In-app advertising market growth to reach $933 billion by 2035

The projected expansion of the in-app advertising market signals a massive shift toward mobile-first monetization strategies for streaming services. As video ads and rewarded formats become the primary revenue drivers, platforms must integrate AI-driven optimization to maintain engagement amid tightening privacy regulations. This growth connects to the broader ecosystem by forcing a convergence between mobile apps and Connected TV, as advertisers seek unified measurement across screens. The rise of shoppable formats within these apps further blurs the line between content consumption and direct commerce. Watch for whether the Middle East and Africa hit their projected 11.40% growth rate as smartphone adoption accelerates in emerging markets.

AppLovin has emerged as a dominant force in the in-app advertising ecosystem, with its AI-powered ad platform driving substantial revenue growth. In Q2 2025, AppLovin reported revenue of $1.27 billion, up 77% year over year, fueled by its Axon 2.0 machine-learning engine that optimizes ad targeting and creative delivery across mobile apps. The company's market capitalization crossed $150 billion in mid-2025, placing it among the largest ad-tech firms globally. Unity Technologies, meanwhile, has been restructuring its advertising division to compete. Unity announced in March 2025 that it would cut approximately 25% of its workforce as part of a broader effort to refocus on its core ad monetization stack and reduce costs after the ironSource integration underperformed expectations. The regulatory and privacy landscape continues to reshape how in-app advertising platforms operate. Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework, introduced in 2021, remains a structural headwind for third-party data targeting. Google confirmed in January 2025 that it would not deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome, reversing its earlier timeline and creating a more permissive environment for web-based ad targeting relative to mobile. However, mobile app developers still face iOS privacy constraints, pushing the industry toward contextual signals and first-party data strategies. Meta Platforms has responded by investing heavily in Advantage+ AI ad tools that automate creative and audience selection, reducing advertiser reliance on granular user-level targeting. Amazon Ads has similarly expanded its mobile in-app inventory through its DSP, adding over 100 new premium app partners in 2025 to compete with Google and Meta for programmatic mobile budgets. On the technical side, rewarded video and playable ad formats are outperforming traditional banner and interstitial units in engagement metrics. InMobi reported in its 2025 Global Mobile Advertising Trends report that rewarded video ads achieved a 48% higher completion rate than standard video formats across its network of over 4 billion monthly active users. The shift toward shoppable ad formats within apps is also accelerating. Google launched its Performance Max for app campaigns in early 2025, combining AI-driven bidding with shoppable creative templates that allow users to purchase directly from in-app ad units. These technical advances in format and optimization are central to the market growth projections, as advertisers increasingly allocate budgets based on measurable return rather than reach alone.