Labrador CMS

Labrador CMS is a Norwegian software-as-a-service (SaaS) company providing a content management system specifically designed for digital publishers. The company's origins trace back to 2008 within the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, where founder Jon Reidar Hammerfjeld, an experienced reporter, identified the need for a more user-friendly and efficient publishing platform. Officially founded in 2011, the company launched its service with Norwegian broadcaster TV2, which subsequently became an investor in 2013. The firm is currently led by CEO Jan Thoresen and founder Jon Reidar Hammerfjeld. Thoresen's background includes founding Aller X, the digital innovation arm of Aller Media Group, a major Nordic media conglomerate that is also an investor in Labrador CMS.

The business operates on a B2B subscription model, with revenue generated through tiered monthly fees based on the number of users and website traffic. This cost-sharing model distributes development and maintenance expenses across its client base, which numbered over 300 websites in 13 countries as of early 2024. Clients range from large national news operations and TV stations like TV2.no and Elle to smaller, specialized B2B media and local newspapers. The company targets publishers who have outgrown platforms like WordPress and require a more robust, no-code solution without the high cost of custom-built systems. In 2022, Labrador CMS secured €2.5 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Skagerak Capital, with participation from TV2 and Aller Media, to fuel its international expansion.

Labrador's product is a full-stack, cloud-based publishing platform that functions as a headless CMS but with an integrated front-end rendering engine. This hybrid approach provides developers with API access for customization while offering journalists a visual, what-you-see-is-what-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editor that requires minimal training. Key features are designed to streamline editorial workflows, allowing journalists to write, edit images, and publish directly within a single interface that shows real-time previews for both desktop and mobile layouts. The platform incorporates AI-powered tools for tasks such as generating headlines and SEO-optimized summaries, automatic content tagging, and translation into over 140 languages. All hosting, maintenance, security, and weekly updates are included in the subscription, eliminating the need for clients to manage their own server infrastructure.

Keywords: content management system, digital publishing, newsroom software, SaaS, media technology, headless CMS, WYSIWYG editor, publisher tools, journalism technology, cloud CMS, AI content creation, media workflow, online news platform, no-code publisher solution, editorial efficiency, content creation platform, multi-site publisher, digital media solutions, automated journalism, cost-sharing CMS