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UPshow provides a comprehensive digital signage and performance marketing platform for physical businesses. It transforms on-premise screens into dynamic customer engagement centers. The platform offers tools for content creation, campaign management, and interactive experiences, enabling venues to deliver targeted messaging and entertainment, effectively engaging patrons.
Adam Hirsen and Matt Gibbs co-founded UPshow in 2015. Their insight recognized the untapped potential of in-venue screens, aiming to build an interactive consumer engagement platform. Originating as an 1871 startup, they sought to offer businesses a dynamic alternative to traditional media for audience connection.
UPshow serves diverse brick-and-mortar businesses enhancing customer experience and driving performance through digital displays. The platform empowers them to deliver relevant content, turning passive screens into active marketing channels. The company envisions becoming the premier on-premise performance marketing cloud, maximizing engagement and value for businesses leveraging physical spaces.
UPshow has raised $39.5M across 5 funding rounds.
UPshow has raised $39.5M in total across 5 funding rounds.
UPshow has raised $39.5M in total across 5 funding rounds.
UPshow's investors include Mark Gilbert, Daniel Malven, Gian Fulgoni, Rishad Tobaccowala, Jump Capital, Signature Bank, TDF Ventures, 4490 Ventures, Yelena Shkolnik, Jim Pastoriza, David Tolmie, Howard Tullman.
UPshow is a Chicago-based B2B SaaS company that provides a cloud-based digital signage and performance marketing platform, transforming existing TV screens into interactive networks for customer and employee engagement.[1][2] It serves industries like hospitality, healthcare, fitness, automotive, education, retail, and entertainment, solving the problem of underutilized in-venue screens by enabling hyper-local content delivery—such as sports, news, games, social media, and promotions—to drive foot traffic, check sizes, and loyalty.[1][2][3] With over 500 entertainment channels, A/B testing, and mobile interactivity (e.g., QR codes for surveys), UPshow demonstrated strong growth, raising $32.18M before its acquisition by EverPass in July 2024.[1][4]
Founded in 2015 in Chicago, Illinois, UPshow emerged to capitalize on the untapped potential of venue TVs for interactive marketing, allowing businesses to display messages that prompt phone-based engagement like games in bars or employee surveys.[1][4] The founders leveraged SaaS expertise to build a white-labeled platform, quickly gaining traction with features like centralized content management and integrations for real-time content from RSS feeds, social media, and pay-per-view events.[2] Early milestones included partnerships with content providers for 500+ channels and recognition as a Google Chrome Enterprise Recommended Partner, culminating in significant funding ($32.18M total, with a $10M round) and the pivotal 2024 acquisition by EverPass, which expanded its distribution (e.g., Prime Video NFL deal).[1][4]
UPshow rides the digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising and phygital experience trends, where physical venues blend screens with mobile for personalized, measurable interactions amid rising demand for in-person engagement post-pandemic.[2][5] Timing aligns with hospitality/retail recovery and content monetization (e.g., sports betting, PPV), amplified by cloud CMS scalability and low hardware needs—market forces like QR interactivity and data-driven marketing favor it over legacy signage.[1][3] It influences the ecosystem by enabling SMBs/chains to compete with apps via TV-as-a-platform, boosting loyalty programs and influencing peers toward interactive DOOH.
Post-2024 EverPass acquisition, UPshow is poised for accelerated expansion through integrated distribution deals (e.g., NFL on Prime Video) and cross-industry tools, potentially dominating interactive signage in high-traffic venues.[1] Trends like AI content personalization, AR overlays, and gamified loyalty will shape its path, evolving from standalone SaaS to a core EverPass engagement suite amid DOOH market growth. Its influence may grow by standardizing TV interactivity, turning passive screens into revenue engines and redefining on-premise marketing.
UPshow has raised $39.5M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $10.0M Debt in September 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2021 | $10M Debt Financing | Mark Gilbert | — | Announced |
| Sep 29, 2020 | $14M Series A | Daniel Malven | Gian Fulgoni, Rishad Tobaccowala, Jump Capital, Signature Bank, TDF Ventures | Announced |
| Jun 1, 2020 | $8M Series A | — | 4490 Ventures | Announced |
| Mar 15, 2019 | $6M Series A | Yelena Shkolnik, JIM Pastoriza | — | Announced |
| Apr 12, 2017 | $1.5M Venture Round | — | David Tolmie, Gian Fulgoni, Howard Tullman, JAI Shekhawat, Scott Flanders | Announced |
