Imaging app developer Lightricks raises $130 million Series D
Photo and video app maker Lightricks, announced $130 million in Series D funding, comprised of $100 million in primary and $30 million in secondary funding which brings Lightricks’ total funding to-date to $335 million and the company’s latest valuation to $1.8 billion, the company said. The round was co-led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners and Hanaco Venture Capital, with participation from existing investors Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Clal Tech, Harel Insurance and Finance and Greycroft, and new investors Migdal Insurance, Altshuler Shaham, and Shavit Capital. Lightricks raised this strategic Series D to power the expansion of its suite of tools and offer more features and services for creators, further cementing its position as a leading player in the booming creator economy.
Since its founding eight years ago, the company has launched numerous popular apps, including Facetune2, Facetune Video, and Videoleap. The company’s last funding round was $135 million, which earned the company “unicorn” status.
According to Techcrunch, the company now has 29 million monthly active users across its suite of apps, where more than 5 million are paid subscribers. Its users average around 78 million monthly exports, indicating Lightricks’ sizable impact on the creator economy. In 2021, Lightricks is on track for more than $200 million in revenue and plans to grow that figure by 40% in the year ahead. The Techcrunch article added: “Currently, Lightricks has 460 employees and plans to add 60 more by the end of 2021. The longer-term goal is to grow the team to 1,000 employees by the end of 2023, across roles that include developers, designers and marketing.”
“Our mission has always been to continuously strive to bring creators the most advanced technology and help them find new ways to express themselves,” said Zeev Farbman, co-founder and CEO of Lightricks. “The rise of the creator economy has only exacerbated the need of mobile users to streamline the content creation and monetization processes. With this latest funding, we’re able to help elevate our users’ creativity and capabilities with continued advancements to our technology and offering.”
During the peak of the pandemic lockdown, Lightricks said it saw a 90 percent increase in app usage. The number of downloads for Videoleap—its most popular video editing app for professional creators—increased 70 percent since the start of the pandemic, the company said, adding a survey found nearly half of Videoleap users are exporting their creations to TikTok in pursuit of monetized content.
“We’re delighted to continue to team with Lightricks to help further professionalize the world of content creation,” said Thilo Semmelbauer, Managing Director at Insight Partners. “We look forward to Lightricks building the future of this industry by continuing to supply creators with the highest-quality, most-preferred tools and technology. Lightricks allows people to showcase their individuality and brand on social media, whether for personal self-expression or for monetization.”
“The creator economy has changed the way we, as a society, experience social networks. Audiences constantly consume information through the different content channels daily. Lightricks’ platform enables creators to have a broader, more professional and higher-quality set of tools to optimize content,” said Pasha Romanovski, Co-Founding Partner of Hanaco Ventures. “At a time when we are seeing content creators monetize content on social media at new levels, it is clear that Lightricks’ platform has the ability to create a one stop shop that will be meaningful to its users.”
Lightricks’ popular suite of apps currently includes editing tools for social media such as Facetune2, Facetune Video, and Filtertune; general creativity photo and video editing tools such as Videoleap, Motionleap, Photoleap, Artleap, Lightleap, and Beatleap: and the Boosted app which is Lightricks’ social media toolkit for small businesses.