Bitly

New York, United States Founded: 2008 • Age: 18 yrs
Cloud-based URL shortening and link tracking services are offered.

About Bitly

Bitly is a Technology company based in New York (United States) founded in 2008 by Nathan Folkman and John Borthwick. Cloud-based URL shortening and link tracking services are offered. Bitly has raised $119.9 million across 11 funding rounds from investors including Khosla Ventures, Social Leverage and U.S. Department of Education. The company has 193 employees. Bitly has completed 1 acquisition, including Egoditor. Its website bitly.com draws about 6.1 million monthly visits. Bitly offers products and services including URL Shortener, QR Code Generator, Analytics, and Landing Pages. Its focus areas include Enterprise Applications, MarketingTech, Content Marketing and Content Distribution. Its legal entity is Bitly Inc. Its competitors include GoLinks and IP Logger; 1 of its 2 listed competitors has raised funding.

Company details

Bitly was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New York, United States. Operations focus on the software sector, providing cloud-based URL shortening solutions. Link management software is utilized by marketers to condense URLs and monitor their performance across social media and the public web. Customizable links can be generated and distributed through various channels, including email, SMS, display ads, and social platforms.

  • Headquarters New York, United States
  • Employees 193
  • Founders Nathan Folkman, John Borthwick
  • Sectors
    Technology
  • Website category Computers Electronics and Technology
  • Email
    β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’
  • Website bitly.com
  • Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram
  • Legal Name Bitly Inc
Operational Areas
Key Metrics
  • Total Equity Funding
    $119.9M (USD)

    in 11 rounds

  • Latest Funding Round
    $63M (USD), Series D

    Jul 2017

  • Investors
  • Employee Count
    193
  • Investments & Acquisitions

Products & Services of Bitly

Bitly offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including URL Shortener, QR Code Generator, Analytics, and Landing Pages.

URL Shortener
Link Management

Tool for shortening and tracking URLs for online sharing

QR Code Generator
Code Generation

Service for creating customizable QR codes for businesses

Analytics
Performance Tracking

Platform for monitoring clicks and scans on links and codes

Landing Pages
Content Creation

No-code tool for building mobile-friendly web pages

Apps and channels of Bitly

Bitly publishes 1 mobile app.

Bitly: Connections Platform
App Store Productivity 4+
Developer: Bitly, Inc.
View on App Store

Funding Insights of Bitly

Bitly has successfully raised a total of $119.9M across 11 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series D round of $63 million completed in July 2017. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.

  • Total Funding $119.9M
  • Total Rounds 11
  • Last Round Series D β€” $63M
  • First Round $1.5M

    (Jun 2008)

  • Investors Count 20

Latest 10 of 11 funding rounds of Bitly with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
Jul 2017$63MSeries D–Spectrum Equity
–
Jul 2012$15MSeries C–Khosla Ventures
Jul 2012$15MSeries C––
Mar 2012$1.4MSeries B––
–
Oct 2010$10MSeries B–RRE Ventures
Oct 2010$10MSeries B––
–
Feb 2010$1.5MDebt – Conventional––
May 2009Grant––
Mar 2009$2MSeries A–O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Social Leverage
Mar 2009$2MSeries A––
–
Valuation history

20 investors in total: 11 institutional and 9 angel.

Investors in Bitly

Bitly has secured backing from 20 investors, including venture fund, angel, and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Khosla Ventures, Social Leverage and U.S. Department of Education.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
Angel
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
Growth equity investments and partnerships in finance and related sectors.
spectrumequity.com
US focused VC firm
oatv.comSan Francisco, United States
VC firm investing in seed and early stage companies in the US
rre.comNew York, United States
Early-stage startups are funded by this venture capital firm.
2004khoslaventures.comMenlo Park, United States
Investing in creators, organizing AI events, and building community in New York.
betaworks.com
Early-stage investments are provided to transformative technology companies.
svangel.comSan Francisco, United States
Venture capital investments in technology and defense sectors.
foundersfund.com
David Shen Ventures, LLC is engaged in advising internet startups.
2006davidshenventures.com
Venture capital is invested in multiple sectors by Uncork Capital.
uncorkcapital.comPalo Alto, United States
Venture capital firm and fund of funds focused on fintech, Adtech, and multiple sectors
2009socialleverage.comScottsdale, United States
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Investor details for Bitly

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People of Bitly

3 people are tracked at Bitly (3 in leadership); the tracked headcount is 193.

