AppLike
AppLike Group is a Hamburg-headquartered, Bertelsmann-backed mobile app growth platform operating four subsidiaries (adjoe, Sunday, justDice, justtrack) that deliver mobile advertising, rewarded ad solutions, hybrid casual game publishing, and MMP analytics to app publishers and game developers globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersHamburg, Germany
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What AppLike does
AppLike Group GmbH is a Hamburg-headquartered mobile app growth platform operating as a holding company for four independent business units: adjoe (mobile advertising — rewarded and programmatic), Sunday (hybrid casual mobile games publisher), justDice (rewarded mobile gaming products and loyalty programs), and justtrack (Mobile Measurement Partner / MMP). Founded around 2016 by Carlo Szelinsky and Jonas Thiemann, the group is backed by Bertelsmann, which committed €100 million in 2022 to support global expansion. The company serves mobile app publishers and game developers, helping them acquire and monetize users through a portfolio of proprietary ad products (Playtime, Arcade, adjoe Ads), in-house game titles, and measurement infrastructure.
The underlying technology stack is built on Go, Kafka, Kinesis, Druid, MySQL, React, TypeScript, and DynamoDB, with TensorFlow-based ML models powering real-time ad distribution under a 100ms latency constraint. adjoe processes 440 million+ daily ad events and handles 5.5 billion daily API requests across installs, events, views, clicks, and postbacks from Mobile Measurement Partners, while custom Android and iOS SDKs analyze device integrity for anti-fraud purposes. justtrack provides attribution, fraud prevention, and analytics to publishers. The platform serves 770 million+ mobile users globally, and Sunday has accumulated 500 million+ game downloads — more than any other Germany-based mobile gaming company, according to the company.
AppLike monetizes primarily through advertising revenue (programmatic in-app bidding via adjoe Ads and rewarded ad placements via Playtime/Arcade), mobile game publishing (Sunday), and subscription/SaaS-style recurring revenue (justtrack MMP, justDice loyalty programs). Customer segments are horizontal across app publishers and game developers of all sizes, with distribution via direct enterprise field sales (adjoe Publisher Sales and Demand Partnerships teams), technical account management for complex integrations, and channel partnerships such as the GetJacked integration with Shopify merchant loyalty programs. The company has 400+ employees across offices in Hamburg, Boston, Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, São Paulo, and Sydney, and adjoe reached unicorn status in 2024.
AppLike firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AppLike
- Legal name
- AppLike Group GmbH
- Website
- https://applike-group.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- AppLike Group is a Hamburg-headquartered, Bertelsmann-backed mobile app growth platform operating four subsidiaries (adjoe, Sunday, justDice, justtrack) that deliver mobile advertising, rewarded ad solutions, hybrid casual game publishing, and MMP analytics to app publishers and game developers globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AppLike industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Advertising Technology (AdTech)
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181), Media Buying Agencies (541830), Software Publishers (5132), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Offerwalls, Rewards & Performance Monetization (UA-linked payouts) (MPAFAJAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Mobile & App Performance Marketing (UA, App Store Ads) (BPAFACAF), In-Game Advertising & AdTech (networks, mediation, measurement) (MPAFAJAH), Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)
Keywords
Where AppLike is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hamburg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices7 records
Markets served
AppLike business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- In-app advertising (Rewarded Ads): App publishers acquire users and monetize their user base through adjoe's rewarded advertising products including Playtime and Arcade. Users earn in-app rewards for engaging with ads, creating a value exchange between advertisers, publishers, and users. adjoe also earns revenue through programmatic ad bidding via adjoe Ads.
- Mobile games publishing: Sunday publishes hybrid casual mobile games to millions of players globally. justDice builds and scales rewarded mobile gaming products.
- Mobile loyalty programs: justDice operates loyalty programs for mobile gaming, rewarding users for engagement and providing publishers with retention tools.
- justtrack MMP subscription: Mobile Measurement Partner platform helping publishers manage and scale growth through attribution, fraud prevention, and analytics. SaaS/ subscription model for measurement tools.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
AppLike product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AppLike Group operates a portfolio of mobile app growth businesses: adjoe runs a global rewarded and programmatic in-app advertising platform (Playtime, Arcade, adjoe Ads) serving 770M+ users; Sunday publishes hybrid casual mobile games with 500M+ downloads; justDice builds rewarded mobile gaming and loyalty products; and justtrack provides a Mobile Measurement Partner platform for attribution, campaign measurement, fraud prevention, and analytics. The company's products help app publishers acquire new users and monetize their user base worldwide, primarily through advertising revenue and SaaS subscriptions.
Product overview
AppLike Group is a leading independent app growth platform operating as a portfolio of four distinct companies under the umbrella of Bertelsmann. The ecosystem comprises adjoe (a mobile advertising platform with rewarded and programmatic solutions including Playtime, Arcade, and adjoe Ads serving 770M+ users), justDice (mobile gaming loyalty and reward platforms with 20+ apps), Sunday (hybrid casual mobile games publisher with 500M+ downloads), and justtrack (a Mobile Measurement Partner for attribution, analytics, and fraud prevention). These ventures function as independent business units that benefit from shared technologies, expertise, and market access.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- adjoe: Mobile advertising platform developing rewarded and programmatic advertising solutions (Playtime, Arcade, adjoe Ads) serving over 770 million mobile users globally.
