Affle targets 900% growth by 2035 with AI-powered solutions for SMEs

The AI-driven mobile advertising platform provider Affle has set a target of achieving 10 times (900%) revenue growth over the next 10 years. This was announced by Anuj Khanna Sohum, Affle’s founder and CEO, during the 3i Summit, the company’s 20th anniversary celebration event for investors, held at BSE in Mumbai.

“We are targeting a 10x revenue growth over the next decade. It effectively translates to a 25% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR),” Anuj Khanna Sohum said. The company currently has 650 employees worldwide.  To support this 10x growth, Affle expects its employee count to reach 1,000, growing at a 4.4% CAGR over the next decade.

The adtech player’s investor summit, its first since the Covid-19 pandemic, was titled '3i' to indicate the company's focus on innovation, impact, and intelligence. During the event, Affle introduced three AI-powered offerings, of which, two are targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It launched OptiX AI, a creatives generation platform capable of producing hyper-local and hyper-contextual creatives, and CTV AI, which can serve lakhs of connected TV memes across the globe.

OptiX AI can generate customised, culturally relevant video ads in multiple languages with inputs such as website URL, logo, and images. With CTV AI, Affle can enable performance advertising in bite-sized campaigns on CTV platforms that SMEs can afford. Moreover, SME advertisers can also take advantage of Affle’s OptiX AI platform to create their targeted campaigns within minutes.

Funded by Microsoft, D2C, and Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL), the adtech platform provider has its business operations in over 35 countries worldwide. Currently, nearly 30% of its business comes from India, and the remaining 70% is from the rest of the world, primarily from emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

Anuj Kumar, co-founder and chief revenue and operating officer, Affle

According to Anuj Kumar, Affle’s co-founder and chief revenue and operating officer, the company’s latest SME-targeted offerings promise to transform the digital advertising landscape in the world. These offerings can be especially relevant for India given its vast and fragmented market dominated by SMEs, he said. “Only about 12,000 companies in India advertise on television today when there are over 6.4 crore registered SMEs in the country. Our CTV AI and OptiX AI can make TV advertising accessible and affordable to this large SME pool,” Kumar told Campaign on the sidelines of the summit.

While OptiX AI can help SME advertisers—such as local departmental stores, restaurants, or gymnasiums—craft their hyper-localised campaigns speedily, CTV AI will allow them to display their ads to their target consumers within their specific local areas. Unlike most other adtech platforms that charge brand advertisers based on views, clicks, or likes, Affle follows a ‘cost per converted user’ (CPCU) model wherein an advertiser needs to pay only for conversion events.

“Our CPCU model will ensure that the cost of advertising for SMEs will be optimised and more rewarding than the traditional models,” said Kumar. The company will partner with several digital marketing agencies belonging to small city markets in India to reach to the vast pool of potential SME advertisers in India. A similar model will be employed even in other parts of the world.

At the event, Affle also introduced 100 AI agents designed to augment its staff spread across the globe. The AI agents, armed with specific domain knowledge, will help the company streamline its internal processes and operations by supporting various departments—from HR to sales to campaign optimisation. According to Kumar, as AI agents augment Affle’s workforce across functions and geographies, while its revenues grow tenfold, the total team strength will not increase at the same pace.

Charles Yong, chief architect and technology officer, Affle, said, “Digital advertising presents opportunities for generative AI adoption. By adding hundreds of AI agents equipped with relevant and deep knowledge to streamline workflows, Affle empowers advertisers to meet the growing demand for real-time, personalised, and contextual content that users expect. This translates to superior customer engagement, operational efficiency, and impact.”

Listed on the BSE and NSE, Affle clocked 13-fold growth during the past seven years through organic and inorganic means. It acquired YouAppi, a gaming-focused programmatic mobile app marketing platform for $45 million in 2023. In 2021, it bought Jampp, a programmatic marketing company headquartered in Argentina for $41.3 million. It acquired the Spanish mobile advertising technology player Mediasmart for €5.12 million in 2020. Going forward, the adtech platform provider will continue to explore acquisition opportunities in the digital advertising and marketing space, according to Kumar.

At the event, Affle also one record recognised by the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records. It became the first-ever company to present 'live intelligence in action' at the BSE.