Top 31 Publishing Startups in 2023

1) Wattpad

Wattpad is a digital entertainment business that creates unique tales on an online social storytelling platform.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Canada
• State: Ontario
• City: Toronto
• Started in: 2006
• Founders: Allen Lau, Ivan Yuen
• Number of employees: 1001-5000
• Funding: $117,800,000
• Funding rounds: 8
• Number of investors: 20 (Tencent, Khosla Ventures, Union Square Ventures, OMERS Ventures, Northleaf Capital Partners)

You can find their website here.

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2) Vev

The collaborative visual editor for building interactive websites by creatives.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Norway
• State: Oslo
• City: Oslo
• Started in: 2017
• Founders: Fredrik Evjen Ekli, Nicolay Thafvelin, Tine Karlsen
• Number of employees: 11-50
• Funding: $7,153,116
• Funding rounds: 4
• Number of investors: 5 (EQT Ventures, DMZ, Skyfall Ventures, Newmark Capital, Sagene Tech Ventures)

You can find their website here.

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3) DanAds

DanAds is a white label self-serve ad-desk for small and medium advertisers for publishers.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Sweden
• State: Stockholms Lan
• City: Sollentuna
• Started in: 2013
• Founders: Istvan Beres, Peo Persson
• Number of employees: 51-100
• Funding: $15,136,167
• Funding rounds: 6
• Number of investors: 12 (Almi Invest, Forward Venture Capital, Wellstreet, Alexander Hars, Jonas Sjögren)

You can find their website here.

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4) Canva

Canva is an online design and publishing platform that offers non-designers easy-to-use creative tools.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Australia
• State: New South Wales
• City: Sydney
• Started in: 2012
• Founders: Cameron Adams, Cliff Obrecht, Melanie Perkins
• Number of employees: 501-1000
• Funding: $372,555,000
• Funding rounds: 15
• Number of investors: 32 (General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital China, Felicis Ventures, T. Rowe Price)

You can find their website here.

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5) Global Savings Group

The Global Savings Group (GSG) is Europe's largest shopping incentives firm, enabling individuals to buy more wisely.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Germany
• State: Bayern
• City: Munich
• Started in: 2012
• Founders: Adrian Renner, Andreas Fruth, Gerhard Trautmann, Pedro Clavería
• Number of employees: 501-1000
• Funding: € 65,500,000
• Funding rounds: 9
• Number of investors: 7 (New Enterprise Associates, Rocket Internet, HV Capital, RTP Global, Headline)

You can find their website here.

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6) Tech in Asia

With yearly conferences in Singapore, Tokyo, and Jakarta, Tech in Asia (YC W15) is the go-to media platform for Asia's tech community.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Singapore
• State: Central Region
• City: Singapore
• Started in: 2010
• Founders: Willis Wee
• Number of employees: 51-100
• Funding: $16,990,000
• Funding rounds: 6
• Number of investors: 10 (East Ventures, Y Combinator, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Walden International, M&S Partners)

You can find their website here.

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7) Tickled Media

Tickled Media is a digital publishing house and tech firm that focuses on content and community platforms for women.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Singapore
• State: Central Region
• City: Singapore
• Started in: 2009
• Founders: Roshni Mahtani
• Number of employees: 51-100
• Funding: $7,319,437
• Funding rounds: 5
• Number of investors: 12 (JD.com, Vertex Ventures, Fosun RZ Capital, Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, ATM Capital)

You can find their website here.

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8) Inkitt

Inkitt is a digital publishing platform that predicts book success based on reader behavior using a computer algorithm.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Germany
• State: Berlin
• City: Berlin
• Started in: 2014
• Founders: Ali Albazaz
• Number of employees: 51-100
• Funding: $21,000,000
• Funding rounds: 3
• Number of investors: 20 (Earlybird Venture Capital, HV Capital, Speedinvest, Kleiner Perkins, Redalpine)

You can find their website here.

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9) Sanar

Sanar is a platform that focuses on serving as a guide and support for doctors, providing specific content that aids in their professional development.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Brazil
• State: Sao Paulo
• City: Salvador
• Started in: 2014
• Founders: Ubiraci Mercês
• Number of employees: 251-500
• Funding: $11,500,000
• Funding rounds: 2
• Number of investors: 4 (Valor Capital Group, Igah, Ventures., DNA Capital, Vox Capital)

You can find their website here.

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10) Homa Games

Homa Games specializes on mobile game publishing, user acquisition, and monetization.

Details of the startup:

• Country: France
• State: Ile-de-France
• City: Paris
• Started in: 2018
• Founders: Daniel Nathan
• Number of employees: 11-50
• Funding: $15,000,000
• Funding rounds: 1
• Number of investors: 6 (Idinvest Partners, Headline, OneRagtime, Alexis Bonillo, Jean-Marie Messier)

You can find their website here.

