Why these ex-Googlers founded startup that provides non-intrusive audio ads within mobile games

Christian Facey and Wilfrid Obeng co-founded AudioMob, the world’s first audio ad solution for the gaming space that provides non-intrusive audio ads within mobile games, enabling game developers to monetize players without interrupting gameplay.

Facey serves as the CEO of the company while Obeng serves as the Chief Technical Officer. The idea to develop AudioMob was Facey’s. He reached out to Obeng, who he first met while working at Google.

Facey worked at Google as a strategist and also worked with Facebook as a science partner, which gave him an understanding of how advertising works and is effectively measured.

In his spare time, Facey would produce Hip Hop/Jazz music and his own mobile video games. He then started experimenting with streaming audio into his game. It was at this point that he noticed a gap in the industry when it comes to ads within games, according to TechRound.

After reaching out to Obeng, they researched, trawled through game reviews on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and realized that users were not so enthused about in-game ads interrupting their gaming experience.

“From this research we understood that our final product needed to be seamless and enhance the user experience, rather than work against it,” Obeng told TechRound. “After months of hard work and sleepless nights, we developed an audio ad format that developers could place in their games without interrupting the gameplay. It was the solution that the games industry needed and is helping game developers boost their revenue, whilst keeping the players happy.”

According to Tech Crunch, AudioMob is now serving audio ads inside mobile games in all countries outside of China with notable rising stars being the UAE, Germany and Canada. The technology was selected by Google as part of 30 startups it funded from its Black Founders Fund in Europe earlier this year.

Since it was founded in 2020, it has worked with major clients like Warner Music Group and Universal Music, plus brands such as Intel, Pampers, and Jeep. Also, the startup currently employs 10 full-time staffers and five contracts, which it plans to increase to around 35 by mid-2022, according to Business Insider.

Facey told Business Insider that AudioMob averaged year-over-year revenue growth of 157% in each of the first two quarters of this year and that it is currently profitable. “I want us to be seen as an exceptional company that’s found the balance between exponential growth and a good culture,” Facey said.

The profitability of the UK-based startup was evident when it raised $14 million in Series A round led by Makers Fund and Lightspeed Venture Partners, bringing its total funding to $16 million. The funding will be invested in expanding the team in London and Abu Dhabi as well as developing more experimental audio technology. Also, AudioMob will continue to file patents in more countries and markets. The startup is also claiming a valuation of around $110 million, according to Tech Crunch.

“We’re thrilled to see investors’ excitement for AudioMob’s vision for long term success and our future. We’re on the precipice of innovating a whole industry with audio and now we’re able to build out our tech and team to ensure we’re disrupting the industry in the right way and ensure we eventually become a future tech industry unicorn,” Facey told Tech Crunch.

Obeng said, “We understand that consumers don’t want to be interrupted, advertisers want their ads to be heard and game developers want to ensure monetization does not affect retention. And now we have built products which meet all three needs.”