China strategically important market, says Moloco

Moloco, a US-based artificial intelligence and advertising technology company, views China as one of its most dynamic and strategically important markets, with its cofounder and CEO Ikkjin Ahn describing Chinese enterprises as some of the fastest-moving and most innovation-driven in the world.

"The China market is very important for us. We are working with Chinese companies, and also Chinese founder-led companies globally," Ahn said in an exclusive interview with China Daily recently. "We're really impressed by how fast Chinese companies are adopting new technologies, developing products, and keeping up with what's going on in the global market — with a lot of courage."

Founded in 2013, the startup has rapidly expanded its footprint in China, doubling the size of its local team and moving into a new Beijing office this year. Ahn said this expansion reflects both the company's business growth and its confidence in China's long-term digital and AI potential.

"We've grown our team size in China by almost 10 times over the last two years. And yes, we will continue to hire more people in this market and expand our support," Ahn said, noting that its local revenue has also seen strong momentum.

Moloco provides AI-driven advertising and monetization solutions to drive growth for businesses, including major Chinese clients such as Tencent, NetEase and Xiaomi, and helps them improve campaign performance through deep learning and real-time optimization.

Ahn praised the high level of technological sophistication among Chinese clients, saying they often lead in adopting and testing new AI-driven marketing models.

"Our Chinese clients actually have the strongest appetite to try any new product we are introducing. Many of them have tried out new AI models, even when the market was just testing them," he said. "One of our top clients has 70 percent of its employees in product and engineering — that's unique."

He added that Chinese enterprises' openness to experimentation makes them ideal partners for innovation. "We can be a product testbed for Chinese private partners."

Despite global economic headwinds, Ahn said he remains "very optimistic" about China's economic prospects and innovation potential.

"When things are changing, those who can adapt fast and work hard can actually turn those changes into opportunities. And I see that a lot of our Chinese clients are using this uncertain time as an opportunity — by adapting fast and piloting new innovations," he said.

China's innovation capacity has risen rapidly over the past few years.

According to the "Global Innovation Index 2025" report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China has risen to 10th place in the global innovation ranking for 2025, up one spot from last year, marking its first entry into the top 10.

Fostering new quality productive forces, notably technological innovation, digital transformation and emerging industries, will likely form the backbone of China's economic development during the next five years, said Zhang Jun, chief economist at China Galaxy Securities.

Zhang's views were echoed by Ahn, who added that China's AI ecosystem and talent base will continue to drive growth in the coming years.

"I believe we're standing at the edge of another inflection point — something huge in promoting efficiency through AI and similar technologies. In this space, China is definitely leading the industry, especially starting from the people," Ahn said. "That's what makes me quite optimistic about China's growth."

Ahn also welcomed China's ongoing efforts to promote high-standard opening-up and foreign investment, citing reforms that have made it easier for companies like Moloco to invest and operate.

"We definitely welcome those efforts. They've made it a lot easier to make market investment decisions. And I also see many Chinese companies recognizing the importance of global operations and learning global best practices faster than anyone else," he said.

According to Ahn, Moloco's technology has supported many Chinese companies' global expansion, particularly in emerging markets such as India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Brazil.

He also noted that Chinese companies are maturing in their globalization strategies, moving away from rapid expansion to more refined, focused operations. "I'm happy to see that many newer-generation Chinese companies are going deeper within their verticals, instead of expanding too broadly. That's actually a key strength companies need when they go global," he said.

As Moloco deepens its investment in China, Ahn reiterated his confidence in the market's long-term potential. "China has a huge upside — such strong potential. Even if we see some macro-level slowdowns, I believe China's long-term internet and technology growth will more than offset those challenges," he said.