About SmartBrief
SmartBrief is a Media & Entertainment company based in Washington (United States) founded in 1999, and was acquired by Future in July 2019. It operates as a targeted business news is curated and summarized by industry verticals. Its website smartbrief.com draws about 3.1 million monthly visits. SmartBrief offers products and services including Newsletters, Advertising Services, and Custom Content. Its focus areas include Internet First Media, Business and Finance, Multi Industry and Aggregators. Its legal entity is SMARTBRIEF, INC. Its competitors include The Hustle, The Signal, CIOReview, Digital Digest and Bay Area Times and 3 more; 2 of its 8 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Founded in 1999, SmartBrief operates as a digital media publisher focused on business information across verticals. Content is curated by in-house editors from over 10,000 sources and summarized for professional use in 14 industries. Distribution reaches more than 5.8 million monthly unique users, as reported in 2017. Revenue is generated through mobile, display, and native advertising formats.
Products & Services of SmartBrief
SmartBrief offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Newsletters, Advertising Services, and Custom Content.
Curated email newsletters providing industry news to subscribers.
Targeted ads using first-party data for B2B audiences.
Insights-driven assets for brand engagement and lead generation.
Apps and channels of SmartBrief
its YouTube channel SmartBrief has 518 subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from SmartBrief
The most watched videos on SmartBrief's YouTube channel, SmartBrief (518 subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on SmartBrief.
Investors in SmartBrief
SmartBrief has secured backing from 1 investor. Prominent investors backing the company include Future.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Specialist media brands and content are provided across interest areas. | 1984 | futureplc.com | Bath, United Kingdom |
Investor details for SmartBrief
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 SmartBrief
29 people are tracked at SmartBrief (9 in leadership, 20 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Jillian Kaufman | Account Director | Leadership |
Jaan Vanvalkenburgh | Associate Director Of Content -- Infrastructure, Energy & Financial Services | Leadership |
Janet Connor Kahler | Director Of Editorial Operations | Leadership |
Oliver Pflieger | Senior Account Director, Health And Life Sciences | Leadership |
Sean McMahon | Director Of Content - Energy, Finance And Infrastructure | Leadership |
Deanie Griffin | Industry VP & Publisher, Health Care & Life Sciences | Leadership |
Doug Harris | Director Of Content, Health Care And Life Sciences | Leadership |
Kanoe Namahoe | Editorial Director, Education And Business Services | Leadership |
Melissa Turner | Vice President, Content | Leadership |
Janet Forgrieve | Writer, Editor | Team |
Candace Chellew | Senior Editor | Team |
Sean Lauber | Healthcare Newsletter Writer | Team |
April Hollis | Custom Content Editor, Health Care | Team |
Brenna Smith | Associate Publisher, Information Technology And Cybersecurity | Team |
Yu-Lun Hsieh | Java Developer | Team |
Amanda Freeman | Content Writer | Team |
John Baldoni | Columnist | Team |
Larry Robertson | Contributing Columnist | Team |
Lilla Ross | Copy Editor/writer | Team |
Paula Kiger | Editor/searcher/writer | Team |
9 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for SmartBrief
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 SmartBrief
2 dated milestones of SmartBrief across 20 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded SmartBrief is founded.
- Exit Acquired by Future.
Competitors of SmartBrief
SmartBrief has 8 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include The Hustle, The Signal, CIOReview, Digital Digest and Bay Area Times, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| thehustle.co | 2015 | San Francisco, United States | $250,000 | 3,727 | Business and technology newsletter for millennials | |
| thesignal.co | 2020 | Delhi, India | $436,191 | – | Online platform providing newsletters on business and finance | |
| cioreview.com | 2009 | Fremont, United States | – | – | A magazine is published for IT professionals and entrepreneurs. | |
| digitaldigest.me | 2018 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | – | – | Business and finance news is provided via an online platform. | |
| bayareatimes.com | 2012 | San Francisco, United States | – | – | Daily visual newsletter analyzing business and tech stories with one graphic per update. | |
| backscoop.com | 2021 | San Francisco, United States | – | – | Newsletters on tech, business, and industry updates are provided. | |
| blackswanstreet.com | 2023 | Dublin, Ireland | – | – | Weekly newsletter providing stock market analyses and economic trend updates. | |
| thehungrybull.com | 2021 | Las Vegas, United States | – | – | Delivers app-based newsletters focused on business and finance insights. |
Detailed competitors of SmartBrief
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 SmartBrief
The website of SmartBrief (smartbrief.com) receives about 3.1M visits a month and ranks #24,021 among all websites worldwide, #2,025 in News and Media.
- Monthly visits3.1M
- Unique visitors970K
per month
- Global rank#24,021
among all websites
- Category rank#2,025
News and Media
- Bounce rate63%
- Pages per visit1.7
- Average visit1 min 07 sec
- DevicesDesktop 55% Β· Mobile 45%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with SmartBrief. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| customscoop.com | 100% | – | – | View details | |
| sciencealert.com | 95% | 19.6M | #2,804 | View details | |
| independent.co.uk | 94% | 69M | #907 | View details | |
| arcamax.com | 93% | 3.4M | #13,346 | View details | |
| theconversation.com | 93% | – | #4,347 | View details | |
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for SmartBrief
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in DTC Media Innovators
10 companies that operate in the same segment as SmartBrief (DTC Media Innovators), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diversified gaming and sports media platforms are operated and developed. | 1999 | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | USD 127.93 M | USD 194.94 M | 63 | |
News media platform for soccer | 2008 | Berlin, Berlin, Germany | USD 320.1 M | USD 30.07 M | 298 | |
Multi-category news is delivered through an app-based platform. | 2016 | Arlington, Virginia, United States | USD 30 M | – | 356 | |
News media platform covering combat sports | 2011 | Singapore, Singapore | USD 236 M | USD 84.46 M | 657 | |
Multi-category news is curated and delivered in multiple languages. | 2009 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 129.01 M | – | 942 | |
Hyperlocal short news app is provided in multiple languages. | 2014 | Hyderabad, Telangana, India | USD 30.77 M | USD 5.35 M | 309 | |
Online platform publishing content focusing on investment | 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 60.4 M | – | – | |
Subscription-based sports media is delivered to local premium audiences. | 2016 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 134.42 M | – | – | |
Multiple online media and lifestyle brands are owned and operated. | 2007 | Levallois-perret, Hauts-de-seine, France | USD 4.7 M | – | – | |
Sports commentary and news are provided through Hupu's platform. | 2004 | Shanghai, Shanghai, China | USD 338.72 M | – | – |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track β 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 Smartbrief
Complete news archive for SmartBrief
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 SmartBrief
SmartBrief was founded in 1999.
SmartBrief is headquartered in Washington, United States. It is registered at Washington, District Of Columbia, United States.
Founded in 1999, SmartBrief operates as a digital media publisher focused on business information across verticals. Content is curated by in-house editors from over 10,000 sources and summarized for professional use in 14 industries. Distribution reaches more than 5.8 million monthly unique users, as reported in 2017. Revenue is generated through mobile, display, and native advertising formats.
SmartBrief's top competitors include The Hustle, CIOReview and The Signal.
SmartBrief offers Newsletters, Advertising Services, and Custom Content.
SmartBrief has 1 investor. Key investors include Future.
SmartBrief operates through Smartbrief, Inc.
Yes. SmartBrief was acquired by Future in July 2019.
The website of SmartBrief receives about 3.1 million visits a month and ranks #24,021 among all websites worldwide.

