Reforged Labs today launched Boa, an AI-powered creative intelligence tool designed to help mobile game marketers figure out which ads work, why they perform, and what to make next.
The driving force behind Boa is to take the guesswork out of mobile game ads. To this day, marketers still mostly rely on a trial-and-error approach in determining which ads to run and how to adapt strategies to an ever-changing audience. Theoretically, by using AI-powered tools, Reforged Labs can get ahead of all that.
The core technology behind Boa, is a proprietary, annotated dataset focused specifically on mobile games. This dataset is constantly updated and used to train the AI to deeply understand ads, gameplay, and the emotions behind players to offer more precise analysis. The resulting output is not only ad analysis, but also a creative brief to help guide strategic decision-making going forward.
“Boa combines this labeled dataset with advanced computer vision, natural language processing, and machine learning to analyze every creative element—visual style, pacing, themes, and messaging—alongside performance data,” Reforged Labs cofounder and chief executive officer, Robert Huynh, said in an email interview. “The result is richer, more accurate insights into what makes an ad resonate with specific audiences and markets.”
Feedback from early tests by mobile game developers is strong. Partners include companies like Wildlife Studios (Sniper 3D, Tennis Clash, War Machines, and more) and Neopets.
As the world of AI continues to evolve, companies like Reforged Labs will have to stay lean and agile to keep up. Boa is based on privacy-compliant data sources with flexible integrations, but as regulations evolve, it will be important to adapt.
“Reforged Labs is an AI-native company with a technology-first culture,” Huynh said. “Our rigorous engineering focus ensures high accuracy and next-generation features, combined with our deep AI research and labelling expertise that sets them apart from our competitors. Boa’s unique focus on mobile game creative intelligence matches the sophistication and data-informed prowess required by the mobile game industry.”
Huynh added, “Backed by deep AI and labeling expertise, ensures that we can deliver depth and specificity that competitors can’t match. Our culture, expertise, and focus on building customer-focused features will keep Boa ahead of emerging rivals.”
Huynh led data labeling initiatives for AI projects at Waymore before attending Harvard Business School and has experience across deep tech at Google, Microsoft, and more. Cofounder Oscar Xing Luo is the CTO and holds a Master’s in machine learning. He was also a co-founder of Vietnam-based dating app Fika, where he built AI-driven recommendation systems.
Reforged Labs was originally founded in 2022, but had a soft relaunch this year to focus on Boa as its primary product. The company is based in San Francisco, with 15 employees as of the time of this writing.
DCM led an investment in Reforged Labs, with participation from Y Combinator, Epakon Capital, Goodwater Capital, Phoenix Fund, and Asymmetry Ventures, as well as angel investors such as the founders behind King and Sky Mavis, and executives from Niantic and Pocket Gems.