SoftBank's Son Meets InMobi's Tewari: AI, Consumer Tech Collabs

New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) Japan's SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son, who is on a visit to India, reportedly met InMobi's Founder and CEO Naveen Tewari on Wednesday and discussed further potential collaborations in consumer tech and AI, according to sources in the know.

InMobi, India's first unicorn, is a Softbank portfolio company.

In 2011, the Japanese firm made a landmark investment of USD 200 million in InMobi, marking its first venture into the Indian market.

"The discussion between Masa and Tewari reportedly centred on further collaborations in India and global markets, especially in consumer tech and artificial intelligence (AI) -- domains where InMobi and Glance have established themselves as global leaders originating from India," the source with direct knowledge of the matter told PTI.

Glance is a platform developed by InMobi that enhances the smartphone user experience by providing personalised content directly on the lock screen. InMobi also operates Roposo, a short video platform.

This engagement is particularly timely as InMobi prepares for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO).

It will reportedly shift its corporate base to India from Singapore in early 2025, marking a homecoming for the company, which Tewari founded in Mumbai but incorporated in Singapore in 2007 to broaden its investor base.

Son is currently on a brief visit to India, which began on November 26 and is expected to conclude shortly after he meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 27.

His discussions with Modi are anticipated to revolve around SoftBank's future investments in India, particularly in the tech and AI sectors. The specifics of these discussions have not been disclosed, but they come at a time when SoftBank is looking to capitalise on the booming Indian startup ecosystem.

This trip marks Son's first return to India since March 2023 when he was in the country to attend the wedding of OYO Founder Ritesh Agarwal.

The billionaire-founder met Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday, where they discussed potential opportunities in AI within India.

He also met Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal, who took to the micro-blogging site X to share the news.

"Always amazing to meet @masason! Such a energising discussion on AI, AGI, Energy and India. We will make the future here in India together," he wrote.

Over the years, Softbank has invested in several high-profile Indian companies such as Flipkart, Ola, Paytm, Delhivery, FirstCry, and Swiggy.