AppLovin entered the year with a market cap of about $13 billion and was best known for investing in a collection of mobile gaming studios that had produced titles like "Woody Block Puzzle," "Clockmaker" and "Bingo Story."
As it exits the year, AppLovin's valuation has soared past $110 billion, making it worth more than Starbucks, Intel and Airbnb. At Tuesday's close, AppLovin shares are up 758% this year, far surpassing all other tech companies.
While AppLovin went public in 2021, riding a Covid-era wave of excitement in online games, the business is now centered around online ads and booming profits from advancements in AI.