ironSource Growth Playbook
Turning apps into businesses.
Mediation
Top
Strategy
Installers
The Spark
Started in Israel as an installer for desktop software, they realized the true 'Gold Mine' was in 'App Distribution' and 'Monetization' rather than just the code itself.
The Growth Engine
The 'LevelPlay' Neutral Mediation Moat & The 'Aura' OS-Level Distribution: ironSource (now part of Unity) tacticaly won by being the 'Switzerland' of ad networks. Their growth engine is 'The LevelPlay Mediation'—allowing devs to run auctions between Unity, Google, and Meta simultaneously to maximize revenue. By launching 'Aura'—software that comes pre-installed on Samsung and carrier phones—they captured the customer the moment they turned on their device. Their expansion relies on the 'App-Lifecycle-Bundle'—offering everything from testing to monetization in one platform, making 'Switching Costs' too high for developers to leave.