GEOMOTIVE is an Uzbekistani startup changing the rules of the game in outdoor advertising through geo-analytics and automation. Learn how the company manages 106,000 advertising surfaces, expands its influence in the MENA and UK markets, and attracts international brands.

Botir Arifdzhanov, CEO of GEOMOTIVE,

How It All Began

I am a serial entrepreneur, and before GEOMOTIVE, all my projects were in B2C. Every time we launched outdoor advertising for our products, I ran into the same conflict with the marketing team: why are we doing this? What is the effectiveness? How do we measure it?

The answers were always vague: "Everyone does it," "Competitors are hanging there too," "There's no other way." One of the most absurd arguments was "this is the best spot left." This always annoyed me because I am used to data, numbers, funnels, return on investment, while outdoor media was a black box.

The idea for GEOMOTIVE was born out of this multi-year frustration. When I met my partner Aleksey Khainovskiy—who has extensive experience in AdTech and analytics—we realized we could and should create a product that:

• makes outdoor advertising transparent

• shows results and return on investment

• allows launching and managing campaigns as conveniently as in digital.

Thus, GEOMOTIVE was born — a B2B marketplace and analytics platform changing the outdoor advertising market, starting with DOOH, and in the future, in other channels: Connected TV, Digital, in-app.

Startup Launch

Since Aleksey and I are both from Uzbekistan, we decided to start right there in test mode. We invested our own funds, without external investors, and started by building a minimum viable product.

When the MVP was ready, I maxed out my entrepreneurial experience and personal network—set up meetings, showed companies how I would use this tool myself if I were in their place. Sales often went literally "by voice"—through trust and personal understanding of the client's pain.

Gradually, we began to go beyond personal connections into the market: ad agencies, structure owners, major outdoor players. Within a few months, the first big clients in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan began to appear.

From the very beginning, we understood this is a global product and wanted to scale it further. Therefore, when the regional model was confirmed, we moved HQ to London, and GEOMOTIVE became a British company.

As for the team — Aleksey brought in folks with AdTech and DevOps experience. On the business side, we started hiring locally—in the countries where we launched. That's how we formed a decentralized, yet very cohesive team.

Target Audience

GEOMOTIVE is not one, but two complementary products, each solving a specific task in the outdoor advertising ecosystem:

1. METER — Analytics Platform: DMP + Geo-Analytics

METER is a Data Management Platform, DMP, which:

• analyzes audience behavior and movement in real time

• accounts for demographics, interests, income, and geo-profiling

• helps plan effective marketing campaigns by regions, cities, and even individual streets.

Who uses METER:

1. Brand marketers, to understand where their ads actually work.

2. Agencies, to justify media selection for campaigns and prove effectiveness to clients.

3. Screen owners, to argue pricing for placement and improve their ad grid.

2. DSP Marketplace — Platform for Ad Placement

DSP (Demand Side Platform) is the "second step" after analytics. It allows:

• launching outdoor advertising just like digital banners — by time, geography, audience

• getting real-time data and optimizing the campaign on the fly.

To make it work, we aggregate ad surfaces — and essentially perform the function of a Supply Side Platform (SSP) as well.

Who uses DSP:

1. Large brands wanting transparency and control.

2. Small and medium businesses getting access to outdoor media without intermediaries.

3. Agencies saving time and getting full analytics.

To date, over 106,000 ad surfaces are available for analytics, over 3,000 screens are connected to the platform via partner network, and over 600 digital screens are managed directly through our DSP.

Clients include local and international agencies, major networks, brands, and surface owners across regions from Central Asia to MENA and the UK.

Incubation Programs

We didn't participate in classic accelerators or incubators like Y Combinator or 500 Global. Instead, from the very beginning, we financed GEOMOTIVE independently, investing our own funds and building an MVP that we tested in Uzbekistan.

Although we didn't go through acceleration programs, we actively participated in international startup events to build reputation and enter new markets:

• In 2024, GEOMOTIVE represented Uzbekistan at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco — one of the world's largest startup forums. This confirmed the global potential of our product and opened doors for further contacts.

• In spring 2025, we also participated in a major event in Saudi Arabia — LEAP 2025, part of our MENA market entry strategy.

• Right after that, we participated in Web Summit Qatar, continuing to build our Middle Eastern network.

• This year, as part of Astana Hub and IT Park Uzbekistan, GEOMOTIVE represents Uzbekistan at London Tech Week 2025 with its own booth.

For us, participating in such forums is not just PR, but a path to building strategic ties with agencies, brands, and surface owners in the region.

After the bootstrap stage, we attracted an angel investor — a Cyprus-based entrepreneur with successful exit experience. Then a Pre-seed round took place, joined by our first institutional investor — Aloqa Ventures.

At the current stage, we are in active negotiation phase with several funds for the next round and hope to share good news soon. For now, all official deals are under NDA, and we don't disclose details until full closure.

Difficulties

Although the advertising industry seems dynamic, in reality it is quite closed and conservative. Entry is not through the front door. Often you have to look for "back doors": through personal acquaintances, non-standard approaches, proving value in each specific case.

At the start, we weren't always met with open arms. Especially ad agencies, who feared we came to take their place. But after a series of meetings, we showed we aren't competing with them, acting as a support tool: helping agencies justify proposals to brands, providing data for tenders and media planning.

After that, attitudes shifted from caution to respect and partnership.

Case: screen integration in Uzbekistan

When we began aggregating screens in Uzbekistan, structure owners started refusing under various pretexts: "Screens are outdated," "No technical capability to connect," "Too expensive."

In response, we created GEOMOTIVE Box — a compact device connecting to any screen enabling remote content management and launching ads via our platform.

Even that didn't solve everything: owners didn't want to buy equipment. Then we offered long-term installment. But that put strain on our budget.

In the end, our developers found a technologically elegant solution: we started integrating directly with controller boards already inside most screens. Just reflash — and the screen works with our platform. No extra devices.

Takeaway: When entering B2B — especially in traditional, hands-on industries — you will face excuses, skepticism, and rejections. But this is not a dead end. This is an invitation to be resourceful, flexible, and economically rational. Problems are entry points if you have the desire to dive deep, adapt, and offer win-win solutions.

Achievements

GEOMOTIVE is a startup that literally burst into the outdoor advertising and geo-analytics market.

In a short time, we took leading positions in Central Asia and launched rapid expansion into Turkey, MENA, and the Asian region.

What started as a single platform is today split into two independent products — METER and DSP Marketplace, each with its own team, strategy, and even corporate structure.

Sales are actively run via the office in Turkey, entering Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

Our technologies have already attracted attention from international brands ready to use our data for decisions in dozens of countries regarding outdoor ad launches.

We learned to aggregate and analyze data remotely, without physical presence in the country. For example, we can assess Jordan's ad market, identify effective locations, and connect local operators — without visiting on site. This became possible thanks to flexible platform architecture and strong analytics.

The most valuable achievement is the team: believing in the product, deeply understanding the industry, working with full dedication and quickly adapting to challenges of new markets.