If you’ve spent any time on social media, you will have almost certainly come across a photo or video that has been edited by one of Lightricks’s extensive suite of mobile applications. The Israel-based app developer has been a tear lately, already posting over $200 million in revenue through the first three quarters of 2021, with mobile app installs up 42% from last year and 24% growth in paid subscribers (4.1 million to 5.1 million).
With this in mind, it’s no surprise to learn that Lightricks has emerged as a hot commodity among venture capitalists in its latest funding round. Having recently announced a formidable $130 million Series D, the company has attracted the attention of some of the biggest VCs and investment firms in Israel and globally, with participants including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Claltech, Harel Insurance and Finance, and Greycroft.
Insight Partners (Shopify, Qualtricks, Wix, Twitter) and Hanaco Venture Capital (Yotpo, Cheq, Fundbox, Moovit) led the round, which Lightricks plans to use to expand operations through strategic hires, further app development, and new mergers and acquisitions.
So, what has been the secret to their success? Well, as Zeev Farbman, Lightricks CEO, points out, their “mission has always been to continuously strive to bring creators the most advanced technology and help them find new ways to express themselves.”
The creator economy, meanwhile, has been on a roll itself, with digital content creators in high demand, currently believed to employ some 50 million people globally, with a market size that exceeds $100 billion, according to experts.
This trend, Farbman adds, “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.”
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In many senses, Lightricks has been in the right place at the right time, ideally situated to capitalize on what has been a sensational rise of the creator economy. Since they were founded back in 2013, the growth in popularity of platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitch and TikTok has been nothing short of meteoric.
Fortunately, Lightricks has been right there to fulfill a multitude of creator needs when it comes to photo and video editing.
Their current suite of products includes names such as Facetune (and Facetune 2), Videoleap, Filtertune, and Beatleap. With the recent boost in the capital thanks to the latest funding round, it’s safe to assume that we can expect to see even more apps from them in the future, as they continually evolve to meet the demands of the current scope of the creator economy and to help creators overcome the specific challenges brought about by the platforms they use.
“Through all of our diverse creativity apps, we are planning to continue to pioneer industry-first technology and provide all users with the tools and capabilities they need to express themselves and achieve their creative goals,” says Farbman. “Lightricks is planning on enhancing its cutting-edge technology to develop tools and services that will allow easier ways for creators of all kinds to produce content and facilitate monetization.”
Interestingly, Lightricks management has clearly stated their desire to expand its operations in both China and the UK (as well as their HQ in Jerusalem) by hiring talent to help deliver new products and services for creators.
In London, growth will be driven around the production of Lightricks’s new photography app as well as expansion of their customer experience and marketing teams, which were previously only focused on in Israel. Overall, the entire Lightricks workforce encompasses 460 employees across four main locations: Jerusalem, Haifa, London, and Shenzen.
The company currently plans to hire 60 new recruits through the end of 2021, to reach about 550 employees total. By the end of 2023, moreover, the plan is to have 1000 working for Lightricks, with the biggest growth roles being in product development, design and marketing.
