Adam Foroughi, Applovin CEO: Surviving a 92% Drawdown, Ads as ML 1.0 & the $50B Game Ad Market

Video summary

Adam Foroughi says AppLovin survived a 92% stock collapse by buying back $6 billion in shares, then grew into a $250 billion company.

AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi describes a mobile-game advertising business reaching roughly $20 billion in annual ad spend on its platform and an estimated $50 billion across the wider gaming market. He calls advertising “ML 1.0,” arguing that recommendation models can turn ads into product discovery, while chatbot ads will compete more directly with Google Search. Foroughi says AppLovin’s 2021 IPO valued it at $28 billion before its market cap plunged to $3.8 billion in 2022, despite producing $1 billion in EBITDA. The company responded with about $6 billion in share buybacks, retiring 20–25% of shares; after launching a deep-learning ad model, its stock rebounded from $9 to $750 and its valuation reached $250 billion. He also discusses Apple’s privacy rules, doubts that agents will replace ordinary shopping, AppLovin’s 84% EBITDA margins, and how a lean team, proprietary data and engineers in China help it compete with Meta and Google.

Chapters

1. 0:00Adam Foroughi joins the Besties: AppLovin’s $50B mobile-game ad market
2. 3:07Discovery vs search: AppLovin’s ML 1.0 ads create demand without mic or location tracking
3. 10:04IPO tumble & becoming your own best investor: AppLovin’s $3.8B low and 2023 rebound
4. 16:00Privacy rules, Apple’s crackdown & shopping agents: AppLovin’s data strategy and the $50 purchase
5. 20:00How a lean team beats the giants: 84% EBITDA margins and AppLovin’s China talent