Blinkist, a Berlin, Germany-based app that delivers key insights from non-fiction books in 15-minute text and audio blinks, raised €4m in Series A funding.
The round was co-led by New York-based Greycroft Partners and the European team of the global VC firm e.ventures with participation from IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft and MGO Digital Ventures.
The company intends to use the funds to marketing efforts, accelerate product development and build partnerships with publishers in Europe and the US.
Founded by Tobias Balling, Niklas Jansen, Sebastian Klein and CEO Holger Seim in 2012, Blinkist aims to help people fit more reading and learning into their daily routines by taking nonfiction books and presenting their key insights in a bite-sized, made-for-mobile format. Each insight is called a “blink”, and an entire set of “blinks” from a book takes up to 15 minutes to listen to or read.
There are over 1,000 books on the platform right now, with more than 40 new titles added each month, read by over 30,000 subscribers from over 130 countries.
The company has closed partnerships with publishers such as Wiley and Random House Germany, and is pursuing further agreements with international authors and publishing groups.
Blinkist is available on iOS, Android, Kindle and the web.
FinSMEs
08/01/2016