Israeli App Publishers Taking on the World

David vs. Goliath: Israeli Publishers Taking on the World

© App Annie 2015


Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Israel’s Leading International App Publishers

3. United States Is Key to Overseas Growth

4. Israel’s App Pioneers: A Blueprint and Benchmark for Success?

5. Summary

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1. Introduction

Israel’s technology sector has experienced phenomenal growth over the past few years,

earning the country the moniker of Startup Nation. This growth culminated in a record year for Israeli tech company exits in 2014, with acquisitions and IPOs totaling almost $15 billion.

Mobile app publishers are a key part of the Israel’s tech scene, and several of its leading

examples have reaped the rewards through large exits over the past five years. Navigation

app publisher Waze was acquired by Google in 2013 for a reported value of $1.3 billion. On the gaming side, Playtika, now with one of the biggest casino games on the app stores in

Slotomania , joined Caesars Entertainment in 2011 on the strength of its social casino gaming performance. Dragonplay, another social casino gaming company, was acquired by Bally Technologies for a reported $100 million in 2014.

Innovation and growth continue unabated in the mobile app space in Israel. With a relatively

small domestic market, overseas success is vital to publishers looking to be the next big story

from Israel’s tech economy. In this report, we take a close look at which Israeli publishers are

leading the way and the path they follow to bring innovative apps to the world stage.



http://www.pwc.com/il/en/technology/pwc_israel_exits_report_2014_en.pdf

http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/google-maps-and-waze-outsmarting.html

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-1000709145

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-bally-acquires-dragonplay-for-100m-1000943945

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-bally-acquires-dragonplay-for-100m-1000943945



2. Israel’s Leading International App

Companies

Note: App Annie defines company headquarter location according to the location of the parent company headquarters. As a result, publishers acquired by overseas companies were not considered in the top Israeli companies.





TabTale led independent Israeli publishers by both revenue and downloads over the past year. From its 2010 origins, TabTale has grown to one of the world’s leading publishers of

apps for kids. It has cemented its position as one of the powerhouses of the Israeli app

economy with acquisitions of Israelbased Kids Games Club in 2013, Coco Play in 2014 and both Level Bit and Sunstorm Games in 2015.

Following TabTale, the top international Israeli publishers reveal the diversity of the app

development environment in the country. Games accounted for around 45% of overseas

downloads and around 65% of overseas revenues for these leading publishers. The top

publishers covered the full spectrum of mobile gaming, but social casino gaming proved

particularly strong, led by publishers like InfiApps, Diwip , Scene53 and LuckyFish Games.

Outside of gaming, the top Israeli companies are equally diverse. The range of categories

covered encompasses communication apps like those from Rounds and Glide Talk, photo and video app companies such as Magisto and Lightricks, keyboard creators like a.i.type , karaoke apps from Famous Blue , and health and fitness publishers Clear Sky Apps and Matis. This diversity indicates that it is not just one particular sector performing well in Israel, but rather the region is host to a broad and strong app environment.

3. United States Is Key to Overseas

Growth

Although it is little surprise to see the United States as the leading market for both downloads

and revenue for Israeli publishers, the disproportionality of its share is notable. Given that

significant investment and acquisitions in the Israel mobile app space have largely come from

USbased companies, it follows that this would be a primary strategic target for Israeli

publishers. In contrast, the impact of publishers from Israel is relatively limited in Asian

countries, most likely reflecting the historical export ties between Israel, the United States and



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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-04-tabtale-acquires-kids-games-club

http://www.tabtale.com/blog_posts/were-excited-coco-play/

http://www.tabtale.com/news/level-bit/

http://www.tabtale.com/news/sunstorm-games-joins-tabtale-family/

https://www.appannie.com/company/1000200000017248/apps/?_ref=redirect&utm_source=slideshare&utm_medium=pdf&utm_term=&utm_content=AppUsage_Q12015&utm_campaign=Slideshare_June

https://www.appannie.com/company/diwip/apps/?_ref=redirect&utm_source=slideshare&utm_medium=pdf&utm_term=&utm_content=AppUsage_Q12015&utm_campaign=Slideshare_June







https://www.appannie.com/company/1000200000017148/





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Israeli App Publishers Taking on the World

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