Software company Lightricks, creator of seven photo and video editing apps including Facetune and Enlight, has become Israel’s latest unicorn startup, announcing on Wednesday that it had raised $135 million in financing at a $1 billion valuation.
The Jerusalem-based company has raised a total of $205 million in funding from investors and has tripled its revenue annually over the past three years, thanks to more than 180 million downloads and nearly 3 million paying subscribers.
The latest round of funding was led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing. Other participants included New York-based Insight Partners and Israel’s ClalTech.
The company itself has tripled in value in the past eight months, having been valued at just $330 million in November.
According to Lightricks CEO Zeev Farbman, the investment will be used to make strategic acquisitions, expand the company’s offices and staff in Israel, the United Kingdom and Germany, and speed up development on artificial-intelligence-based tools.
Lightricks was founded in 2013 by Israeli doctoral students Nir Pochter, Zeev Farbman, Yaron Inger, Amit Goldstein, in addition to former Supreme Court clerk Itai Tsiddon.
Its apps are available for free, but subscription plans unlock additional functionality.
Enlight was Apple’s App of the Year for 2015, the 11th best-selling paid iOS app in 2016 and the recipient of an Apple Design Award in 2017.
