Here’s what you need to know about Inmobi and its $25 million indie fund

It’s no surprise that mobile games are serious business, and more so in Asia. While in-app purchases (IAP) form a crucial part of many a developer’s monetization strategy, ads are equally important. Competing with Google’s Admob and Apple‘s iAds, Inmobi knows this only too well. This India-based ad network serves close to 140 billion ads globally. Recently it announced a $25 million fund to help game developers the world over. We spoke to Piyush Shah, the vice president of products at Inmobi, to find out more.

What does Inmobi exactly bring to the table?

While $25 million is an eye-catching number, it also raises a lot of questions. How exactly would Inmobi bring this $25 million fund to developers? Would it be in the form of a cash investment or in services? How exactly would developers get to be on the receiving end of this fund? The answer lies in the term “eCPM”. Effective cost per mille, or eCPM, is an important metric for mobile developers. It allows advertisers to compare ad networks and campaigns easily. The higher the eCPM, the more effective the campaign is thought to be, and would allow for higher revenues for the mobile developer. Shah had this to say on what Inmobi would be offering:

It is not […] revenue share[;] it is guaranteed revenues and guaranteed eCPMs for indie developers who participate in this fund. For us this is a six month activity. So we’ll be launching more specific programs and phases of this fund every two months.

This means that instead of doling out cash or mentoring services to indie developers, Inmobi would be offering its premium ad inventory which according to them is guaranteed monetization and help developers gain more users. Shah says that to start with, developers who work with them will be guaranteed $20 eCPM from the company’s US ad inventory—which is a huge amount. Along with this Inmobi would provide advice on global scaling, monetisation and ad experience creation to support developers who enrol through 2014. This is unlike a typical investment fund which goes as investments in a startup.

In order for this to happen, a developer has to sign up with Inmobi and integrate its software development kit (SDK) in the game. And if the game generates enough users in terms of traffic and if these users keep coming back, Inmobi will give the developer ads that pay more as well as the requisite assistance to scale and monetize better. What Inmobi gets in return is sustained and quality traffic on its ad network which helps it woo brands, advertisers, and marketers.

One does not get paid by eCPM alone

According to Shah, the mobile ecosystem has evolved dramatically and “eCPMs have grown from 50 cents on banners to almost $15-20 depending on the ad and platforms.”

However it’s not the holy grail of metrics, and is still subject to other dynamics. Shah described a few: