On its best day, the media industry is terrifying: Kunal Nagpal, InMobi

In the rapidly shapeshifting landscape of global ad-tech, Kunal Nagpal, Chief Business Officer at InMobi, stands at the crossroads of creativity, commerce and code. In a freewheeling chat on exchange4media’s TechTalk, Nagpal opened up about what it takes to turn an Indian ad-tech firm into a global full-funnel player, the lessons learned from navigating three continents, and why your lock screen might just be the future of retail.

InMobi is evolving into a full-stack, global advertising platform by integrating Glance, its lock screen content discovery service, with its demand-side and supply-side platforms. The strategy, Nagpal says, is aimed at reducing the chaos marketers face while navigating fragmented media ecosystems. The result is a simplified yet powerful full-funnel solution for brands.

“There’s enough chaos for anyone on the buy side trying to find better ROAS while staying operationally efficient,” says Nagpal. “So when we walk into a client’s office and say, here’s a single consumer engagement platform that combines scaled reach with unique consumer experiences like Glance, it really resonates.”

Commerce, Not Just Content

What makes Glance particularly unique, he says, is its content-first approach. While other lock screen formats in the past were focused purely on ads, Glance is designed to deliver rich, consumer-centric content experiences, now with an added layer of commerce.

Nagpal explains that users can take a selfie, answer a few simple prompts about their preferences, and Glance AI will generate images of them wearing different styles. The difference? These aren’t just visual samples, they’re shoppable looks.

“You’re not creating a screensaver. You’re creating a shoppable version of yourself,” he says. “This is not just media about commerce. This is commerce.”

The vision is to eventually extend this into categories like accessories, beauty, and travel. It’s a shift from link-based browsing to hyper-personalised discovery, a move Nagpal compares to the transformation from Google Search to generative AI assistants.

For now, the Glance experience is most visible through its partnership with Samsung on Android lock screens, but Nagpal notes it could easily live inside standalone apps on Android or iOS. The technology is adaptable and the format is just the start.

The Global Advantage

Nagpal believes InMobi’s edge lies in its global footprint. With operations across Asia, Europe and the US, the company is able to cross-pollinate insights across markets. Asia provides speed and mobile-first innovation. Europe offers a rigorous approach to privacy. The US brings an obsession with user experience.

“Seeing how consumers engage with mobile in places like India, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia gave us the conviction to build something like Glance AI,” says Nagpal. “Europe taught us to respect user privacy in ways that actually improve product design. And the US pushes you to obsess over UX. Every pixel, every scroll, matters.”

As third-party cookies fade into the background, InMobi is doubling down on a mix of deterministic and probabilistic targeting. With Glance acting as a first-party platform, the company gains privacy-compliant access to email- and phone-based identifiers, enriching its ability to reach users with precision.

“Everyone wants to move toward more deterministic data. But no one has 100 percent. That’s where platforms like Glance make a difference,” says Nagpal.

AI and The Future of Creativity

On the creative front, Nagpal says AI is already having a profound impact, but not in the way many feared. Instead of replacing creativity, it’s accelerating it. His team recently used AI tools to create multiple versions of a six-second video ad in under 30 minutes, a process that used to take six weeks.

“AI on its own is dumb when it comes to creativity,” he says. “But AI-assisted creativity is spectacular. If you combine human intention with AI tooling, the results are truly like magic.”

He recalls reviewing a campaign just before joining the interview. His creative team had used an AI tool to build three video versions with minimal prep and no post-production bottlenecks. “A year ago, that output would’ve taken a month and a half—and it still wouldn’t have looked this sharp,” he says.

While InMobi is headquartered in India, Nagpal says the company consciously built its DSP and exchange platforms in the US to ensure global relevance from the outset.

“There’s no tougher media market than the US,” he says. “If you can win there, you can win anywhere. So we built for the hardest market first.”

“On its best day, the media industry is terrifying,” Nagpal laughs, when asked what keeps him up at night. It’s a business that feels the tremors of every macroeconomic shift almost instantly. From sudden budget cuts to volatile markets, media is often the first to face the squeeze.

But for Nagpal, resilience comes from clarity of purpose. InMobi’s focus, he says, has always been on delivering real value to the buy side, by helping brands connect with consumers through experiences that are relevant, respectful and effective.

When asked about his favourite chatbot, he’s quick with an answer. “Gemini Pro,” he says. “Not because it’s the smartest, but because it’s integrated into my Google world. That just makes my life smoother.”

As AI, UX and commerce continue to converge, Nagpal’s vision of advertising isn’t just omnichannel; it’s immediate, intuitive and already waiting on your screen.