NameRoleGroup
Nathan Folkman
Co-FounderLeadership
John Borthwick
Co-FounderLeadership
Toby Gabriner
Strategic AdvisorLeadership
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Investments & Acquisitions by Bitly

Bitly has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 1 company. Notable acquisitions include Egoditor.

Acquisitions
Company NameDescriptionDomainLocationFoundedAcquiredAmount
Web-based software is utilized for QR code generation and marketing.
egoditor.comBielefeld, Germany2009Dec 2021β€’β€’β€’β€’
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  • Exports

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Timeline of Bitly

4 dated milestones of Bitly across 13 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.

  1. Founded Bitly is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round of $1.5M.
  3. Funding Latest funding round, Series D, of $63.0M.
  4. Acquisition Acquires Egoditor.

Competitors of Bitly

Bitly has 2 listed competitors in our database, 1 of them funded. They include GoLinks and IP Logger.

Company NameDomainFoundedHQ LocationTotal fundingEmployeesDescription
golinks.io2016San Jose, United States$27.15M
Cloud-based link shortening platform is provided for team SEO management.
iplogger.org2011United States
Provides cloud-based tools for URL shortening.
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Detailed competitors of Bitly

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Web traffic of Bitly

The website of Bitly (bitly.com) receives about 6.1M visits a month and ranks #8,972 among all websites worldwide, #1,250 in Computers Electronics and Technology.

  • Monthly visits
    6.1M

    ▲ 1.8% vs previous month

  • Unique visitors
    2.8M

    per month

  • Global rank
    #8,972

    among all websites

  • Category rank
    #1,250

    Computers Electronics and Technology · Computers Electronics and Technology

Similar websites

Websites whose visitors overlap most with Bitly. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.

WebsiteDomainAudience affinityMonthly visitsGlobal rankProfile
tinyurl.com
tinyurl.com
100%
#1,660–
tiny.cc
tiny.cc
80%
#38,576–
shorturl.at
shorturl.at
80%
#8,567–
ow.ly
ow.ly
63%
#60,896–
is.gd
63%
3.3M#22,771View details
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
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Top companies in MarketingTech

3 companies that operate in the same segment as Bitly (MarketingTech) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.

CompanyDescriptionFoundedLocationTotal fundingRevenueEmployees
Provider of AI-powered customer relationship management software
2005Cambridge, Massachusetts, United StatesUSD 100.7 MUSD 3.13 B8,250
Zeta Global is recognized as an AI-powered marketing cloud.
2007New York, New York, United StatesUSD 357.58 MUSD 1.3 B3,142
Multi-channel online marketing tools are provided for small businesses.
1998Waltham, Massachusetts, United StatesUSD 37 M
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Related news about Bitly

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Frequently Asked Questions about Bitly

Bitly was founded in 2008.

Bitly is headquartered in New York, United States. It is registered at New York, New York, United States.

Bitly is a funded company, having raised a total of $119.9M across 11 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $2M, raised on Jun 2008.

Bitly has 193 employees.

Bitly was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New York, United States. Operations focus on the software sector, providing cloud-based URL shortening solutions. Link management software is utilized by marketers to condense URLs and monitor their performance across social media and the public web. Customizable links can be generated and distributed through various channels, including email, SMS, display ads, and social platforms.

Bitly's top competitors include GoLinks and IP Logger.

Bitly offers URL Shortener, QR Code Generator, Analytics, and Landing Pages.

Bitly has made 1 acquisition, including Egoditor.

Bitly operates through Bitly Inc.

Yes. Bitly publishes Bitly: Connections Platform.

The website of Bitly receives about 6.1 million visits a month and ranks #8,972 among all websites worldwide.

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