AppLovin
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mobile advertising |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Adam Foroughi, CEO |
| Revenue | USD$234.2 million (2015)[2] |
Number of employees | 90 (2015)[3] |
| Website | www |
AppLovin is a mobile marketing platform. The company was founded in 2012, but operated in stealth mode until 2014.[4] AppLovin is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.[5]
History
The company was founded in 2012 by Adam Foroughi, John Krystynak, and Andrew Karam,[6] and was reportedly named by Foroughi after the McLovin character from the film Superbad.[7] The company operated in stealth mode until 2014. During this time, the company raised $4 million in financing from angel investors, Streamlined Ventures and the Webb Investment Network,[5] and focused on developing its product. Before emerging from stealth mode, AppLovin acquired customers including companies like Opentable and Spotify.[8][9] In October 2014, AppLovin purchased the German mobile ad-network, Moboqo.[10]
On September 26, 2016, it was reported that AppLovin had agreed to be acquired by the Chinese private equity firm, Orient Hontai Capital, for $1.42 billion; the acquisition deal was subsequently abandoned for debt investment after opposition to the plans from CFIUS.[11][12][13]
The convertible note facility that AppLovin received from Hontai Capital was fully refinanced In August 2018, after AppLovin raised a significant credit facility from U.S.-based investors. Hontai retain a small equity stake in AppLovin.[14][15]
In July 2018, AppLovin launched Lion Studios, an independent media division of AppLovin that works with mobile developers to publish and promote their games.[16][17]
In 2016, the company was ranked #10 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list.[18]
References
- ^ "AppLovin on Forbes America's Most Promising Companies List". Forbes. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "AppLovin". Inc. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Sean (22 May 2015). "AppLovin is on Fire With $210 Million Run-Rate". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Kim, Eugene (12 March 2015). "One Simple Rule Got This Startup to $200 Million in Annual Revenue in Less Than Three Years". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ a b Schubarth, Cromwell (26 September 2016). "Fast Growing Silicon Valley Ad Tech Startup Sells At 'Unicorn' Valuation". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "AppLovin". Forbes. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Ha, Anthony. "Mobile Ad Startup AppLovin Says It Has Reached A $100M Revenue Run Rate". TechCrunch. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Bort, Julie (26 August 2016). "AppLovin Could Soon Be Selling Itself for $1.5 Billion". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Byrne Reilly, Richard (4 June 2014). "Mobile Marketer AppLovin Emerges From Stealth With 300 Customers". VentureBeat. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Ha, Anthony (9 October 2014). "Mobile Ad Startup AppLovin Acquires German Ad Network Moboqo". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Baker, Liana B. "Exclusive: AppLovin tweaks Chinese takeover deal after U.S. pushback". Reuters. Reuters.
- ^ "Exclusive: AppLovin to Be Acquired by Chinese Investor for $1.4 Billion". Forbes. Forbes. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Ha, Anthony (26 September 2016). "AppLovin is Selling a Majority Stake to Orient Hontai Capital for $1.4B". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Joshua Franklin. "KKR agrees to buy stake in AppLovin at $2 billion valuation". Reuters. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- ^ "AppLovin Refinances Hontai Capital's Convertible Note Facility". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- ^ Craig Chapple. "Why AppLovin is getting into the mobile publishing game with Lion Studios". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ Rebekah Valentine. "AppLovin launches publishing division Lion Studios". GamesIndustry. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ "2016 Winners by rank" (PDF). Deloitte. Retrieved 23 September 2017.