Twitter agreed to sell its mobile advertising unit MoPub to gaming company AppLovin for $1.05 billion, as the social media giant looks to shift focus towards speedy development of core products.

Twitter explained the deal will help it accelerate the development of new services and bring growth in key areas including performance-based advertising, small and medium-sized business offerings, as well as commerce initiatives.

CEO Jack Dorsey said the move showcased the company’s “confidence in our revenue product roadmap, accelerating our ability to invest in the core products that position Twitter for long-term growth” and encourage conversations on the platform.

Double revenue
Twitter’s move is also in line with a goal to double its revenue from $3.7 billion in 2020 to $7.5 billion or more in 2023.

MoPub has generated revenue of approximately $188 million in 2020, Twitter said.

The deal is expected to close in the next few months, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.

Twitter acquired MoPub in September 2013 and at the time claimed the takeover would allow it to extend multiple types of native advertising across the mobile ecosystem and to let its advertisers automate and scale ad buys more easily.

Its sale comes shortly after Apple introduced privacy changes in iOS which allow users to opt out of tracking for advertising purposes.