[asdf000333]

You can look at what percentage of each big tech company's revenue is ads or how much they've spent on their advertising platforms.

[throw10920]

That not related to the claim about engineering talent.

[asdf000333]

The talent follows the money. Consider what was hottest during the 2000s-2010s tech boom, startups offering free services with the value proposition of eventual data collection for ads.

Maybe also look at value instead of revenue, in terms of public market caps or private acquisitions. At least Facebook's $1.48T market cap is derived from ads.