💡So Unity spent $4.4 billion on IronSource in 2022

They spent three years integrating it

and is now quietly replacing it with something they built themselves

Last week's Q4 earnings told the full story

ironSource is down to 11% of their ad revenue
Heading below 6% this quarter
Down $7 million sequentially

Management called it a "legacy network" on the call. Nobody even flinched

Meanwhile Vector, the AI ad platform they built inhouse, hit 56% of Grow revenue. Up from 49% two quarters ago

January was its best month ever, 72% up year on year
They're projecting a $1B+ annual run rate by end of 2026

What this means for mobile advertising:

the walled-garden platforms are consolidating...
Unity owns the engine
the runtime data
and now the ad platform
That's a closed loop

Which is exactly why independent ad networks and performance partners matter more than ever

When one platform controls the entire stack, advertisers need diversification

They need partners who work across engines, across platforms, across formats — not just within one ecosystem

Every time a platform closes its loop, the value of independent reach goes up

The $4.4B question is whether that acquisition bought them the time and talent to build Vector, or whether they could have got here without it

I have thoughts on that, but I'll save them