Adam Foroughi, Applovin CEO: Surviving a 92% Drawdown, Ads as ML 1.0 & the $50B Game Ad Market

Here’s a George Carlin-flavored rewrite of that rundown. No fluff, just the knives with a suit on: - (0:00) Adam Foroughi stops by the Besties, which means we’ve got a guy with more opinions than a political rally about something nobody really knows what it is. - (3:07) Discovery vs search and: is your phone listening? Yes, it is. The phone is always listening, and listening harder than your mother-in-law. If you don’t need a privacy policy, you need a conspiracy theory, because that’s the only thing keeping your data from becoming your own personal plot twist. - (10:04) IPO tumble and how to become your own best investor—because nothing says “financial wisdom” like gambler’s bravado in a spreadsheet. It’s not magic, it’s “what did we tell the vulture funds this morning?” with charts. - (16:00) Privacy rules, Apple’s crackdown, and how agents change people’s shopping—like a magician who uses your identity cards to conjure up a new hobby you didn’t know you needed, all under the glow of a sleek logo. - (20:00) How a lean team beats the giants, margin moats, and building in China—where you squeeze the last drop of not-quite-ethics out of economies of scale while pitching “the scrappy startup” as if it’s a noble virtue, not a spreadsheet with a pulse. Thanks to our partners for making this possible! IREN is a vertically integrated AI Cloud platform, delivering data centers, compute, and software for AI training and inference. https://iren.com/ Oracle connects the data, applications, and infrastructure that turn AI into business outcomes—with the flexibility, choice, and control to optimize as AI evolves. http://oracle.com/ai EY helps tech innovators scale from startup to exit to megacap. You build the future. We’ll handle the rest. http://www.ey.com Meta believes the future is for everyone. We’re focused on giving every person the tools to reach their full potential and making sure the benefits of technology are distributed to all. http://www.meta.com Keel Infrastructure owns the power, land, and connectivity that HPC and AI run on—backed by secured energy assets and established grid interconnections across North America. https://keelinfra.com/ Airwallex – Agentic Global Business Accounts. Open local accounts in 70+ countries to accept payments, earn yield, pay globally, and manage spend. http://airwallex.com PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. For more information, visit https://www.paypal.com Google for Startups connects founders with the right people, products, and best practices to help startups build faster and go further. https://ift.tt/0eECKrB Explore ideas, industries, and technologies worth understanding with Chamath every week on Learn with Me: https://ift.tt/sYwjhq2 Follow the besties: https://x.com/chamath https://x.com/Jason https://ift.tt/dQfO1j7 https://x.com/friedberg Follow on X: https://ift.tt/To7jtdK Follow on Instagram: https://ift.tt/gWBUlj6 Follow on TikTok: https://ift.tt/L9ZrFTX Follow on LinkedIn: https://ift.tt/FCLa19S Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://ift.tt/sS3nwlL #allin #tech #news If you want a tighter Carlin-style riff or a longer stand-up cadence instead, tell me the vibe you’re aiming for (ironic, punchy, angry, sarcastic) and I’ll tailor it.