- Games industry visionaries throw their support behind revolutionary, open-source SDK
- In an industry-first BidOn opens up free engineering resources to empower publishers who want full transparency and control over their monetization stacks and freedom from lock-in or single company dominance.
BidOn, the mobile industry’s pioneering open-source ad tech platform, has announced a number of key appointments across its entire organisation: a new, dedicated engineering team providing free consultancy and support to partners on the platform, steered by a stellar leadership team and a board which includes some of the most recognised names in mobile apps.
For years, publishers have wanted more control, choice, and transparency in the ad platforms they use. As a non-profit corporation utilizing open-source infrastructure, BidOn truly and practically empowers publishers with a transparent, open-source ad monetization technology.
Positioned clearly as a neutral player amid industry consolidation, blind-bidding, and closed systems, through its universal SDK and internal development team, BidOn ushers in an age of liberation, choice, and a fairer, community-driven future for mobile advertising.
At BidOn’s heart is its powerhouse board made up of recognised industry veterans with decades of combined experience across mobile gaming, app publishing, and ad tech.
This independent advisory group will guide and protect BidOn’s mission: delivering a revolutionary, collaborative open-source SDK that empowers publishers with full transparency and control over their monetization stacks, free from lock-in or single-company dominance. This marks the starting point for the board’s formation, with additional board members set to join in the coming months.
Each board member draws on deep unique expertise from across the mobile app industry ecosystem:
- Kenneth Wong, Senior Director of Ads Revenue at Scopely (15+ years mobile gaming, oversees $10M+ annual ad revenue).
- Phil Suh, Senior Vice President of Ad Monetization at Zynga (managing hundreds of millions in ad revenue, MIT Sloan alumnus with expertise in scaling ad strategies).
- Charlie Castell, Founder/CEO of PubRev+ (driving positive impact via mobile ads, ex-WB, ex-Scopely with 20+ years in mobile gaming and ad tech).
- Vincent Tessier, Chief Marketing Officer at 52 Entertainment (17+ years publisher/ad tech experience).
- Nolan Fox, Director of Advertising at ParshipMeet Group (13+ years driving ad growth/monetization at scale).
- Vincent Février, Chief Marketing Officer at TapNation (14+ years in mobile gaming, marketing, monetization, and business development).
Initially built in 2022 from the pioneering and foundational work of Pavel Golubev founder/CEO Appodeal and his team, who saw the need for change in the industry. BidOn was incorporated as a stand-alone entity in December 2023 and since August 2024 the foundation has been led by Fernando Granata.
While Fernando and Andy Ulery will run the day-to-day business for the foundation, at a broader level, BidOn will be governed by the board whose members act in an individual capacity, advising BidOn on strategy, product direction and ecosystem needs focusing on a publisher-first point of view, supporting publishers in creating their own open-source ad tech ecosystem.
As an industry first, under Granata’s leadership, BidOn is establishing an in-house development team to design, deliver and manage key products, a distinctive commitment that sets it apart in the market.
“It’s incredible to have such a wealth of experience both in our team and on the board with leaders who truly represent some of the best in the industry and are united in our vision of change for good.
Pavel Golubev set this vision in motion and has now handed the baton to this group to take it forward with a shared mission: to create an open, transparent environment where anyone can build their own ad tech stack using open-source technology.
As a non-profit, we’re here to serve the industry and bring liberation, choice and collaboration to ad monetization.”
Andy Ulery, Head of Partnerships at BidOn
With no shares or commercial affiliations, BidOn has been made possible through donations from all sides of the industry ecosystem who see the opportunity to restore balance and equity.
Any donations are invested into open-source development, documentation and education and governance provided by the board. BidOn’s immediate roadmap for 2026 includes beginning to develop educational resources that will help to demystify mobile ad tech for publishers and partners.
Bidon.org will be the central hub for news, updates and collaboration and is the go-to resource for any publisher who wants to work with BidOn’s engineers to collaborate on open-source monetization solutions. Over the coming months, BidOn will roll out updated documentation, a refreshed website and additional community channels. Publishers, developers, DSPs and other ecosystem participants can now:
- Fork SDK code via public GitHub repositories
- Submit issues, integrations, and contributions
- Join live discussions shaping features and standards
BidOn aims to establish a trusted, neutral layer of infrastructure that the entire industry can build together, ultimately making mobile ad tech fairer, more transparent and sustainable for all. Join the conversation at bidon.org.
