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The World's Online Festival

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Developer(s)Palringo Limited
Initial release2006
Stable release
iOS: 7.2 25 March 2015; 9 years ago (2015-03-25);

Android: 3.0 24 October 2014; 10 years ago (2014-10-24)

Operating systemJava ME, Android, iOS, OS X, Microsoft Windows
TypeSocial networking chat platform
LicencePremium
Websitewww.palringo.com

Palringo Group Messenger is a community-oriented messaging and gaming app for Windows, OS X, iOS and Android.[1] [2] The platform allows users to form and join large groups based on common interests, send instant messages and drop images and voice recordings into conversations. Launched in 2006, Palringo has 45 million installed users worldwide and offers a range of games along with more than 350,000 groups, some of which have up to 2,000 members.[3][4] Headquartered in London, Palringo has offices in Newcastle, Ipswich, Gothenburg and Helsinki.[3]

As of March, 2015 the company had revenues of $14 million in 2014, up 100% from $7 million in 2013. [5]

The company has also been recognised by The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 2015, the measurement of the UK's fastest growing tech companies where it was placed 7th out of 100 companies. [6] Palringo has also been shortlisted in the Innovation Of A Business Model and Social & Entertainment categories of the prestigious 2015 Meffys awards.[7]

History

Palringo was founded in Newcastle in 2006 by 21-year-old engineering student, Martin Rosinski, who developed it as a communications tool for his father's engineering company to help engineers resolve problems in the field. When problems were detected it enabled affected parties to communicate with each other. In August 2006, Northstar Ventures got involved and a seed of £650,000 was raised to help build a user base.[1][3]

In 2010, Palringo launched an enterprise version of the app, offering companies private group communication networks, with notable clients including Smartlogic and 3M.

Expansion

In August 2012, Palringo began a shift away from the B2B market towards the consumer community, where users were forming groups with particular interests, with a specific focus on games. The business model entails selling virtual products such as rich media sticker packs, Bots and functional utilities.[8][9]

In May 2014, Palringo acquired Swedish games developer Free Lunch Design (FLD), who previously worked with Disney, Paramount and Marvel, with a view to integrating Palringo's instant messaging technology into community-orientated games.[10] In September 2014, the company reiterated its strategy on combining games and instant messaging by focusing on adding gaming capabilities on top of an already existing messaging platform.[4]

In May 2015, Palringo continued to expand by acquiring Finnish chat games developer Tribe Studios, best known for its patented Dramagame technology, which it uses to develop multiplayer role-playing games.[11]

Charity

In 2013, the company launched a charitable initiative aimed at their users in the Gulf region during the month of Ramadan, which enabled users to donate Palringo credits through a special charity Bot. They raised over US $230,000 for Charity Right and Islamic Relief.[2]

In 2014, they ran the campaign again but this time opened it up their entire user base by adding Child's Play, a charity aimed at providing video game entertainment to sick children in hospital.

More recently, during Ramadan in 2015, Palringo raised more than $300,000 from its gaming community to be split between Action Against Hunger and Islamic Relief Worldwide. [12]

References

  1. ^ a b Gibson, Robert (2 May 2014). "Hundreds turn out to celebrate the IT sector at Dynamo 14". The Journal. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b Sahoo, Sananda (12 September 2013). "Palringo: connecting with a cause". The National. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Munford, Monty (21 September 2014). "Move over London and Berlin, hello Newcastle, Gothenburg and Ipswich". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  4. ^ a b Munford, Monty (12 September 2014). "Palringo Takes Games and Messaging to the Next Level". Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  5. ^ Grubb, Jeff (17 March 2015). "Chat app Palringo doubles its revenues thanks to gaming". VentureBeat. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  6. ^ Hiscox, James (17 March 2015). "Palringo ranked 7th in Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100". Sunday Times. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  7. ^ Perlmutter, Rimma (17 March 2015). "Meffys 2015 Finalists". MEF. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  8. ^ Green, Tim (7 May 2014). "The Big ME Interview: Tim Rea, of Palringo, on becoming 'the world's leading game publisher'". Mobile Entertainment. Mobile Entertainment. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  9. ^ Arnroth, Thomas (5 May 2014). "Svensk spelstudio i brittiskt uppköp". IDG. IDG. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  10. ^ Keighley, Tom (30 April 2014). "Cramlington instant messaging creators acquire Swedish game developers". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  11. ^ Butcher, Mike (20 May 2015). "Palringo acquires Helsink-based chat games developer Tribe Stuidos". Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  12. ^ Pearson, Dan (12 August 2015). "Palringo raises $300,000 for world hunger charities". www.gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved 18 August 2015.

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