According to Bloomberg Business, Moloco, an advertising technology company backed by Fidelity and Tiger Global Management, is considering an initial public offering. The California-based firm has begun early talks with potential advisers for the share sale. Moloco was valued at more than $2 billion following a secondary share sale in 2023. The company, founded in 2013, has been profitable for five consecutive years and carries zero debt, with over 700 employees. Its deliberations add to a growing list of potential listings, including SpaceX and Discord, as IPO activity ramps up after a prolonged slump. No final decisions have been made, and Moloco didn’t immediately comment on the report.
Moloco’s Market Moment
So, why now? The IPO window has been basically shut for a while, but there’s a clear push from bankers to get deals moving again. Moloco seems to be positioning itself to catch that wave. And look, its financial profile is pretty compelling for public market investors—profitable for five years with no debt is a narrative that stands out in the often-burn-heavy tech world. But here’s the thing: the public market reception for ad tech can be fickle. Just look at AppLovin, a peer; its stock is down significantly from a December peak, even though it’s had a monster run over a longer period. An IPO isn’t just about listing; it’s about listing at the right valuation in a sector that investors sometimes love and sometimes completely ignore.
Stakeholders and the Competitive Landscape
For Moloco’s existing backers like Fidelity and Tiger Global, an IPO offers a crucial liquidity path. That’s especially true after that $2 billion-plus secondary sale in 2023—early investors and employees often want to cash out some chips. For the broader ad tech ecosystem, a successful Moloco IPO could signal renewed confidence and maybe open the funding taps a bit wider for other players. But it’s not happening in a vacuum. Another mobile ad tech firm, Blackstone-backed Liftoff Mobile, is already in the IPO pipeline aiming to raise up to $762 million. The market is going to be comparing these stories side-by-side. Can it support both? That’s the real question.
What Moloco Actually Does
It’s easy to get lost in the finance talk, but the company’s fundamentals matter. Moloco isn’t just another ad network. Its core pitch is an AI-powered advertising platform designed to help apps and retailers grow. They’ve also built a retail media platform to connect advertisers with retailers and a streaming monetization service. You can see their focus on their website. This diversification beyond simple mobile user acquisition is smart. It shows they’re trying to build a broader, more durable business. Their claim of profitability suggests they’ve found a model that works without just burning venture cash on user growth. That’s a solid foundation to take public, if the timing aligns.
The Broader IPO Revival Test
Ultimately, Moloco’s potential listing is another data point in the “Is the IPO market back?” experiment. The last few years have been brutal for new issues. But with giants like SpaceX potentially in the wings, the atmosphere is changing. Moloco, as a profitable, mid-sized tech firm, represents a different kind of test than a flashy, loss-making consumer app. Its performance would tell us a lot about institutional appetite for solid, if less glamorous, B2B software businesses. If they go through with it and it goes well, it could pave the way for a whole cohort of similar companies. But if it stumbles, it might remind everyone that public investors are still a tough crowd. We’ll have to wait and see.
