Blinkist

The company was founded in August 2012 by college friends Holger Seim, Tobias Balling, Niklas Jansen and Sebastian Klein. Since they all enjoyed reading, they wanted to discover ways to read more books in a shorter amount of time. During their academic journey, they leveraged note-taking as a means to remember the books they read, and realized the value it added to their learning process. Hence, they created an app to provide access to their notes at any time.{{Cite web |last=Farrar |first=Tom |date=2022-05-13 |title=What Is Blinkist And Why Is It Being Talked About Around The World? |url=https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/everyone-talking-about-blinkist |website=Blinkist Magazine}}

In 2013 Blinkist had its public launch. The same year, the first version of the Blinkist app went live with text based book summaries. The company moved into its first office in Berlin, with 8 employees in total.

At the end of 2014 the app reached 1,000 customers and also launched its audio function, which made it possible to listen to summaries instead of reading.

By 2016 Blinkist had 1,500 titles in the library and had 1 million users. Later that year, Blinkist won the World Summit Awards from the United Nations in the category Education & Learning.

In 2018 the company raised $18.8 million in funding led by venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners.{{Cite web |last=Degeler |first=Andrii |date=2018-06-20 |title=Germany's Blinkist raises $18.8 million for its micro-learning app and platform |url=https://tech.eu/2018/06/20/germanys-blinkist-raises-18-8-million-micro-learning-app-platform/ |website=Tech.eu}} The Blinkist user base grew to 6 million users that year, and there were 2,500 titles available in the app.

Since 2023, Blinkist has 26 million app downloads, with 6,500 titles in its library.

In May 2023 it was announced that Blinkist has been acquired by the Australian ed-tech startup Go1.{{Cite web |last=Lunden |first=Ingrid |date=2023-05-08 |title=Go1 snaps up speed reading app Blinkist to expand in enterprise learning |url=https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/08/go1-snaps-up-speed-reading-app-blinkist-to-expand-in-enterprise-learning/ |website=TechCrunch}}

Blinkist partners with more than 45 non-fiction publishers worldwide, and is working directly with over 50 authors and thought leaders to create content for the app.

Blinkist is operated by Blinks Labs GmbH in Berlin, Germany. The headquarters is located in the Berlin neighborhood of Neukölln.{{Cite web |title=Blinkist Legal Notice |url=https://www.blinkist.com/en/disclaimer |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Blinkist}} Blinkist has around 160 full time employees and freelancers.{{Cite web |last=Farrar |first=Tom |date=2023-05-02 |title=The Company That's Harder To Get Into Than Harvard |url=https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/startup-harder-than-harvard |website=Blinkist Magazine}}

Blinkist competitors include [https://www.sumizeit.com Sumizeit], [https://www.instaread.com Instaread], [https://www.insta.page InstaPage] and [https://www.getabstract.com GetAbstract].

On May 8, 2023, it was announced that Go1 has acquired Blinkist{{Cite web |last=Blinkist Press Team |date=2023-05-08 |title=Blinkist joins forces with Go1 to create new offerings that serve the whole learner |url=https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/blinkist-joins-forces-go1/ |website=Blinkist Magazine}}{{Cite web |last=Ohr |first=Thomas |date=2023-05-08 |title=Australian B2B education platform Go1 has just acquired Berlin's bite-sized learning startup Blinkist |url=https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/05/australian-b2b-education-platform-go1-has-just-acquired-berlins-bite-sized-learning-startup-blinkist/ |website=EU-Startups}}{{Cite web |last=Barnes |first=Andrew |date=2023-05-08 |title=Go1 acquires Blinkist, launching a new model of learning |url=https://www.go1.com/blog/go1-acquires-blinkist-launching-a-new-model-of-learning |website=Go1}} for an undisclosed amount, that is "significantly bigger" than its last valuation ($160 million). In the process, Blinkist's biggest investor, Insight Partners, took $30 million in equity in Go1. The acquisition happened after the Australian learning platform raised $100 million at a valuation of over $2 billion last year, in hopes of expanding its reach and tech within the online learning market. The two companies plan on creating a learning model that serves the customer holistically.

Go1 is an Australian ed-tech startup led by Andrew Barnes, founder and Co-CEO, and Chris Eigeland, Co-CEO. The platform offers a learning and development library with more than 80,000 courses for customers in more than 60 countries.{{Cite web |title=Go1 Homepage |url=https://www.go1.com/ |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Go1}}

Users can browse books within 27 categories for professional and personal growth:{{Cite web |title=Blinkist Homepage |url=https://www.blinkist.com/ |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Blinkist.com}}

• Biography & Memoir
• Career & Success
• Communication Skills
• Corporate Culture
• Creativity
• Economics
• Education
• Entrepreneurship
• Health & Nutrition
• History
• Management & Leadership
• Marketing & Sales
• Mindfulness & Happiness
• Money & Investment
• Motivation & Inspiration
• Nature & the Environment
• Parenting
• Personal Development
• Philosophy
• Politics
• Productivity
• Psychology
• Religion & Spirituality
• Science
• Sex & Relationships
• Society & Culture
• Technology & the Future

Blinkist provides summaries of books and also provides audio versions of the summaries.{{Cite web |last=Entrepreneur Store |date=2021-06-23 |title=Blinkist Can Help You Learn Something New Every Day |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/blinkist-can-help-you-learn-something-new-every-day/373080 |website=Entrepreneur.com}}

This is what Blinkist call their summaries. They distill books into 15 minute audio and text explainers, highlighting just the key ideas the user needs to know. Blinkist currently offers Blinks in three languages — English, German and Spanish.