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11) Kakao Japan

Kakao Japan is a free smartphone messaging and calling software.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Japan
• State: Tokyo
• City: Tokyo
• Started in: 2011
• Number of employees: 51-100
• Funding: ¥70,000,000,000
• Funding rounds: 2
• Number of investors: 3 (Kakao Corp, Podotree, Anchor Equity Partners)

You can find their website here.

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12) Bauer Media

Bauer Media is a magazine publisher that publishes a variety of media.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Germany
• State: Hamburg
• City: Hamburg
• Started in: 1875
• Number of employees: 11-50
• Funding: £1,800,000
• Funding rounds: 1

You can find their website here.

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13) Daydaycook

DayDayCook is a Hong Kong-based internet publisher and merchandiser for Asian cookery.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Hong Kong
• State: Hong Kong Island
• City: Sheung Wan
• Started in: 2012
• Founders: Norma Chu, Sam Lim
• Number of employees: 11-50
• Funding: $40,075,889
• Funding rounds: 5
• Number of investors: 9 (500 Startups, Talis Capital, AMTD Group, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, K11 Investment)

You can find their website here.

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14) E-Poets Society

A digital publishing platform with a content development engine that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering Arabic users with original literature e-books.

Details of the startup:

• Country: Croatia
• State: Grad Zagreb
• City: Zagreb
• Started in: 2020
• Founders: Pamela Osman, Ralph Younes
• Number of employees: 11-50
• Funding: € 200,000
• Funding rounds: 2
• Number of investors: 1 (Fil Rouge Capital (FRC))

You can find their website here.

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15) YourStory

YourStory.com is a media website that focuses on India's startup scene.

Details of the startup:

• Country: India
• State: Karnataka
• City: Bengaluru
• Started in: 2008
• Founders: Shradha Sharma
• Number of employees: 101-250
• Funding: $8,469,522
• Funding rounds: 3
• Number of investors: 6 (Qualcomm Ventures, Kalaari Capital, 3one4 Capital, Ratan Tata, Mohandas Pai)

You can find their website here.

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16) Pratilipi

Pratilipi is a platform for language storytelling that connects readers, writers, and their stories.

Details of the startup:

• Country: India
• State: Karnataka
• City: Bengaluru
• Started in: 2015
• Founders: Prashant Gupta, Rahul Ranjan, Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Sahradayi Modi, Sankaranarayanan Devarajan
• Number of employees: 51-100
• Funding: $29,833,055
• Funding rounds: 5
• Number of investors: 12 (Tencent, Qiming Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, Shunwei Capital, Omidyar Network)

You can find their website here.

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17) Hungama

The largest aggregator, developer, publisher, and distributor of Bollywood and South Asian content is Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.

Details of the startup:

• Country: India
• State: Maharashtra
• City: Mumbai
• Started in: 1999
• Founders: Neeraj Roy
• Number of employees: 501-1000
• Funding: $165,000,000
• Funding rounds: 3
• Number of investors: 4 (Bessemer Venture Partners, Intel Capital, Xiaomi, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala)

You can find their website here.

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18) Pencil

Pencil is a free content publishing platform that allows authors to share their work with the world.

Details of the startup:

• Country: India
• State: Maharashtra
• City: Mumbai
• Started in: 2019
• Founders: Malini Nair, Preeti Chib, Swarup Nanda
• Number of employees: 101-250
• Funding: $1,419,129
• Funding rounds: 3
• Number of investors: 7 (SOSV, Artesian VC, Inflection Point Ventures, Mumbai Angels, JITO Angel Network)

You can find their website here.

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19) Quintype Technologies

Publishers and content creators can use an API-driven CMS to develop rich content, distribute it across platforms, and monetize it.

Details of the startup:

• Country: India
• State: Karnataka
• City: Bengaluru
• Started in: 2014
• Founders: Amit Rathore
• Number of employees: 51-100
• Funding: $6,672,297
• Funding rounds: 2
• Number of investors: 2 (IIFL Asset Management, Raghav Bahl)

You can find their website here.

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20) Tripoto Travel Private Limited

The world's largest travel community and marketplace platform is based in India.

Details of the startup:

• Country: India
• State: Delhi
• City: New Delhi
• Started in: 2013
• Founders: Anirudh Gupta, Michael Pargal Lyngdoh
• Number of employees: 101-250
• Funding: $8,000,000
• Funding rounds: 6
• Number of investors: 15 (500 Startups, 3one4 Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Neeraj Arora, Chiratae Ventures)

You can find their website here.

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21) PPTV

PPTV is a Chinese internet video network technology platform that provides enjoyment through TV shows, news, and other material.

