About Lightningcast
Lightningcast is a company based in Baltimore (United States) founded in 1999 was acquired by AOL in May 2006. Lightningcast has raised $20.5 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including Nokia, AOL and GIV Venture Partners. Lightningcast operates in a competitive market with competitors including Kevel, Operative, Smart AdServer, Apptera and Cinemacraft, among others.
- Headquarter Baltimore, United States
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Website lightningcast.com
- Social LinkedIn Facebook
- Acquired by AOL (May 2006)
Funding Insights of Lightningcast
Lightningcast has successfully raised a total of $20.5M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $5 million completed in July 2004. 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 $20.5M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Series B — $5M
- First Round $15.5M
(Jan 2001)
- Investors Count 5
All 2 funding rounds of Lightningcast with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2004 | $5M | Series B | – | – | |
| Jan 2001 | $15.5M | Series B | – | – |
6 investors in total: 6 institutional.
Investors in Lightningcast
Lightningcast has secured backing from 6 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Nokia, AOL and GIV Venture Partners.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital and private equity firm | – | givventurepartners.com | Radnor, United States | |
Technology companies are funded by this venture capital firm. | – | newmarketsvp.com | Howard County, United States | |
Zoetic BPO Services is engaged in providing outsourcing solutions. | – | redleaf.com | Noida, India | |
US focused early-stage VC firm investing in tech & life sciences start-ups | – | birchmerevc.com | Pittsburgh, United States | |
Hardware and software solutions for telecommunications are provided by Nokia. | 1865 | nokia.com | United States | |
Online news, entertainment, and financial content is delivered. | 1983 | aol.com | New York, United States |
Investor details for Lightningcast
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Lightningcast
4 dated milestones of Lightningcast across 7 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Lightningcast is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $15.5M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $5.0M.
- Exit Acquired by AOL.
Competitors of Lightningcast
Lightningcast operates in a dynamic and competitive business environment, facing competition from various established players and emerging companies in the market. The competitive landscape includes prominent companies such as Kevel, Operative, Smart AdServer, Apptera and Cinemacraft, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kevel.com | 2009 | Durham, United States | $44.5M | 69 | Provider of content management and outdoor advertising services | |
| operative.com | 2000 | New York, United States | $14.5M | – | SaaS platform for automating ad trafficking in media is provided. | |
| smartadserver.com | 2001 | Montreal, Canada | – | – | Premium ad serving solutions are delivered to global publishers. | |
| apptera.com | 2001 | Sunnyvale, United States | $43.84M | 4 | Provider of ad server solutions | |
| cinemacraft.tv | 2010 | Tokyo, Japan | $6.94M | – | Interactive video content is monetized through dynamic embeds for brands. | |
| 140proof.com | 2009 | San Francisco, United States | $5.5M | – | Patented Interest Graph technology is used for social ad targeting. | |
| yangaroo.com | 1999 | Toronto, Canada | – | – | Cloud based distributor for the music industry | |
| tap.me | 2009 | Chicago, United States | $5.45M | – | Ad servers for mobile and video gaming ads are provided. |
Detailed competitors of Lightningcast
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Lightningcast
Websites that share an audience with Lightningcast (lightningcast.com).
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Lightningcast. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| google.com | 100% | 85.8B | #1 | View details |
Similar companies to Lightningcast
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Lightningcast (Advertising & Marketing Tech), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-powered platform manages marketing creatives and customer journeys. | 1982 | San Jose, California, United States | – | USD 23.77 B | 30,710 | |
Platform offering mobile ad network software | 2007 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 265.6 M | USD 268.38 M | 1,074 | |
AI-driven ad campaigns are managed for personalization and optimization. | 2005 | Paris, France | USD 59.97 M | USD 1.94 B | 3,510 | |
Ad verification solutions are delivered for digital media campaigns. | 2008 | New York, New York, United States | USD 396.5 M | USD 748.29 M | 1,200 | |
Consumer intelligence-driven mobile marketing platform is provided for user acquisition. | 2005 | Singapore, Singapore | USD 10 M | USD 288.73 M | 618 | |
Native advertising solutions are delivered via a cloud-based content platform. | 2006 | New York, New York, United States | USD 403.72 M | USD 1.3 B | 1,800 | |
SSP software is offered to publishers for ad inventory sales. | 2006 | Redwood City, California, United States | USD 31 M | USD 282.93 M | 1,050 | |
Customizable smart lock screen experiences are developed for mobile devices. | 2019 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 390 M | – | – | |
Cloud based mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform | 2011 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 1.29 B | – | – | |
Mobile advertising & monetization | 2007 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 60.05 M | – | – |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Lightningcast
Lightningcast was founded in 1999 and raised its 1st funding round 2 years after it was founded.
Lightningcast is headquartered in Baltimore, United States. It is registered at Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Lightningcast is a funded company, having raised a total of $20.5M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series B of $15.5M, raised on Jan 2001.
Lightningcast was founded in 1999 in Baltimore, United States, focusing on ad technology for broadband media. Solutions for inserting advertisements into on-demand, live, and downloaded web videos are delivered to owners and distributors. Revenue optimization is supported through content integration and ad placement. Additional services encompass campaign management, performance reporting, audience targeting, and compliance auditing. Acquisition by AOL was finalized in May 2006.
Lightningcast has 6 investors. Key investors include Nokia, AOL, GIV Venture Partners, New Markets Venture Partners, and Zoetic BPO Services.
Yes. Lightningcast was acquired by AOL in May 2006.