Bangalore-based InMobi, India's first Unicorn startup, is planning to list itself in the United States stock exchange by the end of 2021, reported Bloomberg.

The company's board meeting is scheduled in a few weeks and that's when the process for listing may begin, the report quoted a person privy to the company's plans. InMobi, may launch an initial public offer (IPO) of around $1 billion while valuing the company to the tune of $12- $15 billion.

Once the company makes its debut, it could well become India's first unicorn to list itself on the US stock exchange. Not just that, InMobi is also among the first few startups targeting the IPO in America.

The tech startup may file the S-1 statement, which is a registration document, with the US stock exchange in about three months, the report added. The IPO plan may move to the next stage after that.

For the listing, the company is said to be in talks with banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc.

Founded in 2007, InMobip became India's first unicorn four years later in 2011. Naveen Tewari, the Harvard Business School alumnus, along with others from the “boys with the PPT” group, founded what was then mkhoj, an SMS based search and monetisation business in Mumbai. The growth was tremendous. A year after it was founded, the number of employees increased to 50 and mkhoj had 4 offices across the globe.

The following year it was renamed InMobi and the founders made their inroads into the European and the US market. There has been no looking back since then. In 2011, SoftBank Group Corp. pumped $200 million into the company and remains the biggest stakeholder even today with 40% ownership.

With the Covid-19 pandemic opening new avenues for advertising and technology companies, InMobi, too, has shifted to mobile in gaming, video streaming and shopping.

Besides InMobi, several other startups have also acquired the status of unicorn following their valuation of over $1 billion. Among them are Paytm, BYJU’s, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy and Ola Cabs.

First Published:Apr 1, 2021 5:18 PM IST