Details of the startup:

• Country: China
• State: Shanghai
• City: Shanghai
• Started in: 2004
• Founders: Bill Yao
• Number of employees: 101-250
• Funding: $706,500,000
• Funding rounds: 5
• Number of investors: 7 (Threshold, Suning.com, SAIF Partners, SoftBank Capital, BlueRun Ventures)

You can find their website here.

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22) Dongqiudi

Dongqiudi is a website that provides news, commentary, league rankings, and video feeds of football matches from across the world.

Details of the startup:

• Country: China
• State: Beijing
• City: Beijing
• Started in: 2013
• Founders: Chen Cong
• Number of employees: 44470
• Funding: $66,442,502
• Funding rounds: 3
• Number of investors: 3 (Sequoia Capital China, Tianxing Capital, Arena Capital Partners)

You can find their website here.

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23) Happy Elements

Happy Elements focuses on social, web, and mobile game creation as well as publishing services.

Details of the startup:

• Country: China
• State: Beijing
• City: Beijing
• Started in: 2009
• Founders: Rony Xu
• Number of employees: 501-1000
• Funding: $35,000,000
• Funding rounds: 2
• Number of investors: 2 (DCM Ventures, Legend Capital)

You can find their website here.

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24) Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is a global music publishing, recording, and merchandising company.

Details of the startup:

• Country: United States
• State: California
• City: Santa Monica
• Started in: 1934
• Founders: David Gould
• Number of employees: 10001+
• Funding: $45,368,869,030
• Funding rounds: 3
• Number of investors: 3 (Tencent, Tencent Music Entertainment, Bill Ackman)

You can find their website here.

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25) Literati

Literati is a handpicked book subscription service that provides deep stories and thought-provoking debates to every reader on a monthly basis.

Details of the startup:

• Country: United States
• State: Texas
• City: Austin
• Started in: 2017
• Founders: Jessica Ewing, Kelly Carroll
• Number of employees: 101-250
• Funding: $52,000,000
• Funding rounds: 3
• Number of investors: 18 (General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Felicis Ventures, Shasta Ventures, 01 Advisors)

You can find their website here.

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26) BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed is a multiplatform digital media firm that distributes news and entertainment to a global audience.

Details of the startup:

• Country: United States
• State: New York
• City: New York
• Started in: 2006
• Founders: Ankit Gupta, John Johnson, Jonah Peretti
• Number of employees: 1001-5000
• Funding: $496,300,000
• Funding rounds: 8
• Number of investors: 15 (General Atlantic, New Enterprise Associates, Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Lerer Hippeau)

You can find their website here.

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27) JW Player

JW Player is a video streaming and analytics platform that includes an HTML5 video player for web content, publishing, and video ad distribution.

Details of the startup:

• Country: United States
• State: New York
• City: New York
• Started in: 2004
• Founders: Adam Fawer, Brian Rifkin, Dave Otten, Jeroen Wijering
• Number of employees: 101-250
• Funding: $145,724,984
• Funding rounds: 6
• Number of investors: 7 (Greenspring Associates, Greycroft, LLR Partners, Headline, Cue Ball)

You can find their website here.

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28) Medium

Medium is a social publishing platform that brings people together to share their thoughts and opinions on important topics.

Details of the startup:

• Country: United States
• State: California
• City: San Francisco
• Started in: 2011
• Founders: Biz Stone, Jason Goldman
• Number of employees: 101-250
• Funding: $132,000,000
• Funding rounds: 3
• Number of investors: 20 (Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Spark Capital, Science, Betaworks)

You can find their website here.

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29) Substack

Substack is a platform allowing freelance writers to create newsletters based on subscriptions.

Details of the startup:

• Country: United States
• State: California
• City: San Francisco
• Started in: 2017
• Founders: Christopher Best, Hamish McKenzie, Jairaj Sethi
• Number of employees: 51-100
• Funding: $82,420,000
• Funding rounds: 4
• Number of investors: 15 (FundersClub, Andreessen Horowitz, Garage Capital, Y Combinator, Fifty Years)

You can find their website here.

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30) Business Insider

Business Insider is a website that provides the most up-to-date news on business, celebrities, and technology.

Details of the startup:

• Country: United States
• State: New York
• City: New York
• Started in: 2007
• Founders: Henry Blodget, Kevin Ryan
• Number of employees: 501-1000
• Funding: $55,600,000
• Funding rounds: 7
• Number of investors: 15 (Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, RRE Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Bezos Expeditions)

You can find their website here.

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31) Innovid

Innovid is the only omni-channel ad and analytics platform created specifically for television.

Details of the startup:

• Country: United States
• State: New York
• City: New York
• Started in: 2007
• Founders: Tal Chalozin, Zack Zigdon, Zvika Netter
• Number of employees: 251-500
• Funding: $95,100,000
• Funding rounds: 8
• Number of investors: 9 (NewSpring, Silicon Valley Bank, GS Growth, Vintage Investment Partners, Cisco)

You can find their website here.

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