In brief: Mobile ads startup Unlockd blames Google as it files for bankruptcy

The developer of Unlockd, a mobile app that sends targeted ads to users when they open their smartphones, has filed for bankruptcy in New York as it hunts for financiers to fund litigation against Google, which the startup blames for its demise.

The Australian-based tech startup has accused Alphabet’s Google of flexing its dominance to kill a potential competitor in the mobile advertising market.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Melbourne-based Unlockd developed technology that displayed ads on the lock screens of users’ smartphones and offered rewards and discounts in return for watching ads. Google banned Android apps that enable lock screen ads from its Google Play store in December 2017.

See: Google almost killed this startup. Now, it’s profitable and making $30m a year

Unlockd, which is suing Google for alleged anti-competitive practices, has also has filed for bankruptcy in Australia and the UK. The startup raised US$23 million in its May 2017 series B round from investors that included a unit of Malaysian telecom giant Axiata.