Moloco

History and Founding

Moloco was founded in 2013 by Ikkjin Ahn and Donghwan Jeon, both former engineers at Google and Yahoo respectively, who recognized an opportunity to bring the same caliber of AI-driven advertising that had powered the growth of large platforms to every business on the open internet. Ahn had built YouTube’s video profitability prediction system and served as the founding Tech Lead Manager for the Android Data team. The company incorporated in Redwood City, California, and initially focused on mobile app performance advertising, gradually expanding into retail media and publisher monetization.

Technology and Products

The technological backbone of Moloco is its compound AI system, CARA, which orchestrates numerous models, agents, and specialized software domains to solve specific advertiser problems. Because the domains share a common architecture, improvements in one area compound across the rest, allowing the system to grow smarter with every campaign. For Moloco Ads specifically, CARA increased ROAS by 27% in 2025. The company deploys updated model versions as often as every two hours, reflecting real-time optimization capability that distinguishes it from more static ad platforms.

Moloco Ads is an AI-powered performance advertising platform for mobile app marketers, reaching over 2 billion daily active users and optimizing for ROAS across user acquisition and re-engagement campaigns. Moloco Commerce Media is an AI-native retail media platform that enables retailers and marketplaces to build their own advertising business by delivering highly relevant, personalized ads at the moment of shopping intent. Moloco Streaming Monetization is a monetization solution for content publishers and streaming services, applying the same CARA technology to optimize ad revenue. The company also partners with cloud providers such as Google Cloud, integrating vector search capabilities to enhance personalization at scale.

Financials and Scale

Moloco has demonstrated consistent growth. As of 2024, the company reached $200 million in revenue and was valued at $1.5 billion during its Series D round in 2023, having raised a total of $226.8 million across six rounds. The company has been profitable for five consecutive years, according to official statements. Its global footprint includes offices across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with significant operations in the United States, South Korea, China, Germany, and the United Kingdom. With over 800 employees (approximately 857 as of early 2026), Moloco maintains active partnerships with major brands such as Wayfair, Tubi, Chime, Pinterest, Scopely, and Xiaomi.

Leadership

Moloco’s leadership is a mix of founding engineers and experienced corporate executives. Ikkjin Ahn serves as Co-founder and CEO, responsible for strategy and vision. Donghwan Jeon is Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, overseeing the technical direction of CARA and the engineering organization. Tal Shaked holds the role of Chief AI Officer, focusing on AI research and innovation. Brandon Maultasch is Chief Financial Officer, managing financial planning, accounting, strategic finance, tax, treasury, corporate development, and investor relations. Iris Chen is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, leading legal strategy and a global legal organization. Sunil Rayan is General Manager of Moloco Ads, responsible for the flagship advertising product line. Together, this executive team navigates the company through a highly competitive ad tech landscape, positioning Moloco as a pure-play AI alternative to the dominant platform ecosystems.