrastructure, and rising consumer base—there is no rule that says global impact must come from Silicon Valley or Shenzhen. Sometimes, it can come from Bengaluru.

Glance’s approach is not a blueprint for all, but it is a reminder that ambition should not be constrained by geography. With the right product, timing, and focus, even the most competitive markets are within reach.