Applause (software company)

Applause is a venture-funded company that tests software and conducts usability feedback research.

Applause, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustrySoftware Testing
Crowdsourcing
Software Quality Assurance
FoundedAugust 2007
Headquarters
Framingham, Massachusetts
Key people
Doron Reuveni, CEO & Co-founder

Chris Malone, CFO
Tom Bonos, SRO
Lisa Landa, CMO
Rob Mason, SVP of Engineering
Luke Damian, SVP of Go-to-Market Strategy
Kristin Simonini, VP of Product
Mark Granot, GM of Applause Israel

Jan Wolter, GM of Applause EU

[1]
Number of employees
301 FTE
Websitewww.applause.com

The company's headquarters are located in Framingham, Massachusetts. It has additional U.S. locations in San Mateo, California and Seattle, Washington.[2] Its European headquarters are located[3] in Berlin, and it has additional offices in Poland[4] and Israel.

In August 2017, the company announced acquisition by Vista Equity Partners.[5]

History and Acquisitions

The company was originally incorporated under the name uTest in August 2007 by founders Doron Reuveni and Roy Solomon[6] with $2.3M in seed funding from Mesco Ltd. and the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation (MTDC).[7]

  • August 2012: The company acquired an SDK, Apphance, and staff from Polish company Polidea[8][9]
  • January 2014: The company closed a $43 million Series E round of funding, led by Goldman Sachs, bringing its current funding to more than $80 million.[10]
  • May 2014: The company changed its name to Applause[11] concurrent with the acquisition of German testing company Testhub, which became Applause's European headquarters.[12]
  • September 2016: The company closed a $35 million Series F round of funding,[13] led by Credit Suisse with investment also from strategic partner Accenture, bringing its current funding to more than $115 million.

Applause subsequently repurposed the uTest brand as a community of professional testers. Growing to more than 400,000 testers,[14] uTest relaunched as a brand of Applause App. Quality, Inc. in 2015 with an updated site as a social network for software testers.[15]

Product

Applause provides testing services, usability feedback and research. Notable customers include Facebook, Google, Fox Broadcasting, eBay, Concur and Runkeeper.

Facebook Research App involvement

[16]

References
  1. "Applause Management". Applause, Inc. Archived from the original on 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  2. "Boston mobile app testing firm Applause establishes offices in Seattle area" (August 11, 2014): http://www.geekwire.com/2014/boston-mobile-app-testing-firm-applause-establishes-offices-seattle-area/
  3. "App Tester uTest/Applause Acquires German's Testhub To Grow Its Presence In Europe"(May 5, 2014):https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/05/applause-buys-testhub/
  4. "UTest Acquires Apphance In 7-Figure Deal As Mobile Developer Tools Consolidate" (August 15, 2012):https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/15/utest-acquires-apphance-in-7-figure-deal-as-mobile-developer-tools-consolidate/
  5. Applause Announces Acquisition by Vista Equity Partners, Business Wire, August 23, 2017
  6. "Executive Team", Applause website (retrieved February 22, 2016); http://www.applause.com/executives Archived 2016-02-29 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Applause Company Profile", (CrunchBase); https://www.crunchbase.com/funding-round/68248e31fd1635c3782ad8f7dd82744a
  8. https://www.polidea.com/
  9. "uTest Acquires Apphance Mobile App Testing Tool for Seven Figures", BostInno (August 15, 2012); http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2012/08/15/utest-acquires-apphance-mobile-app-testing-tool-for-seven-figures/
  10. "UTest Adds $43M for App Testing, Gets Ready for Future as Applause", Xconomy (January 14, 2014); http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2014/01/14/utest-adds-43m-for-app-testing-gets-ready-for-future-as-applause/
  11. "Targeting Bigger Market, UTest To Change Name To Applause Along With Strategy", Forbes (November 5, 2013); https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2013/11/05/targeting-bigger-market-utest-to-change-name-to-applause-along-with-strategy/#489b8ab72d03
  12. "App Tester uTest/Applause Acquires German's Testhub To Grow Its Presence In Europe", TechCrunch (May 5, 2014); https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/05/applause-buys-testhub/
  13. "Applause scores $35 mln Series F", peHUB (September 14, 2016); https://www.pehub.com/2016/09/applause-scores-35-mln-series-f/
  14. "Applause Reaches $115M in Funding, Eyes Acquisitions Ahead of IPO", BostInno (September 14, 2016); http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2016/09/14/applause-funding-35m-series-f-ipo-plans-accenture-partnership/
  15. "Boston Download: Applause Relaunches uTest, 'Rock Band' on Oculus, Mayor Visits Wayfair", (December 4, 2015); http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/12/04/boston-download-mayor-visits-wayfair-harvard-students-green-line-bomb-incident-50-on-fire-winners-announced/
  16. We dismantle Facebook’s memo defending its “Research” https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/31/facebook-researchgate/
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