Ad-tech unicorn Moloco’s endeavor to unlock potential continues

SILICON VALLEY – Moloco Inc., a Silicon Valley-based ad-tech solution startup valued at more than $2 billion, is dreaming big to become a versatile business consulting solution provider, its Korean national chief executive said.

“We are developing machine learning technology that can support businesses across the board in the mid to long term,” Ahn Ikk-jin, CEO and co-founder of Moloco, said in a recent interview with The Korea Economic Daily.

“We will introduce a new solution that analyzes big data to give real-time business consulting advice in line with the burgeoning digital economy.”

The company’s latest ambition comes after it successfully launched new ad services for e-commerce platforms and streaming video services using machine learning technology in recent years.

Founded in 2013, Moloco is an ad-tech startup that enables its clients to analyze their big data to customize ads for different customers and monetize such ads with its machine-learning technology.

Since 2021 when it became Silicon Valley's first Korean CEO-led unicorn, or a startup with an over $1 billion valuation, it has continued to strive to diversify its product portfolio, which has been met with great enthusiasm from its clients.

PORTFOLIO DIVERSIFICATION

It in February rolled out the Streaming Media Monetization Solution that enables streaming and over-the-top media owners to bolster their revenue with maximized ad profits using machine learning technology.

Ads for a streaming video service require a more sophisticated algorithm, thus big tech companies such as Google LLC and Meta Platforms Inc. have dominated the market.

But thanks to Moloco’s new service, smaller streaming and OTT media operators can offer a wide array of tailored ads targeting a broad range of customers.

“We have advanced our artificial intelligence technology in the past two years to improve the accuracy and efficiency of our ad recommendation system,” said Ahn.

Moloco also released another new service, dubbed Retail Media Platform (RMP), in 2021 to enable app operators to build their own advertising business to generate profits, using Moloco’s advanced machine learning infrastructure and models.

Users of the platform include its client oHouse, an all-in-one lifestyle platform run by Korean startup Bucketplace Co., delivery app operators, a major Korean home-shopping channel operator and a secondhand marketplace developer, according to Moloco. 

“Moloco’s RMP will enable its users to earn extra ad revenue like Amazon.com while offering personalized recommendations,” said Ahn, noting that many smaller e-commerce platforms grapple with losses due to poor ad businesses.

PROFIT MAKING IN 12 STRAIGHT QUARTERS

Thanks to its efforts to diversify its product lineup, it has recorded profits for 12 quarters in a row and reaped $200 million in revenue in 2022.

Its enterprise valuation jumped about 33% in three years to more than $2 billion when Fidelity Management & Research Company and Singapore-based global investor EDBI purchased Moloco shares from Korea Investment Partners (KIP), Moloco’s Series A investor, in June.

“We will expand the application of machine learning in the ad sector in the next three to five years and then launch more services to cover business solutions across the board,” said Ahn. “I expect we can offer versatile services with our operational machine learning.”

Despite its ambitious business expansion plan, the company remains open to postponing its Nasdaq listing, which was initially planned this year.

“We will focus on our business more than an initial public offering this year,” said Ahn, hinting that it may pursue a Nasdaq debut next year.

Ahn, a former engineer from Google and YouTube, founded Moloco with two ex-Google colleagues 10 years ago.

Moloco joined the unicorn club in May 2021 after completing a Series C funding round with $20 million. It has offices in the US, the UK, Germany, Korea, China, India, Japan and Singapore.

Write to Jin-Suk Choi at iskra@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.