Shortcasts take the same principle as Blinks, but focusing on podcasts. This audio format summarize the key points from a podcast episode and are often created in partnership with hosts and creators.

Guides are a more in-depth, longer content format that are hosted by authors and thought leaders. Generally focusing on personal and professional development, the Guides feature Blinks from the Blinkist library and learning tools to help users engage with what they learn.

Spaces is a product feature that allows users to share and comment on content with others, directly in the app. Once content has been added to a Space, users can interact by commenting, reacting, as well as seeing who else has read it.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-19 |title=What are Blinkist Spaces — Blinkist for Business |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbi3DwhS5f8 |website=Youtube}}

Blinkist for Business{{Cite web |title=Upskill Your Team – Blinkist |url=https://www.blinkist.com/en/content/business |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Blinkist Business}} allows organizations to expand their learning opportunities for employees, by giving them access to the Blinkist app and their entire content library. Organizations can use the Blinkst library to identify content that supports their internal learning programs, recommend titles to employees directly in the app, and get access to expert coaching pathways. Employees get access to the entire library, allowing them to personalize their own personal and professional development.

The business focused social media platform LinkedIn named Blinkist one of the top 25 companies to work for in Germany, two consecutive years, in 2018{{Cite web |last=Weber |first=Sara |date=2018-09-10 |title=LinkedIn Top Startups 2018: Die 25 gefragtesten Startups in Deutschland |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-startups-2018-die-25-gefragtesten-sara-weber/ |website=LinkedIn}} and 2019.{{Cite web |last=Weber |first=Sara |date=2019-09-04 |title=LinkedIn Top Startups 2019: In diesen 25 jungen Unternehmen will Deutschland jetzt arbeiten |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-startups-2019-diesen-25-jungen-jetzt-arbeiten-sara-weber/ |website=LinkedIn}}

In 2016, Blinkist won the World Summit Award in the category Learning & Education.{{Cite web |title=World Summit Award |url=https://wsa-global.org/winner/blinkist/ |website=WSA}} The World Summit Award, granted by the United Nations, selects and promotes digital innovation with a focus on making the world a better place.

The app’s distinctive design caught the attention of Google when it was awarded a Material Design Award in 2017 in the category of Brand Expressiveness.{{Cite web |last=Fulcher |first=Rich |title=Material Design Awards 2017 |url=https://design.google/library/material-design-awards-2017 |website=Google Design}}

In 2020, Blinkist received the Better Sound Award from the ISA (International Sound Awards), in the category Audio Branding.{{Cite web |title=Blinkist Audio Branding – ISA |url=https://www.international-sound-awards.com/blinkist-audio-branding/ |website=ISA}}

In 2021, the German Design Award named Blinkist as their winner in the category Excellent Communications DesignBrand Identity.{{Cite web |title=Blinkist Audio Branding – Winner Brand Identity |url=https://www.german-design-award.com/en/the-winners/gallery/detail/32565-blinkist-audio-branding |website=German Design Award}}

Blinkist is mentioned in the HBO comedy series Ballers in the third episode of the fifth season, 07:15, titled "Copernicursed". In the episode Vernon (played by Donovan Carter) tells Reggie (played by London Brown) he knows about Galileo and Copernicus through the Blinkist app.

The book Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by bestselling author Tim Ferriss, mentions Blinkist as one of the "Most Impactful Purchases of $100 or Less".{{Cite news |last=Ferriss |first=Tim |date=2017-11-18 |title=Tribe of Mentors: Most Impactful Purchases of $100 or Less |url=https://tim.blog/2017/11/18/under100/ |newspaper=The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss}} The book brings together an anthology of methods, strategies, and routines from over 130 of the world's foremost achievers, spanning accomplished entrepreneurs to elite athletes and from artists to billionaire investors. When asked in the book "What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?", Liv Boeree answered Blinkist.

Blinkist's competitors include Littler Books, Book-zap, Sumizeit, Insta.Page, BUUK App, Booknotes, Snapreads, ReadingIQ, getAbstract, Instaread, BookRags, and Quiddity.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=O. T. |title=Blinkist Review (2021) – Is It Worth It? {{!}} OutwitTrade |url=https://outwittrade.com/blinkist-review/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |language=en-US}}

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{{reflist}}

• {{Official site|https://www.blinkist.com/}}

Category:Companies based in Berlin

Category:Internet properties established in 2012

Category:German companies established in 2012

Category:German brands

Category:Audiobook companies and organizations

Category:Online companies of Germany

Category:Subscription services