The SDK advantage: How independent adtechs won mobile and are positioned to win AI-native advertising

In-app advertising was worth around USD400 billion in 2025, close to half of all online advertising spend. Yet the technologies built for web advertising do not work effectively inside apps. This report explains why software development kits (SDKs) now underpin how mobile advertising is bought, delivered and measured, and why scaled independent platforms such as AppLovin, InMobi and Liftoff are well placed to capture the next wave of supply.

The USD400 billion problem in adtech

Apps have no cookies and are isolated from one another, so web tracking and delivery methods cannot move users, data or budgets between them. SDKs solve this problem by placing the adtech platform’s code directly inside the publisher’s app, creating access to the first-party signals needed for targeting, measurement, monetisation, brand safety and fraud protection.

The report answers the following questions

• Why does adtech built for the web perform poorly inside apps?
• How does the in-app advertising value chain work, and why is the SDK at its centre?
• How do independent SDK platforms differ from walled gardens?
• Why do SDK-first platforms perform strongly on reach, delivery, results, measurement, brand safety and fraud protection?
• How do first-party data, render control and publisher scale reinforce the advantage of leading independent platforms?
• What do lockscreens, assistants, agentic surfaces and AI-native products mean for the next wave of in-app advertising?
• Why does deal activity increasingly value installed SDK footprints rather than code alone?

Who should read this report?

This is essential reading for investors assessing the in-app advertising market, advertising technology companies evaluating competitive positioning, app publishers considering monetisation partners, and businesses seeking to understand how advertising will evolve across AI-native and other emerging app-based surfaces.

Why independent SDK platforms are positioned to win

Each new publisher integration adds data, improves targeting and attracts more advertiser spend. Better results increase publisher earnings, helping the platform win the next integration. Because the SDK sits in the app’s render path, it can also carry intelligence onto the device and power real-time formats such as conversational advertising. This installed footprint is difficult to replicate and has remained valuable despite the loss of cookies and cross-app identifiers.