Episode 152: Jim Payne is back! His new SDK lets you control monetization with AI

Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi sit down with MoPub and MAX founder Jim Payne to unpack his new company CloudX, how “monetization as code” lets mobile publishers manage their entire ad stack in files that AI can edit, why he teamed up with Meta on a secure auction using trusted execution environments, and what all of this means for SDK complexity, mobile vs desktop, AppLovin, performance TV, retail media, and the next wave of ad tech.

Takeaways

• CloudX lets mobile publishers manage their ad stack as code.
• Jim built CloudX with Meta to power a more secure mobile auction.
• Line items and targeting live in files instead of spreadsheets.
• Trusted execution environments keep bidder data locked down.
• AI agents can now traffic ads and tweak setups automatically.
• Jim looks back on Mopub, Max and big outcomes for early teams.
• The crew also breaks down Pinterest TV Scientific and other ad tech news.

Chapters

00:00 Intro and why Jim finally joins.

02:10 Jim’s path through Mopub, Max and Meta.

06:00 What monetization as code actually means.

11:30 How AI agents can traffic ads.

15:00 Secure auctions and why Meta cares.

20:30 Why messy mobile stacks need flexibility.

27:00 Jim on AppLovin and mobile versus desktop.

33:30 Jim Payne legends and big career bets.

44:00 Pinterest buys tvScientific news reaction.

52:00 DSP fees, CTV buying and meta layers.

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