About Playaway
Playaway is a Media & Entertainment company based in Solon (United States) founded in 2002, and was acquired by Penguinrandomhouseaudio in February 2023. It operates as a hand-held devices for e-books and audiobooks are provided. Its website playaway.com draws about 23 thousand monthly visits. Playaway offers products and services including Wonderbook, Sing-Along, WhaZoodle, Playaway, and Launchpad. Its focus areas include Book Tech, Book Reading and Devices. Its legal entity is Playaway Products LLC. Its competitors include Kobo, IReader Technology, Youboox, ZhangYue and Barnes & Noble Nook and 4 more; 4 of its 9 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Founded in 2002 and based in Solon, United States, hand-held devices for reading e-books and listening to audiobooks are offered by the company. Picture books, guided learning tablets, Playaway, and Launchpad platforms are included among the services. Operations focus on educational and entertainment content delivery through portable technology in the edtech sector. The domain playaway.com supports these activities.
- Headquarters Solon, United States
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website playaway.com
- Social LinkedIn Facebook Instagram
- Acquired by Penguinrandomhouseaudio (Feb 2023)
- Legal Name Playaway Products Llc
- Investors
- Acquired byPenguinrandomhouseaudio
(Feb 2023)
Products & Services of Playaway
Playaway offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Wonderbook, Sing-Along, WhaZoodle, Playaway, and Launchpad.
Print book with built-in audiobook for children's literacy.
Interactive storybooks with attached audio player for music.
Speaker for podcasts and stories promoting learning for kids.
Pre-loaded device with hours of audiobooks for all ages.
Pre-loaded tablet with apps and content for educational themes.
Investors in Playaway
Playaway has secured backing from 1 investor. Prominent investors backing the company include Penguinrandomhouseaudio.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
- | – | penguinrandomhouseaudio.com | - |
Investor details for Playaway
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.
People of Playaway
10 people are tracked at Playaway (3 in leadership, 7 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Julie Karas | Chief Financial Officer | Leadership |
Gene Lamarca | Chief Executive Officer | Leadership |
Torin Cone | President | Leadership |
Lauren Kotmel | Marketing Strategist | Team |
Aaron Rinehart | National Sales Manager | Team |
David Wendt | National Sales Manager Prek-12 | Team |
Peter Wuerl | Senior Account Manager | Team |
Kayla Tomko-Heckathorn | ERP (netsuite) Administrator | Team |
Bethany Moore | Account Manager / Northeast | Team |
Margaret Sylvester | Account Manager | Team |
Complete people profiles for Playaway
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Playaway
2 dated milestones of Playaway across 21 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Playaway is founded.
- Exit Acquired by Penguinrandomhouseaudio.
Competitors of Playaway
Playaway has 9 listed competitors in our database, 4 of them funded. They include Kobo, IReader Technology, Youboox, ZhangYue and Barnes & Noble Nook, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kobo.com | 2009 | Toronto, Canada | $116M | – | Provider of app-based reading and self-publishing platform | |
| ireader.com | 2008 | Beijing, China | – | – | Mobile reading app supporting multiple ebook formats is offered. | |
| youboox.fr | 2011 | Paris, France | $3.3M | – | SaaS and app-based collaborative platform that provides free access to ebooks | |
| zhangyue.com | 2008 | Beijing, China | $100M | – | Mobile reading apps and eReaders are developed for global markets. | |
| nook.com | 2009 | New York, United States | $389.5M | – | E-book Book Reader | |
| onyxboox.com | 2006 | Moscow, Russia | – | – | Manufactures and sells digital e-book readers and accessories online. | |
| wearreader.com | 2014 | United States | – | – | App enables speed reading of books on wearables like Apple Watch and Android devices. | |
| mybookinou.com | 2017 | Lyon, France | – | – | Bookinou provides audio story playback for kids using app recordings and book stickers. | |
| digitalreading.org | 2009 | – | – | – | Provides hand-held devices for reading e-books, newspapers, and magazines. |
Detailed competitors of Playaway
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 Playaway
The website of Playaway (playaway.com) receives about 22.5K visits a month.
- Monthly visits22.5K
▲ 16.3% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Playaway. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
newrichmondlibrary.org | newrichmondlibrary.org | 100% | – | #9,174,376 | – |
zinnedproject.org | zinnedproject.org | 60% | – | #183,206 | – |
ok.org.br | ok.org.br | 60% | – | #4,083,614 | – |
en.wikipedia.org | en.wikipedia.org | 41% | – | – | – |
| kaplanco.com | 40% | – | #239,656 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 8 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Playaway
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 8 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Book & Digital Reading Platforms
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Playaway (Book & Digital Reading Platforms), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
An audio streaming platform for series and stories is operated. | 2018 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 196.66 M | USD 30.62 M | 1,044 | |
Platform connecting readers and writers, offering digital literature in multiple languages | 2014 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 92.65 M | USD 6.84 M | 162 | |
Podcasts and audiobooks are provided through a creator-focused audio platform. | 2019 | Copenhagen, Denmark | USD 223.91 M | USD 21.59 M | 84 | |
Digital audiobooks are produced and streamed via a SaaS platform. | 1995 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | USD 6 M | – | – | |
App-based subscription platform for e-books | 2005 | Stockholm, Sweden | – | USD 436.49 M | – | |
Rental books and homework help are provided to university students. | 2005 | Santa Clara, California, United States | USD 205.99 M | USD 376.91 M | 1,270 | |
SaaS-based book reading platform | 2006 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 105.24 M | – | – | |
Audiobooks and stories in multiple Indian languages are provided. | 2018 | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | USD 122.32 M | USD 12.17 M | 310 | |
Audio-based learning solutions with stories and music are provided. | 2015 | London, England, United Kingdom | USD 59.42 M | – | 98 | |
Provider of digital comics, novels, and ebooks | 2009 | Seoul, South Korea | USD 28 M | – | – |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Playaway
Complete news archive for Playaway
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about Playaway
Playaway was founded in 2002.
Playaway is headquartered in Solon, United States. It is registered at Solon, Ohio, United States.
Founded in 2002 and based in Solon, United States, hand-held devices for reading e-books and listening to audiobooks are offered by the company. Picture books, guided learning tablets, Playaway, and Launchpad platforms are included among the services. Operations focus on educational and entertainment content delivery through portable technology in the edtech sector. The domain playaway.com supports these activities.
Playaway offers Wonderbook, Sing-Along, WhaZoodle, Playaway, and Launchpad.
Playaway has 1 investor. Key investors include Penguinrandomhouseaudio.
Playaway operates through Playaway Products Llc.
Yes. Playaway was acquired by Penguinrandomhouseaudio in February 2023.