Read this article for free.

Already a subscriber? Log in here

Asia Media Amazon Telecom

Verizon-backed Jana Rides India’s Mobile Web Boom and Bust

May 16, 2017 11:51 AM PDT

One small beneficiary of the investment rush into Indian internet companies two years ago was Jana, a Boston-based startup that sells ads on an app store for Indian phone users. Jana sold ad space to Indian firms like Flipkart and U.S. companies Amazon.com and Twitter, each hoping to reach Jana’s 40 million registered users. That business helped Jana raise $57 million from big names like Verizon and French ad giant Publicis last year at a valuation of between $300 million and $400 million.

But the euphoria around the Indian mobile market has faded. Mobile app developers that advertised on Jana are struggling to retain the users its ads generated. Revenue dropped significantly last year from the $30 million it generated in 2015, two people familiar with the matter said. Jana CEO Nathan Eagle declined to comment on revenue estimates.

Read this article for free

This article is part of our archive of over 2,400 stories and is only available to subscribers. To give you a preview of the work we do, you can enter your email to access the full article.

Already a subscriber? Log in here

What Is The Information?

Notebook b5103017ee163370a1667c9ce59ab0ef023875a17888105d26c185cadf31bb69

Daily news analysis

Every weeknight, we'll send you our reporters’ views on the day’s top tech news—distilled into one email.

Notes bb3aa5069205d702dda37fc71dc6f1c59df2310c4379304e9f1199f052af4884

Exclusive Articles

We broke it first. Receive original reporting, stories, and exclusives you won't read anywhere else from the largest newsroom in tech.

Conference calls

Go deep into areas like crypto and VC diversity—or get real-time analysis of breaking news—via conference calls with our reporters and other experts.

Events 499acedd16cffc41445edd76bfd302b2836c2a27419890f17130a6b10e2aa3df

Special Events

For no extra fee, subscribers get access to more than a dozen events yearly, from intimate dinners to larger gatherings with marquee speakers.

Access the best reporting on the tech industry read by tens of thousands of global executives.

Become a contributor

Share your views and find other subscribers by completing your profile. You’ll be listed in our contributor directory.

Org Charts

Access the only collection of tech company org charts. Our expanding database includes companies like Amazon, Snap, and Uber.

Slack community

Discuss topics and current events with our subscriber-only Slack group and share news about your company with other subscribers.

Share with your team

Subscribers can unlock any article and share it with friends and co-workers through a special share link.

Stay up to date on Silicon Valley

Sign up for Jessica Lessin’s (The Information’s CEO & Founder) free Saturday newsletter and also receive a complimentary week of our daily afternoon tech commentary email.