Affle India operates behind the advertisements that encourage people to install an app, register for a service, buy a product or return to an app they have previously used. Its customers are mainly businesses seeking measurable results from digital advertising rather than simple brand visibility.
The company does not usually earn merely because an advertisement appears on a screen. Its main model is outcome-based. An advertiser pays when Affle delivers an agreed action, known as a conversion. This could be a purchase, registration, app event or another measurable customer response.
Affle (India) Limited changed its legal name to Affle 3i Limited in 2025. The company now describes itself as an AI-led consumer-intelligence and advertising-technology business operating across mobile phones, connected televisions and other internet-connected devices.
Affle India Company Quick Overview
| Particular | Details |
| Current legal name | Affle 3i Limited |
| Former name | Affle (India) Limited |
| Business started | 2006 |
| Founder | Anuj Khanna Sohum |
| Registered office | New Delhi |
| Corporate office | Gurugram, Haryana |
| Chairperson, MD and CEO | Anuj Khanna Sohum |
| Business type | Advertising technology and consumer-intelligence platform |
| Main customers | Advertisers, brands, agencies and app-based businesses |
| Main pricing model | Cost Per Converted User, or CPCU |
| Connected-device reach | More than four billion devices |
| FY26 operating revenue | ₹2,709.3 crore |
| FY26 profit after tax | ₹454.9 crore |
Affle is listed on the NSE and BSE and operates through subsidiaries across Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa and the Middle East. India and other emerging markets generated 72.9% of FY26 revenue, while developed markets contributed 27.1%.
What Is Affle India’s Business Model?
Affle follows a performance-based digital advertising model. It helps advertisers identify likely customers, display relevant advertisements and measure whether those users complete the desired action.
Its platform analyses signals such as device information, previous campaign engagement, location, app activity and permitted customer data. Algorithms then decide which audience, advertisement, timing and digital channel may produce a better result.
Affle’s platform connects advertisers with app publishers, advertising exchanges, device manufacturers, mobile operators and other sources of advertising inventory. It purchases access to advertising space and uses that inventory to run campaigns for its customers.
The business earns a margin when the revenue received from advertisers exceeds advertising inventory, data, technology and campaign-management costs. Affle’s older official explanation describes advertisers paying on a CPCU basis while the company buys advertising inventory from publishers largely on a cost-per-thousand-impressions basis.
How Does Affle India Make Money?
1. Cost Per Converted User Revenue
CPCU is the foundation of Affle’s business. Under this arrangement, the advertiser and Affle agree on a price for each successful conversion.
The basic revenue calculation is: Number of converted users × average CPCU rate = CPCU revenue
Affle delivered 456 million, or 45.6 crore, conversions during FY26. Its average CPCU was approximately ₹58.90, producing CPCU revenue of ₹2,687.3 crore. The model contributed 99.2% of revenue from customer contracts during the year.
The entire CPCU amount is not profit. Affle must pay publishers, advertising exchanges and other inventory providers for the advertisements required to produce those conversions.
2. New-Customer Acquisition Campaigns
Businesses use Affle to find people who have not previously used their apps or services. A fintech company may want new account registrations, while an online retailer may want first-time buyers.
Affle identifies relevant audiences, displays advertisements and adjusts bids according to campaign performance. The advertiser pays when a user completes the agreed event.
This approach can be more attractive than ordinary impression-based advertising because the advertiser is paying for a measurable result rather than only for the number of times an advertisement was displayed.
3. Retargeting and Repeat Conversions
Affle also helps businesses reconnect with existing or inactive users. For example, a customer may have installed a shopping app but not completed a purchase.
The platform can display personalised advertisements encouraging the customer to return, complete a transaction or buy another product. Affle earns when the campaign produces the agreed repeat conversion.
Repeat-conversion campaigns are useful because acquiring a completely new customer can be more expensive than encouraging an existing user to transact again. Affle’s CPCU model covers both new-user and repeat-user outcomes.
4. Online-to-Offline Campaigns
Not every conversion takes place inside an app. Affle can help retailers use digital advertisements to generate visits and transactions at physical stores.
A restaurant, supermarket or fashion retailer may target nearby consumers with a relevant promotion. The campaign can then use permitted measurement methods to determine whether the advertisement resulted in an offline visit or purchase.
This online-to-offline capability allows Affle to work with traditional businesses as well as companies that operate entirely through digital platforms.
5. Connected-TV Advertising
Affle has expanded beyond mobile advertising into connected television, commonly called CTV. These are televisions or streaming devices connected to the internet.
