Outbrain announced today a partnership with KaiOS Technologies, a mobile operating system for smart feature phones. Outbrain will monetize KaiOS’ owned-and-operated and third-party inventory globally across over 100 million feature phones through the partnership.
KaiOS is a mobile operating system that has seen fast growth across the APAC region. The system has enabled millions to connect to the internet for the first time in emerging markets via a range of low-cost but high-functionality mobile devices.
With over 140 million users across the globe, KaiOS is ready to offer a highly engaged audience, untapped market, new native ad formats across its applications through the use of Outbrain’s technology.
“We’re excited about our partnership with KaiOS Technologies,” said Victor Charpin, head of platform at Outbrain. “This is a great opportunity to provide our advertisers with quality inventory stemming from KaiOS, one of the top three global mobile operating systems. This partnership further cements our commitment to expanding our network, partnering with companies beyond media websites.”
Since the first KaiOS-enabled device hit the market in 2017, KaiOS has gained widespread popularity. Over 140 million devices have shipped worldwide, with a unique mix of capability and affordability that break new ground for mobile devices.
“The immense potential to reach first-time internet users is beneficial for both companies,” said Mathieu Boyer, ecosystems and partnership director at KaiOS Technologies. “With Outbrain, our unique and exclusive inventory will be accessible to advertisers through dedicated automating systems. This will allow advertisers to display and manage their ads efficiently to KaiOS users.”
Designed to run on low-spec hardware, KaiOS is a light operating system leveraging open, web-based technologies such as HTML5 to create a rich, intuitive user experience and enable access to essential apps and other internet-based resources. In addition, the open architecture of KaiOS allows developers to easily create apps for KaiOS, reaching a previously untapped audience on smart feature phones.
Effective immediately, Outbrain marketers can begin buying native inventory within KaiOS Technologies mobile placements.