The makers of Peak have sold a majority stake to French publisher Hachette Livre. A lowkey yet popular app, Peak is a subscription-based service specifically designed to entertain a user while also exercising their cognitive skills at the same time. It was launched by London-based app company Brainbow, and has been downloaded over 15 million times and was named Best App in 2014 by Apple, while Google Play chose it as the Best Self Improvement App in 2015 and 2016, also going on to win a Europas award.
Peak was launched by Brainbow in 2014. The app, available on iOS and Android devices, aims to help users improve their memory, focus, problem solving, mental agility, and language skills. There are 24 games available on the app which range in difficulty level. Some of the exercises are personalized for each user. The app will also offer performance reviews and analytics based on how well the user is doing and help users set personalized goals for themselves. While the app is free to download, the program costs $4.99 for one month and $34.99 for 12 months.
Last April, Peak raised $7 million in a round led by Creandum, along with participation from DN Capital, London Venture Partners, and Qualcomm Ventures. The company raised $10.5 million total. Also in 2015, Peak worked with Cambridge University to produce a small, peer-reviewed study of its apps.
This year, the company launched new games and added a personal training app called Coach. It also expanded its subscription service to Japan, China, Korea, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
The price of the deal has not been disclosed, but this has: even after this monumental sale, things will pretty much go on as usual at Peak/Brainbow, since it will remain independent. Any concerns about changes in its operations can therefore be dismissed.
In a blog post about the sale, the team said,
Why Hachette Livre? The company is committed to expanding beyond books, and given its heritage in education and literature, it’s eager to support and develop intelligent digital entertainment. For us, this partnership allows us to stay true to our vision for Peak: a smart self-improvement app that continually challenges and motivates our users. Operationally, Peak will remain independent, run by the original team of founders, and we’ll continue to work out of London.
Hachette Livre, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère SCA, is the world’s third-largest book publisher for the general public and educational markets with sales of €2,206 million in 2015.
Peak’s profitability in several of its major markets, as well as the revenues that digital games can bring in as compared to book publishing, not to forget the dip in ebook sales for Hachette, all contributed to the interest in what Peak is doing, and a desire to catch up in the digital game. This observation is also backed up by the fact that Peak is the second mobile app maker the company has acquired — it bought mobile games studio Neon Play in June.
Co-founders Itamar Lesuisse, Sagi Shorrer, Gerald Goldstein and Xavier Louis started Brainbow at the end of 2012. They said:
We are excited to join Hachette Livre and look forward to leveraging synergies with Hachette Livre around global distribution and contents. This move will help fuel the global expansion of Brainbow’s award winning app and its future products.
Arnaud Nourry, Chairman and CEO of Hachette Livre, said:
After Hachette UK acquired Neon Play in June 2016, the acquisition of Brainbow is another step in Hachette Livre’s mobile strategy. The co-founders are talented experts who will bring new skills to Hachette Livre. We are delighted to welcome them into the group.
At the end of their blog post about the acquisition, the Peak team dropped some hints about what’s to come for the company in 2017. They said,
Next year, we’ll be unveiling even more games and modules. We know that keeping your mind fit encompasses a number of activities. Aside from challenging your cognitive skills, you need to get enough sleep, eat right, socialize, manage stress and maintain a clear mind. Here’s a hint for next year’s Peak: we’ll be releasing new activities and games in several of these areas.
