Applications
Mobile games marketing platform AppLift raises $13 mn from Prime Ventures
MUMBAI: Mobile games marketing platform AppLift has raised $13 million from venture capital and growth equity firm Prime Ventures in series A funding round.
AppLift will use the funds to further invest in its marketing and monetisation platform and accelerates the global expansion with new offices and key personnel. One year after launch, AppLift is partnering with more than 80 mobile game publishers such as King, Wooga and Kabam and over 500 media partners like RTL and Closer. As a result AppLift delivers up to one million installs per month for top mobile game publishers. This year AppLift plans to hire 50 additional engineers, product specialists and business development professionals.
Founded by HitFox Group, Kaya Taner and Tim Koschella, AppLift has made a name for itself by delivering quality game players at scale. Media partners benefit from the opportunity to monetize in a non-intrusive and user-friendly way and receive eCPMs of up to $75. Headquartered in Berlin, AppLift has additional offices in San Francisco, Seoul and Paris.
HitFox was already active in the space of user acquisition with the portfolio company ad2games at the time when AppLift launched. The previously established game publisher relations and technology leveraged AppLift‘s fast start.
Serial entrepreneur and HitFox Group CEO Jan Beckers said, “The strong market position of AppLift is based on a world-class team, cutting-edge technology and a sustainable approach to partner relationships and an unwavering focus on flawless execution. With the new funding AppLift has everything required to become one of Berlin‘s biggest success stories.”
AppLift co-founder and CEO Kaya Taner said, “Prime Ventures‘ entrepreneurial mindset is a perfect fit for us. We met them, got along immediately and agreed on a deal within five weeks. HitFox Group gave AppLift a great initial push into the market. Now Prime is the perfect addition to expand and strengthen our position internationally.”
Prime Ventures partner Roel de Hoop said, “AppLift‘s team, technology platform and the synergies created through the HitFox Group and its portfolio companies quickly brought them ahead in the market. The closer we looked at AppLift, the more impressed we were. We saw the opportunity to invest in a leader within the fast-growing $10 billion mobile games market.”
King director of performance marketing Shane Horneij said, “It’s great to see that AppLift has secured $13 million in this round of funding. They have been a great partner in driving large volumes of installs across Android and iOS while maintaining high quality users. We look forward to launching more titles with their team in the future.”
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
