Mobile ad platforms, business messaging (SMS, WhatsApp, RCS), travel and e-commerce SaaS rented by apps and brands (Affle, Tanla, Route Mobile, RateGain, Unicommerce).
Sells the plumbing apps and brands use to find and serve customers: performance ads that pay per install or purchase, OTPs and delivery alerts over SMS, WhatsApp and RCS, hotel rate and distribution software, and warehouse and order-management software for online sellers.
These companies earn from the whole app economy rather than one winner, often with global customers. But they are also exposed to shifts they don't control - telecom pricing, Meta's WhatsApp pricing, Google and Apple privacy changes.
Performance-ad and SaaS players earn 20%+ EBITDA margins; SMS messaging (CPaaS) is high-volume and low-margin (~10-15%) and is shrinking as traffic moves to WhatsApp and RCS. Route Mobile's FY26 revenue fell as A2P SMS softened; growth is in conversational messaging and ads.