Chinese private equity firm Orient Hontai Capital has acquired a majority stake in US-based independent mobile marketing platform AppLovin for $1.4bn (£1.07bn).

AppLovin will continue its standard operations and maintain its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, as well as its offices in the US, Ireland, China, Japan, South Korea and Germany. The firm has been profitable since its first year of business, with advertisers expected to spend nearly half a billion dollars on the platform in 2016 alone.

“Today is a great day for AppLovin,” said Adam Foroughi, co-founder and CEO of AppLovin. “This level of investment validates the outstanding product weve built. Whats more, is the profound significance for the entire advertising industry given this is the most sizeable outcome for a mobile advertising company ever.

“Weve seen a high volume of interest in our business, and we ultimately chose to partner with Orient Hontai because of their strong connections in the Chinese market. Out goals are perfectly aligned, and we share a commitment to scale globally and to continue the highest standards of operation.”

The company was founded in 2011, and notably has never taken venture capital funding, raising just $4m in angel investment from a number of experienced tech figures, then using its own profits to fuel expansion, doubling in size every year.

“AppLovin is the clear leader in mobile marketing automation and consistently delivers outstanding results for their consumers,” said Tony Ma, CEO of Orient Hontai. “As the mobile market grows, AppLovin is well-positioned to herald new innovations and a standard of excellence.

“We are excited to work with the AppLovin team and apply our experiences to accelerate AppLovins growth and global market share.”