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Company type | Public |
---|---|
Nasdaq First North: ACAST | |
Industry | |
Founded | 2013 |
Founder |
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Headquarters | , Sweden |
Area served | Worldwide |
Services |
|
Number of employees | 386 [1] |
Subsidiaries | Podchaser,
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Website | acast |
Acast is a Swedish-founded company that provides hosting, monetization and growth support for podcasts, and podcast advertising solutions for brands and media agencies. Launching in 2014, [2] it developed a dynamic insertion technology which can target advertising within podcasts based on location, time, and personal data. [3] The company champions an independent and open ecosystem for podcasting, where podcasts hosted with Acast are available on all podcast listening apps. [4] Acast was founded by Karl Rosander and Måns Ulvestam in 2013; [5] [6] together with Johan Billgren as co-founder. [7] Acast hosts over 88,000 podcasts, with over 430 million listens every month. The company operates worldwide with a physical presence in 15 countries, and has its headquarters in Stockholm. [8]
In addition to the founders, Bonnier has also invested in the company. [9] In 2018, additional investors stepped in with more than $67 million. In 2019, the European Investment Bank invested 25 million euros in Acast, [10] and on 17 June 2021, Acast was listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier Market at a valuation of approximately SEK 7 billion. [11]
Acast enables digital publishers to insert ads targeting niche audiences. [12] [13] The platform distributes, monetizes and markets podcasts including My Dad Wrote A Porno, The Adam Buxton Podcast and Shagged Married Annoyed, as well as publishers including The Guardian , The Economist , Vice , Vogue and the Financial Times . [14] [15]
In 2014, four months after launch, Acast was named Start-up of the Year by IDG magazine, Internetworld , [16] and ‘Most innovative media service’ at the mobile industry awards Mobilgalan . [17]
In May 2015, Acast closed a $5m Series A funding round, led by Bonnier Growth Media. This was supplemented by an undisclosed follow-on investment from early-stage venture capital firm MOOR, owned by Kaj Hed, majority owner of Rovio Entertainment. [12] [18]
In 2016, Acast launched a paid subscription service called Acast+. [19]
In December 2018 the company raised $35 million from AP1 and Swedbank Robur (sv) funds Ny Teknik and Microcap in Series C funding. This has brought total funding to more than $67 million. [20] In 2019, Acast acquired Pippa, another podcast hosting platform. [21]
Since 2019, Acast has offered a free hosting tier for podcasts. [22] The European Investment Bank invested €25 million in Acast in 2019. [23]
In early 2021, Acast announced the acquisition of RadioPublic, a Boston-based startup founded by the public radio organization PRX. [24] [25]
In April 2021, rumours about an IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm surfaced. [26] Founders Rosander and Ulvestam sold their last shares earlier in 2021, to fund their new startup Sesamy . [27] Queerstories joined the Acast Creator Network in May 2021. [28] [29] [30]
In March 2022, Acast announced that they would discontinue their podcast client app. The company cited its decreased importance as a source of user data and their preference for platform-independence in the decision. [31] [32]
In July 2022, Acast signed an agreement to acquire Podchaser, a platform-agnostic podcast database with user reviews, for $27 million by August 2022. [33] [34] [35]
In August 2022, Acast was ranked #2 in Podtrac's ranking of ad sales networks for podcasts in the US. [36]
In November 2022, Acast entered into a partnership with Amazon. Through the agreement Amazon Music bought all advertising space for thousands of Acast's podcasts, allowing Amazon customers to listen to those shows ad-free. [37]
In February 2024, RadioPublic announced their app would close permanently at the end of March. [38] After that date, RadioPublic show links began redirecting to the same shows on Podchaser.
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