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§ Private Profile · New York City, NY, USA
SaaS platform providing no/low-code tools for media companies to build, manage, and distribute OTT video apps across platforms.
Applicaster is a New York software company providing a cloud platform for media organizations to build, manage, and distribute custom OTT video applications across mobile and connected television devices without extensive coding. Operating on a B2B SaaS subscription model, the enterprise generates approximately $5.1 million in annual revenue, maintains an estimated valuation of $16.4 million, and has secured $67 million in total venture funding to date. The company currently powers streaming applications that have served more than three billion users globally for a prominent client roster featuring major broadcasting and entertainment entities, including The Walt Disney Company, ViacomCBS, and FOX Networks. Institutional backing for the platform has been provided by prominent venture capital firms such as Viola Growth, 83North, and Pitango Venture Capital. Applicaster was originally founded in 2009 by Jonathan Laor and Neer Friedman.
Applicaster has raised $62.0M across 4 funding rounds.
Applicaster has raised $62.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Applicaster has raised $62.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Applicaster's investors include Eran Westman, 83North, Capnamic Ventures, Episode 1 Ventures, Iris Capital, Kompas VC, P101, Viola Ventures, La Maison, Pitango Venture Capital, Planven Entrepreneur Ventures, Saban Ventures.
Applicaster is a SaaS technology company that provides the Zapp platform, a no/low-code solution for broadcasters, content publishers, OTT providers, and media companies to build, deploy, manage, and monetize streaming apps across mobile, TV, web, and connected devices.[1][2][3][6] Zapp addresses the challenges of traditional developer-dependent app development by enabling scalable, customizable OTT apps with remote configuration, server-driven UI/UX, advanced analytics, personalization, and integrations with over 50 third-party services like Comcast, Adobe, AWS, and Viacom—serving clients such as The Walt Disney Company, ViacomCBS, ProSiebenSat.1, and Urban One.[2][4][6][7] The platform solves key pain points like code reusability, operational efficiency, multi-platform management, and rapid post-launch updates, powering thousands of apps for tens of millions of users worldwide while eliminating vendor lock-in and developer dependencies.[1][3][6]
Applicaster demonstrates strong growth momentum, with a global team across 12 countries, recent $11 million funding to fuel technology and customer expansion amid surging streaming demand, and innovations like the Quick Brick framework that slashes time-to-market by removing multi-language coding needs.[1][3][4]
Founded in 2009, Applicaster began by building custom apps for media brands worldwide, drawing on the founders' deep expertise in technology and media—collectively around 15 years of app experience at the time.[1][3] The team, composed of industry veterans who had firsthand encountered inefficiencies in traditional app management (such as scaling development, reusing code across platforms, and handling multiple apps), developed the Zapp SaaS platform to streamline these processes.[1][3][8] Early traction came from solving real-world challenges for content owners in the evolving streaming economy, evolving from custom builds to a productized no/low-code solution that has since supported thousands of app launches globally.[1][3]
This origin humanizes Applicaster as a problem-solver born from practitioner pain points, with a global team now spanning 12 countries and continuous evolution to meet streaming market demands.[1][3]
Applicaster stands out in the OTT app space through Zapp's unique blend of scalability, flexibility, and professional-grade customization. Key strengths include:
Compared to other OTT solutions, Zapp excels in balancing speed, choice, flexibility, and cost over purely templated or fully custom approaches.[3]
Applicaster rides the explosive growth of OTT and streaming, where digital content has become essential for media, sports, and publishing amid cord-cutting and global audience fragmentation—market forces amplified by demand for personalized, multi-device experiences.[1][2][3][6] Its timing is ideal in a post-pandemic era of record streaming adoption, enabling broadcasters to pivot from linear TV to agile digital strategies without heavy engineering lifts.[1][4] By democratizing app development via no-code tools, Applicaster influences the ecosystem by accelerating innovation for mid-tier players, fostering richer monetization (e.g., via engagement tools and data), and integrating with giants like Comcast and Disney to standardize scalable media delivery.[2][4][7] This positions it as a key enabler in the shift to direct-to-consumer models, reducing barriers for content owners in a $100B+ streaming market.
Applicaster is primed for expansion as streaming fragmentation intensifies, with Zapp's roadmap likely delivering AI-driven personalization, deeper Web3 integrations, and broader CTV support to capture more enterprise clients.[1][4][6] Trends like server-side ad insertion, global 5G rollout, and live sports streaming will amplify its momentum, potentially doubling app deployments amid ongoing funding and partnerships.[4] Its influence may evolve from niche OTT specialist to foundational platform in a unified media tech stack, empowering more brands to own their audiences—building directly on its 2009 roots in solving developer bottlenecks for a truly app-centric streaming future.[1][3]
Applicaster has raised $62.0M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $11.0M Series D in July 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2020 | $11M Series D | Eran Westman | 83North, Capnamic Ventures, Episode 1 Ventures, Iris Capital, KOMPAS VC, P101, Viola Ventures, LA Maison, Pitango Venture Capital, Planven Entrepreneur Ventures, Saban Ventures | Announced |
| Mar 26, 2019 | $20M Venture Round | Eran Westman | 83North, Pitango Venture Capital, Planven Entrepreneur Ventures, Saban Ventures | Announced |
| Mar 1, 2019 | $20M Series C | Viola Growth | 83North, Capnamic Ventures, Episode 1 Ventures, Iris Capital, KOMPAS VC, P101, Viola Ventures, Pitango Venture Capital, Planven Entrepreneur Ventures, Saban Ventures | Announced |
| Feb 1, 2015 | $11M Series B | Isaac Hillel | 83North, Capnamic Ventures, Episode 1 Ventures, Iris Capital, KOMPAS VC, P101 | Announced |