AppLovin shares surge on OpenAI rumor
Shares in a company will often surge when there is tangible news that bolsters the confidence of investors about the direction its business is heading.
But for adtech company AppLovin Corporation (APP), a recent rally in its stock is happening based in part on pure speculation.
A rumor started last week from a post on X by Jonah Lupton, CEO and CIO at Lupton Capital, who apparently gained some intel off of OpenAI's current capital raising campaign ahead of its highly anticipated IPO, which is expected to happen later this year.
Lupton said that "according to my source (works at very large institutional firm), OpenAI mentioned today on their capital raise call that they're now starting to work with $APP (Applovin) on monetizing ChatGPT through ads."
There were several other social media accounts that also indicated this being mentioned during OpenAI's capital raise call, but neither OpenAI nor AppLovin have confirmed that they have formed a partnership.
Lupton said that his "primary source is legit" and added that it "sounds like it could be huge if true."
AppLovin's stock has gained over 14% over the past five trading sessions after sinking nearly 38% so far this year.
The collaboration would make sense as OpenAI is under enormous pressure to begin monetizing its business, especially since it is set to spend $1.4 trillion over the next eight years with no clear path to generating the kind of revenue to make up for that kind of massive expenditure.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman issued a "code red" warning last year to his company about the mounting competition it is facing, particularly from Google's (GOOG) Gemini. It's a competition that presumably becomes even more daunting because of Google's massive ad business that it can integrate into Gemini.
In addition to the rumor about its partnership with OpenAI, AppLovin's shares have gotten a boost on the company's plans to build its own social networking platform. While the company hasn't confirmed its plans in an official capacity, a senior executive for the company detailed its plans on a Chinese-language podcast called "Valley 101," as Bloomberg noted.
“We aim to build a completely new next-generation social media platform,” AppLovin's chief product and engineering officer Giovanni Ge said in the podcast.
The company actually has a job posting for a software engineer related to this venture.
AppLovin notes in the job posting that "we're pioneering the future of social connectivity by building a next-generation platform that redefines how people create, share and engage with content."
"This new venture represents a unique opportunity to architect the foundational systems that will power immersive social experiences for millions of users," the company said.
The plan to build a social networking platform comes after AppLovin lost out on its bid to acquire TikTok's business outside of China.
AppLovin's shares have taken a hit over the past year after it was subject to multiple short-seller reports in 2025 that accused it of various fraudulent advertising schemes. The company has also been under investigation by multiple state regulators in the United States that are focused on the Silicon Valley company’s data collection practices.