Israel startup Applicaster today announced a $20 million growth financing round led by Viola Growth, the Viola Group's growth fund, with participation from 83North Venture Capital and existing investors, among them Pitango Venture Capital, Saban Ventures, and Planven Investments. The current round brings the amount raised by the company to $60 million. Applicaster has developed a platform for media companies for building applications to distribute content.
Applicaster, founded in 2011 by CEO Jonathan Laor and CTO Neer Friedman, works with broadcasting agencies and television networks to develop and produce applications designed to connect viewers to television programs and get them more involved with the content.
The company operates a software as a service (SaaS) platform for managing applications for media companies, including tools for building and maintaining applications that make it possible to transmit content directly to the consumer on telephones, tablets, and smart television sets in a suitable manner for the various interfaces. The platform makes it possible to build and change the applications with a click, thereby providing Applicaster's customers with flexibility and speed.
Applicaster does not disclose its revenue, but Laor says that the company has 100 customers, including Fox, DirecTV, and Viacom. Applicaster currently has 100 employees: 40 in Israel and the rest in New York, London, Miami, and San Jose. Following the financing round, the company plans to increase its staff in Israel by 20 employees, mainly in sales, product, and development.
"The media market today has giant players like Netflix and companies like it with huge development centers. The other companies are essentially not technology companies," says Viola Growth partner Eran Westman, who joined Applicaster's board of directors after the financing round. "These companies are constantly competing for users, and I believe that this trend will intensify, because everyone wants to give better service and more interesting applications that will earn them more money. What Applicaster does is to give those companies technological capabilities - a platform that will make it much easier for them to build and maintain an application, including analytics, software updates, and so forth."
Founded: 2011
Founders: CEO Jonathan Laor and CTO Neer Friedman
Employees: 100: 40 in Israel and the rest in New York, London, Miami, and San Jose
Capital raised: $60 million
Investors: 83 North Venture Capital, Viola Growth, Pitango Venture Capital, Saban Ventures, and Planven Investments
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 26, 2019
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