
txtr
Largest independent e-book reading infrastructure.
Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
---|---|---|---|
N/A | €0.0 | round | |
investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | N/A | Acquisition | |
Total Funding | 000k |
EUR | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenues | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
EBITDA | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
Profit | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
EV | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
EV / revenue | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x |
EV / EBITDA | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x |
R&D budget | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
Source: Company filings or news article
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Based in Berlin, txtr GmbH launched in 2008 as a multifaceted player in the digital reading market. The company was established by serial entrepreneur Christophe Maire, known for founding the mobile navigation software gate5 which was sold to Nokia, alongside Andreas Steinhauser who served as CTO. Maire's background in successfully building and exiting technology ventures provided a strong foundation for txtr's entry into the burgeoning e-book sector.
txtr operated a dual-focused business model. Primarily, it provided white-label e-reading solutions for business clients, developing and managing e-book stores and applications. A key partnership included powering the e-book platform for the major European electronics retailer Media-Saturn-Holding. Concurrently, the company ran its own consumer-facing e-book store at txtr.com, offering a catalog of titles in the standard EPUB format through agreements with numerous publishing houses. To complement its ecosystem, txtr developed a cloud-based reading service with free applications for iOS, Android, and Windows devices, allowing users to read their purchased e-books across different platforms.
In late 2012, the company made a significant move into hardware with the announcement of the txtr beagle, a low-cost e-reader. This device was positioned as a lightweight, minimalist companion to smartphones. It featured a 5-inch E Ink screen and uniquely lacked Wi-Fi or a USB port, instead relying on a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone app for transferring e-books. The business strategy for the beagle was to partner with mobile network carriers who would subsidize the device, potentially offering it for as low as €9.90, to drive e-book sales through a revenue-sharing model. Despite generating media attention and passing FCC approval, the partnerships with carriers did not materialize as hoped. After years of operation and significant investment in developing its hardware and a spin-off e-book flat-rate service called Blloon, txtr faced financial difficulties. The company filed for insolvency in January 2015, with its assets and technology subsequently being acquired by its partner, Media-Saturn-Holding, to be integrated into their digital media services.
Keywords: e-reading, ebook platform, Christophe Maire, Andreas Steinhauser, txtr beagle, digital publishing, ebook retailer, mobile reading, EPUB, cloud e-reader, white-label ebook store, Media-Saturn-Holding, Blloon, Berlin startup, e-ink device, bluetooth e-reader, digital content distribution, txtr GmbH, gate5, Atlantic Labs