Advertisers can use CTV for video advertisements while linking the campaign with mobile or other connected-device activity. A customer may see an advertisement on television and later complete a purchase through a phone.
CTV expands the advertising inventory available to Affle and gives it another channel through which it can deliver measurable customer outcomes. The company continues to anchor this business around its wider CPCU platform.
6. Direct Advertiser Relationships
Affle can work directly with brands or through advertising agencies and other partners. Direct relationships can improve margins because the company has greater control over the customer agreement, campaign data and pricing.
Direct customers generated ₹1,998.5 crore and contributed 74% of FY26 revenue. Its customers operate across e-commerce, entertainment, education, fintech, food delivery, consumer goods, gaming, grocery, healthcare, travel and household services.
7. Smaller Non-CPCU Services
A small part of Affle’s revenue comes from arrangements outside its primary CPCU model. These can involve technology, campaign or platform services priced under different contracts.
However, Affle does not provide a detailed public breakdown of every minor revenue category. Since CPCU accounted for 99.2% of FY26 customer revenue, these other services remained financially small.
Affle India’s Major Operating Costs
Affle’s largest expense is described as inventory and data costs. This includes advertising inventory purchased from publishers and other digital advertising participants, along with eligible data and campaign-delivery expenses.
Its main costs include:
- Advertising inventory and data
- Cloud infrastructure and technology
- Product research and development
- Employee salaries
- Sales and customer support
- Artificial-intelligence systems
- Fraud detection and privacy compliance
- Acquired technology and platform amortisation
Inventory and data costs reached approximately ₹1,679.8 crore in FY26. Employee expenses were ₹251.2 crore, while depreciation and amortisation amounted to ₹124.4 crore.
Why Affle’s Business Model Is Profitable
The CPCU model connects Affle’s revenue directly with the results delivered to advertisers. A customer may be more willing to increase campaign spending when it can measure registrations, purchases or other outcomes.
Affle can also use the same technology across several industries and countries. Once algorithms, fraud controls and campaign systems are developed, they can support additional advertisers without requiring the entire platform to be rebuilt.
In FY26, Affle reported EBITDA of ₹610.1 crore, representing a margin of 22.5%. Profit after tax increased to ₹454.9 crore. Operating cash flow reached approximately ₹502.3 crore.
Main Challenges in Affle India’s Business Model
Affle depends on advertising expenditure by brands. Economic weakness or reductions in marketing budgets can slow revenue growth.
Changes introduced by Apple, Google, governments or advertising platforms can also limit the information available for targeting and measurement. Affle must continue developing privacy-compliant methods that do not depend excessively on traditional advertising identifiers.
Digital advertising fraud is another risk. Automated devices, fake installations and invalid clicks can appear to be genuine customer activity. Affle must detect these events before advertisers are charged.
The company also competes with large global advertising platforms and specialised technology providers. It must continue improving its algorithms while controlling inventory and data costs.
Conclusion
Affle India, now called Affle 3i Limited, makes almost all its operating revenue through its Cost Per Converted User model. Advertisers pay when Affle delivers measurable actions such as registrations, purchases, repeat transactions or eligible offline conversions.
New-user acquisition, retargeting, connected-TV advertising and online-to-offline campaigns are different applications of the same outcome-driven platform.
The company’s long-term success depends on delivering conversions at a cost lower than the amount charged to advertisers. It must also maintain accurate measurement, prevent advertising fraud and adapt to stricter privacy rules across global markets.
FAQs
Q: Is Affle India still the company’s legal name?
A: No. Affle (India) Limited changed its name to Affle 3i Limited in 2025. Its NSE trading symbol remains AFFLE.
Q: Does an advertiser pay Affle every time an advertisement is shown?
A: Not under the main CPCU arrangement. The advertiser generally pays when the agreed conversion takes place. Affle may still have to purchase advertising impressions before that conversion occurs.
Q: Is a converted user always a new app installation?
A: No. A conversion can include a registration, purchase, repeat transaction, another in-app event or an eligible offline action. The exact definition is agreed for each campaign.
Q: Does Affle sell personal information directly to advertisers?
A: Affle describes its platform as privacy-focused and uses data, algorithms and permitted customer information to manage advertising campaigns. Its business revenue is primarily generated by delivering conversions rather than selling individual consumer profiles as a separate retail product.
Q: Why is CPCU revenue higher than Affle’s profit?
A: Affle must purchase advertising inventory and pay for data, employees, servers, research, acquired technology and other expenses. Profit is what remains after all these costs are deducted.
