# Adam Foroughi

> Adam Foroughi is the co-founder and CEO of AppLovin, an advertising technology company he has led since December 2011. The Iranian-born American entrepreneur previously co-founded LifeStreet Media and Social Hour. His career includes AppLovin’s early funding rejections, KKR’s 2018 investment, its 2021 IPO, the Axon 2 launch in 2023, and the sale of its games business in 2025 to concentrate on advertising.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at AppLovin
- **Organizations:** AppLovin, LifeStreet Media, Social Hour
- **Nationality:** American (Iranian-born)
- **Education:** B.A. in Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Co-founded and led AppLovin through its April 2021 IPO., Led AppLovin during the 2023 launch of Axon 2 and subsequent advertising expansion., Led the 2025 divestiture of AppLovin’s mobile gaming business to focus on advertising.

## Career timeline

- **1984** — Moved from Iran to Southern California with his family at age four.
- **Before 2011** — Worked as a derivatives trader and co-founded LifeStreet Media and Social Hour.
- **2011-12** — Began serving as AppLovin CEO and director; co-founded the company with John Krystynak and Andrew Karam.
- **2018-07** — KKR agreed to invest $400 million in AppLovin.
- **2021-04** — Led AppLovin through its Nasdaq IPO.
- **2023-Q2** — AppLovin launched Axon 2.
- **2025-06** — Completed sale of the mobile gaming business to Tripledot Studios.
- **2026-04** — Ended his tenure as board chairperson; continued as CEO and director.
- **2026-06** — Announced general availability of AppLovin Ads for all advertisers.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and led AppLovin through its April 2021 IPO.
- Led AppLovin during the 2023 launch of Axon 2 and subsequent advertising expansion.
- Led the 2025 divestiture of AppLovin’s mobile gaming business to focus on advertising.
- Recognized in the San Francisco Business Times 2017 Forty Under 40.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Published a September 16 essay announcing removal of user-level detail from AppLovin Ad Review, with aggregated reporting retained.
- **2026-08** — AppLovin reported Q2 2026 revenue of $1.924 billion, up 53% year over year, on August 5.
- **2026-06** — Announced that AppLovin Ads was open to all advertisers on June 22, ending the referral requirement.
- **2026-04** — The 2026 proxy states that his chairperson tenure ended in April 2026; he remains CEO and a director.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamforoughi

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/adam-foroughi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11