AppLovin acquires in-app header bidding solution Max

  • Thursday, September 6th, 2018
  • Author: Tim Maytom
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Mobile gaming platform AppLovin is strengthening its ad offering today with the acquisition of Max, a leading in-app header bidding solution, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition is aimed at accelerating AppLovins aim of giving game developers a complete platform to grow and scale their business.

Max will become Max by AppLovin, with its functionality integrated into AppLovins own platform to enable buyers to access all of AppLovins inventory. The in-app header bidding functionality will provider buyers with a method of bidding simultaneously on publisher inventory with equal access for all buyers, and allow publishers to maximise the value of their inventory.

Jim Payne, co-founder and chairman of Max and former co-founder of MoPub, will be named a strategic advisor at AppLovin, while Dan Sack, CEO of Max and another early employee of MoPub, will become vice president of platform at AppLovin.

“We are thrilled to join the AppLovin team, whose work Ive followed and admired since the early days of mobile programmatic,” said Payne. “AppLovin has become a close and trusted partner for nearly every mobile gaming studio. We look forward to building a platform together that helps mobile game publishers of all sizes grow.”

The AppLovin and Max engineering teams will work together to integrate the Max platform with AppLovin, which will continue to support both Max and AppLovin customers. The news of the acquisition comes after a year of strong growth for AppLovin, which recently announced the formation of a mobile gaming division, Lion Studios, as well as a funding round that saw $400m (£309m) in investment from KKR.

“Maxs mission is to deliver effective header bidding technology to the market,” said Adam Foroughi, CEO and co-founder of AppLovin. “Their goal of facilitating an unbiased auction helps increase developer monetisation and that aligns nicely with our mission. Header bidding is extremely valuable to this industry, and were excited to develop  the product together for the benefit of the entire mobile ecosystem.”