This piece is about Taboola, a company that recommends 'you may also like' content at the bottom of news websites, helping them make money. The founder says Taboola's value isn't being first but executing better, by deeply integrating with publishers, building its own tech, and creating a hard-to-copy network effect. He's optimistic about the open web ad market, seeing traditional banner ads as ripe for replacement. Key holdings mentioned: Taboola itself (2020 revenue $1.2B, 500M daily users), Connexity (acquired to enter the $35B e-commerce recommendation market), and Samsung (partner for pre-installed news recommendations in Brazil).
Taboola is a content recommendation engine for the open web, serving publishers such as CNBC and Bloomberg, reaching over 500 million daily users. The core thesis is that Taboola’s value proposition differs from Facebook and Google, focusing on helping publishers improve ad yield and ex-TAC (traffic
Adam Singolda (Founder & CEO of Taboola) articulates the company's positioning as an open-web content recommendation engine — distinct from the closed ecosystems of Google and Facebook, and focused on helping publishers improve advertising yield and ex-TAC net revenue. Core thesis: Taboola's value lies not in being "first to market," but in "executing better" — by deeply integrating with publishers, building a full-stack technology in-house, and securing long-term exclusive partnerships, it has constructed the most difficult-to-replicate two-sided market network effects in the open web.
Adam Singolda argues that Taboola addresses the discovery need of "what you don’t know you need," complementing Google.
> "You go to Google if you know what you want, but what happens if you have no idea what you're supposed to be doing next?" — meaning Taboola fills the discovery scenario of "no clear intent."
Singolda emphasizes that Taboola’s advertising value derives from “publishers’ trust endorsement,” rather than social relationships or search intent.
Comparison data:
| Dimension | Taboola | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User intent | Discovery without clear intent | Social interaction | Active search |
| Ad environment | Trusted publisher sites | Social feed | Search results page |
| Payment model | 90% cost-per-click | Hybrid model | Cost-per-click/impression |
| Relationship with publishers | Exclusive long-term partnerships + tech services | Competitive (traffic redirected to platform) | Ad network relationship |
Singolda believes that Taboola's moat lies in the network effect formed by the combination of "self-built full stack," "deep AI," and "long-term exclusive partnerships."
> "The more publishers you have, you're reaching more consumers. People are clicking on Taboola more. You capture more data. You become more efficient. Your AI gets smarter." (More publishers, more consumer reach, more clicks, more data, smarter AI, more successful advertisers, higher revenue, attracting more publishers.) — This implies a classic two-sided market flywheel.
Singolda outlines Taboola's ten-year vision—expanding from news recommendations to e-commerce, gaming, apps, and embedding into terminals such as phones, TVs, and cars.
Risks and Uncertainties:
| Position | Analyst View | Key Data |
|---|---|---|
| Taboola (TBLA) | Bullish (founder's perspective) | 2020 revenue $1.2B, ex-TAC $400M, adjusted EBITDA $100M+; 500M daily active users, 1 trillion monthly recommendations |
| Outbrain | Neutral (merger attempt failed) | Merger terminated due to pandemic; both sides "became better separately" |
| Connexity | Bullish (acquisition target) | Entering the U.S. $35B e-commerce recommendation market |
| Google/Facebook/Amazon | Competitive/comparison benchmark | The three largest advertising companies in the U.S.; Taboola's scale is far smaller |
| Samsung | Partner | Pre-installed Taboola news recommendations in Brazil |
1. “35% of Taboola equals 120% of the competition” (Adam Singolda) — Publishers are willing to accept a higher revenue share because Taboola delivers higher absolute revenue and provides free technology services (editorial tools, content loop recommendations).
2. “Google is ‘you know what you want,’ Taboola is ‘you don’t know what you want’” (Adam Singolda) — This is the fundamental difference between Taboola and search, and the reason for its existence: filling discovery scenarios with no clear intent.
3. “What I care about is whether Taboola is competitive; financial metrics will follow” (Adam Singolda) — The 14-year CEO emphasizes long-term competitive positioning over short-term financial optimization, investing $100 million annually in R&D to maintain AI leadership.
4. “We will never become a consumer company, and we will never compete with publishers” (Adam Singolda) — This is the key distinction between Taboola and social platforms (Facebook/Google): a B2B positioning ensures alignment of interests with publishers.
5. “SmartBid covers 80-90% of the business, and the system automatically determines bids for advertisers” (Adam Singolda) — AI-driven smart bidding is the core mechanism for Taboola to improve advertiser ROI and a key part of its technological moat.
6. “50% of clicks are free recommendations for the site’s own content, and we do not charge for this” (Adam Singolda) — This is both an investment in user experience and a data acquisition strategy — the free service makes publishers’ editorial teams dependent on Taboola, deepening the partnership.
7. “The biggest threat is ourselves — if the culture changes due to success, that is the beginning of the end” (Adam Singolda) — The founder views organizational culture (transparency, flat structure, empathy) as the most irreplicable competitive advantage.
8. “If publishers do not have an e-commerce business, they will be at risk in three to five years” (Adam Singolda) — The logic behind acquiring Connexity: e-commerce recommendations are the next growth curve for publishers, and Taboola aims to become the infrastructure.