- Sunday
- justDice
- justtrack
Products and services
- adjoe Mobile advertising platform introducing new ways for apps to monetize and scale through rewarded and programmatic advertising, serving over 770 million mobile users globally with solutions including Playtime, Arcade, and adjoe Ads.
- Playtime Rewarded advertising ad unit allowing users to earn real in-app rewards for engaging with new apps, part of the world's leading rewarded advertising channel.
- Arcade Rewarded advertising product providing engaging mobile gaming experiences where users earn rewards, part of the fastest-growing rewarded advertising channel globally.
- adjoe Ads Programmatic in-app advertising platform featuring an intelligent bidding system that enables advertisers to reach users at scale through automated, real-time ad buying.
- Sunday Next-generation hybrid casual mobile game publisher creating accessible, emotionally engaging mobile games with 500M+ global downloads, more installs than any other Germany-based mobile gaming company.
- justDice Builds and scales rewarded mobile gaming products used by millions of players worldwide, with 20+ apps in portfolio combining product thinking, experimentation, and fast execution.
- justtrack Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) platform helping app and game publishers manage and scale global growth through attribution, campaign measurement, fraud prevention, revenue tracking, and real-time analytics.
Quantifiable outcome
- 770 million mobile users served globally with personalized ad experiences
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use AppLike
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
AppLike technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
AppLike partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- GetJackedcoreGetJacked, a Shopify loyalty platform, entered a global partnership with adjoe to direct approximately $2 billion annually in Applike's gaming user acquisition demand into Shopify merchant loyalty programs at no cost to merchants. This addresses the rise in customer acquisition costs, which have increased 222% over 8 years, with brands losing an average of $29 per new customer.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights7 records
AppLike competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Adjust: Adjust is a major MMP providing attribution, fraud prevention, and analytics for app marketers, directly comparable to justtrack's MMP functionality within AppLike's portfolio.
- AppsFlyer: AppsFlyer is a leading Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) offering attribution and analytics, directly comparable to AppLike's justtrack subsidiary on the measurement side of the stack.
Direct peers
- Tapjoy: Tapjoy operates one of the largest rewarded advertising and offerwall platforms for mobile apps, directly competing with adjoe's Playtime and Arcade on rewarded engagement and UA demand for app publishers.
- ironSource (Unity): ironSource, now part of Unity, runs a leading rewarded video and mediation platform for app monetization, directly comparable to adjoe's rewarded and programmatic bidding stack.
- AppLovin: AppLovin offers an integrated mobile ad tech and gaming publishing platform (including AXON and rewarded formats), making it a direct competitor to AppLike's adjoe + Sunday combination.
- Liftoff: Liftoff (formed via the Vungle and Rocket Fuel merger) provides rewarded video and programmatic UA solutions for app marketers, directly comparable to adjoe's rewarded and programmatic ad offerings.
Broad incumbents
- Unity Technologies: Unity is a broader AdTech and game engine incumbent through Unity Ads and ironSource, overlapping with adjoe's rewarded/programmatic platform and Sunday's hybrid casual publishing, but at much greater scale and across a wider portfolio.
- Digital Turbine: Digital Turbine delivers mobile ad/media solutions including rewarded and on-device app discovery, comparable in scope to adjoe and GetJacked partnerships but operating at broader device-carrier scale.
Emerging players
- Moloco: Moloco is an ML-driven programmatic DSP for mobile and CTV, with overlap on adjoe's programmatic in-app bidding (adjoe Ads) but focused on broader advertiser use cases beyond rewarded.
- Chartboost: Chartboost provides programmatic in-app advertising and mediation for mobile game publishers, overlapping with adjoe's programmatic bidding and publisher monetization offerings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
AppLike social profiles
Digital presenceAppLike compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
AppLike financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AppLike leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
AppLike subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
AppLike funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AppLike M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AppLike
What does AppLike do?
AppLike Group operates a portfolio of mobile app growth businesses: adjoe runs a global rewarded and programmatic in-app advertising platform (Playtime, Arcade, adjoe Ads) serving 770M+ users; Sunday publishes hybrid casual mobile games with 500M+ downloads; justDice builds rewarded mobile gaming and loyalty products; and justtrack provides a Mobile Measurement Partner platform for attribution, campaign measurement, fraud prevention, and analytics. The company's products help app publishers acquire new users and monetize their user base worldwide, primarily through advertising revenue and SaaS subscriptions.
Is AppLike a public or private company?
AppLike is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was AppLike founded?
AppLike was founded in 2016. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is AppLike based?
AppLike is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does AppLike make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. In-app advertising (Rewarded Ads) is the primary driver. The others are mobile games publishing, mobile loyalty programs and justtrack MMP subscription.
Who are AppLike's main competitors?
Others on record are Adjust and AppsFlyer. Direct peers are Tapjoy, ironSource (Unity), AppLovin and Liftoff. Broad incumbents are Unity Technologies and Digital Turbine. Emerging players are Moloco and Chartboost.
Does AppLike have an API?
No public API is recorded for AppLike.
What industry is AppLike in?
AppLike's product category is Mobile Advertising Technology (AdTech). Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAJAI, Offerwalls, Rewards & Performance Monetization (UA-linked payouts), with a secondary code of BPAFACAF, Mobile & App Performance Marketing (UA, App Store Ads). Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7310.