emelynei

Director of Communications at AppLovin

[Molly O’Shea @MollySOShea]

BREAKING: Inside AppLovin's $100B+ Ad Engine

Co-Founder & CEO Adam Foroughi
CTO Giovanni Ge

FULL INTERVIEW

AppLovin is one of the most efficient companies in public markets at ~400 people. Approaching $7B in EBITDA. That's ~$17M per employee, roughly 3x the revenue per head of Nvidia & 7x Apple, Meta, or Google. Engineering hasn't grown in 3 years (100 people) while cash flow scaled 20x.

The most extensive breakdown yet of how they built the ad model that grew @AppLovin ( $APP ) from a -92% post-IPO decline to $100B+ company, with billions in profit

Gio joined AppLovin in late 2022, when the company was worth ~$5.5 billion to help architect Axon 2, the recommendation engine that became central to AppLovin’s transformation. The new architecture improved predictions & advertiser returns, helping drive the company’s expansion beyond mobile gaming into e-commerce ads & a full recovery

"Technology moves really fast, & you gotta be humble about what you have. If technology goes faster than what you've developed, you gotta throw away what you have & rebuild it. And it's probably gonna happen every couple years, or even faster in the future." - Adam Foroughi

We go inside the machine:
› Rebuilding Axon from scratch with 100 engineers
› No one-on-ones, no training manuals, almost no PMs
› New hires ship production code in week 1
› Engineers on top of AI, not next to it
› The e-commerce product designed on a napkin
› Dropping 92%, then becoming their own best investor
› The math to $1 trillion

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒
(00:00) Adam Foroughi, Co-Founder & CEO & Giovanni Ge, CTO at AppLovin
(00:52) Gio's first impression of AppLovin
(03:38) Joining AppLovin after a 30% stock drop
(09:59) How Axon 2 actually got built
(20:23) Why AppLovin never needed a sales team
(21:59) From gaming ads to e-commerce
(24:47) From a napkin drawing to a real product
(30:54) The onboarding mistake most companies make
(34:37) What "AI-Native" actually means
(36:37) Should new engineers still learn to code?
(41:41) UGC vs. traditional ads: what's winning?
(47:56) Adapting to AI without rebuilding from scratch
(54:50) Gio's daily tech stack
(1:02:17) AppLovin's path to a trillion-dollar valuation
(1:06:19) Recovering from a 90% stock drop
(1:09:47) What's next for AppLovin?
(1:13:44) What happens when AI takes over?
(1:15:48) Adam and Gio's hottest takes
(1:19:50) How to actually stay locked in
(1:24:47) Building something that lasts

[emelynei @emelynei]

Wordscapes developer announces Carol Miu as new CEO | Pocket https://t.co/eSP2Xdm7HI | PGbiz https://t.co/WhMKlVJ9Xt via @pgbiz

[PeopleFun @PeopleFunGames]

We are thrilled to announce that Carol Miu, previously our Chief Product and Analytics Officer at PeopleFun, has been appointed as PeopleFun’s CEO. Read more here: https://t.co/b1orpsiLoU

[emelynei @emelynei]

Queer Eye announces first cross-media partnership with Project Makeover | Pocket https://t.co/eSP2Xdm7HI | PGbiz https://t.co/59OI2H49ai via @pgbiz

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

Whether you're just starting or diving deep into #influencermarketing, asking the right questions sets your team and business up for success. Our CMO, @katiekjansen, shares a few tips to put you on the right path. https://t.co/mvRBwqtCZo

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

Done deal! #AppLovin & #WurlNetwork https://t.co/Yhg4dpn8i9

#WurlNetwork #CTV #FASTchannels #ContentDistribution #Streaming

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

We’re thrilled to announce that AppLovin closed the acquisition of Twitter’s MoPub business. Learn what this strategic acquisition means for the mobile app ecosystem. #mobiledevelopers #mobiledev https://t.co/RKpgJm6hEz

[PocketGamer.biz @pgbiz]

Belka Games brings Dolly Parton to Solitaire Cruise @Belka_Games #dollyparton https://t.co/frgVa7UvLi

[Yahoo Finance @YahooFinance]

“The part of the metaverse that we’re most engaged with is the play-to-earn ecosystem," AppLovin’s Adam Foroughi says. "If there’s an economy… where the user can invest in and make an earnings out by owning digital assets and trading them, it could become a huge business.”

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

Thanks to @CNBCTechCheck for having AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi on today!

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

Shoutout to @TDANetwork and @NPetallides for talking with our CEO, Adam Foroughi, about AppLovin's record Q3 earnings report!

[TechCheck @CNBCTechCheck]

Shares of $APP are popping today after the mobile gaming company reported revenue growth of 90% for Q3. The stock is up 70% since the company went public in April. It's now worth more than $40 billion by market cap. Founder & CEO Adam Foroughi joined to discuss.

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

We’ve entered into an agreement to acquire from @Twitter the @mopub business to further enhance our monetization tools. Read more here: https://t.co/mFcaPphTBz

#acquisition #mobilemarketing #inappbidding #appdevs #mobileadvertising

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

Thank you to @DrillDownPod and @corytv for having AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi on today! Listen to the full episode here: https://t.co/aWlJvXXpRa #AppLovin
#tech #appdev #mobilemarketing

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

See how Magic Tavern, @Fastic, and WildCard Games utilized AppLovin’s Growth Suite to help increase app installs, ARPDAU and month-over-month profitability: https://t.co/xQfCqFPjWJ
#developer #appdev #mobilemarketing #apps

[Adweek Branded @awbrandshare]

To scale acquisitions, you need to diversify. Learn how a little-known health app switched up its strategy with automation and ROAS optimization to meet its goals and power growth with @AppLovin

https://t.co/a4qZDqXDmW

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

Shout out to @jimcramer for having AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi on @MadMoneyOnCNBC today! https://t.co/njHQlgCFTU
#AppLovin #MadMoney #CNBC #JimCramer #tech

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

Exciting news: Asha Sharma, COO of @Instacart, has joined AppLovin’s Board of Directors. Asha brings years of experience in the mobile industry and we’re grateful to have her expertise. See our full press release here: https://t.co/OEEiXLfUlf (via @BusinessWire) #AppLovin

[AppLovin @AppLovin]

With record financial results, doubling total revenue year-over-year to $669 million, AppLovin has announced its Q2 2021 earnings. Read the full press release: https://t.co/bXzSgl93Y9
#AppLovin #Earnings #APP

[TheStreet @TheStreet]

.@AppLovin ( $APP ) CEO Adam Foroughi sits down with @mcoreygoldman to talk IPO, Apps and AI!