Matthew Miller
May 25, 2017

Unlockd secures partnership with Axiata

Deal gives Unlockd direct access to mobile carriers in eight countries.

Aliza Knox
Aliza Knox

Mobile users across several APAC countries could soon be viewing ads to unlock discounts and perks thanks to a strategic partnership between Unlockd and Axiata Digital.

Part of Axiata Group Berhad, Axiata Digital has become the lead investor in Unlockd's just-closed Series B funding round, which raised US$23 million from Axiata, existing and early-stage investors, and a new venture-capital firm, Australia-based Alium.

The deal will give Unockd direct access to Axiata’s carrier businesses and local knowledge, overseen by Aliza Knox, who was recently hired as chief operating officer. Axiata has mobile operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, India and Singapore. The company claims to have 320 million mobile subscribers. It also has a presence, but not mobile operations, in Pakistan and Myanmar.

The deal gives Unlockd an "expedited pathway into one of the fastest growing smartphone regions in the world", CEO and co-founder Matt Berriman said in a release. The service will be able to roll out sooner than previously planned in these markets, and the money will also help Unlockd scale its operations globally.

Axiata said Unlockd will help lower customer-acquisition cost, increase revenue-per-user, and minimise churn, according to CEO Mohd Khairil Abdullah. “For our customers, Unlockd’s unique value exchange offer will reward them for viewing ads and content on their mobile devices," he said. "It will allow our customers to have more credit to stay in touch with friends, family, and their peers.”

Since its Series A funding round, Unlockd has launched Unlockd Connect in the USA with Sprint Telecom subsidiary Boost Mobile, the UK with Tesco Mobile, the Caribbean with Digicel Group, and Etisalat in the UAE. The company's second product vertical, Unlockd Stream, launched in 2017 with MTV and provides an ad and content funded platform for premium subscription content providers.

Source:
Campaign Asia

Related Articles

Just Published

1 day ago

Creative Minds: Jereek Espiritu pushes his ideas to ...

An intervention by a computer repairman drove Jereek Espiritu away from a career flying helicopters to a world of creative leaps and flights of fancy.

1 day ago

UM launches Full Colour Media with a focus on ...

Full Colour Media is underpinned by a body of custom research conducted with more than 10,000 brands and with 5 million data points, culminating in a ‘Brand Patterns’ proprietary model designed to grow and differentiate brands.

1 day ago

Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards 2024: ...

With the final entry deadline for Agency of the Year Global fast approaching, we speak to judges who share their views on the biggest opportunities and challenges for 2025, and what they hope to see in winning entries.

1 day ago

The 'laziest influencer' makes cleaning effortless—l...

S.C. Johnson's new mold-cleaning campaign features their least energetic spokesperson ever—a sloth whose main qualification is mastering the art of minimal effort.