The executive went from investing in venture capital funds to making billions — the AppLovin CEO is now worth $11 billion. The method is as follows

When Adam Foroughi knocked on the door of venture capital (VC) funds for his company, AppLovin, in 2012, everyone turned him down. Now, 12 years later in 2024, he is among the 260 richest people in the world, according to Bloomberg.

It added that Foroughi, ranked 251st among the world’s 500 richest people on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) with a fortune of $10.9 billion, has earned billions from his companies.

AppLovin shares soar

According to the report, the Silicon Valley-based marketing services company’s stock price soared 4% on November 7 and has risen sevenfold so far in 2024. As of the close of trading on Friday, November 8, AppLovin’s stock price was US$290.01, and the company’s valuation reached US$102. Billion. Foroughi, who owns 10% of the company, has seen his net worth swell as a result.

Foroughi said on the earnings call that AppLovin is targeting annual growth of up to 30%, driven in part by Axon 2.0. Additionally, in its second-quarter results, the company reported profit and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations and highlighted its growing focus on e-commerce.

Third-quarter revenue rose 39% to $1.2 billion, beating the average estimate of $1.13 billion, according to LSEG. AppLovin forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $124-1.26 billion, an increase of about 31%, while analysts expected $1.18 billion.

According to CNBC, AppLovin’s stock price has risen 519% this year, even surpassing artificial intelligence technology darlings Nvidia and Palantir.

Industry observers positive on growth

Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said in an investor note that AppLovin’s performance “continues to impress” and reiterated its outperform rating, saying that based on the BB report, “we believe the stock is trading at current levels There is almost no downside.”

The company’s rise is largely due to its “successful” adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). AppLovin listed its AI-powered Axon 2.0 advertising engine among its digital marketing services for mobile app developers, reporting that the engine “exceeded expectations” in its third-quarter earnings report.

Eva Ados, chief investment strategist at EntrepreneurShares, told Fox News that he “still likes Applovin.”

A spokesman for AppLovin did not respond to inquiries, Bloomberg said.

Adam Foroughi – From Trader to Billionaire Company Owner

Foroughi was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1979, and moved to the United States with his family as a child. He graduated from Berkeley in 2001 and first worked as a derivatives trader. He reportedly founded two ad tech startups since then before co-founding AppLovin in 2012.

After being turned down for funding by venture capital firms, Foroughi launched the business with the help of angel investors and secured a $280 million marketplace loan in 2018 to grow the company. “It makes sense for us to raise capital this way rather than selling stock and diluting our equity,” he said at the time.

He retained a stake in the company. Today, AppLovin competes with Meta and Alphabet in the digital marketing space and has 1.4 billion daily active users. It added that its focus is on marketing strategies targeting smartphone users, mobile games and interactive advertising

AppLovin debuted on the Nasdaq exchange in 2021, and it’s worth noting that Foroughi’s 10% stake represents 99% of its net worth, according to BBI data.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)