Sesamy
Sesamy is a Stockholm-based SaaS platform that unifies digital, print, and B2B subscription management, paywalls, billing, and identity for Nordic media publishers and podcasters, serving 80+ customers across the Nordics and UK.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersStockholm, Sweden
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Sesamy does
Sesamy AB is a Stockholm-based subscription and monetization SaaS platform purpose-built for Nordic media publishers. Founded in October 2022 by the team behind Acast (CEO Mans Ulvestam; co-founders Markus Ahlstrand and Karl Rosander), the company consolidates digital subscriptions, single-article purchases, print fulfillment, and B2B multi-seat licensing into a single subscriber-management, billing, and analytics system. The platform's technology stack comprises a versioned REST API (v2), a JavaScript SDK, and webhook infrastructure, built on Auth0 for identity, Stripe Connect for payments (where publishers own their accounts), and deep Nordic-native integrations for Vipps, Swish, Klarna, Billogram, OCR/KID, Helthjem (Norwegian print distribution), and DI (Swedish print distribution), with EU OSS VAT compliance built in.
The platform comprises modular capabilities: a no-code paywall builder with optimized checkout, self-service subscription management for readers and publishers, real-time analytics, podcast monetization via Spotify Open Access, B2B seat management with SSO, and full print distribution workflows. A separate SmartID product offers built-in price optimization for pay-per-article purchases. Sesamy operates a sales-led GTM targeting enterprise and mid-market publishers through 30-minute tailored product demos and quote-based annual SaaS contracts; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company has migrated 80+ publishers with zero downtime and claims average post-switch MRR lift of 28% and checkout conversion improvement of 18%.
Sesamy has raised approximately €7.3 million across two seed rounds (€4M in April 2021 led by GP Bullhound with Edastra and Peter Dahlberg; €3.3M in November 2022 led by GP Bullhound with Brofund, CoMade, Hallbar Capital, and Tham Invest). The company serves publishers across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and the UK, with four of the six largest digital magazine publishers in Sweden running on the platform. Operations are headquartered in Stockholm with a distributed Nordic team.
Sesamy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sesamy
- Legal name
- Sesamy AB
- Website
- https://sesamy.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sesamy is a Stockholm-based SaaS platform that unifies digital, print, and B2B subscription management, paywalls, billing, and identity for Nordic media publishers and podcasters, serving 80+ customers across the Nordics and UK.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sesamy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Publisher Subscription Management Software
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Podcast Ad Sales Networks & Monetization Platforms (MPACADAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Podcast Hosting & Enterprise Solutions (Private/Branded Podcasts) (MPACADAF)
Keywords
Where Sesamy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stockholm
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Sesamy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Platform SaaS: Sesamy operates as a B2B SaaS platform providing subscription management, paywall, and monetization tools to publishers. Revenue is generated through platform subscription fees from publishers (newspapers, magazines, podcasters). The platform supports digital subscriptions, print subscriptions, and B2B multi-seat licensing in one system.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Platform subscription for publishers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Sesamy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sesamy provides a subscription and monetization platform for media publishers and podcasters. The platform handles digital subscriptions, single purchases, print fulfillment, and B2B multi-seat licensing with shared subscriber management, billing, identity, and analytics. It includes no-code paywall building, passwordless authentication, and Nordic-native payment integrations including Vipps, Swish, Klarna, and Stripe.
Product overview
Sesamy is a unified subscription and monetization platform designed for media publishing and podcasting. The core Sesamy Platform handles digital subscriptions, single purchases, and flexible revenue models, with four of the six largest digital magazines in Sweden running on the platform. The platform comprises integrated modules: Paywalls & Checkout for paywall building and optimized checkout, Subscription Management for subscriber self-service, Identity & Authentication for passwordless login, Analytics & Reporting for real-time insights, Podcasting for premium audio content with Spotify Open Access, B2B Subscriptions for multi-seat licensing and organization access, Print Fulfilment for Nordic distribution via Helthjem and DI, and Integrations & API for extending the platform. The SmartID feature offers built-in price optimization for pay-per-article models.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sesamy Platform A unified subscription and monetization platform for media publishers and podcasters handling digital subscriptions, single purchases, print fulfillment, and B2B multi-seat licensing with shared subscriber management, billing, and analytics.
Quantifiable outcome
- Publishers increase revenue by 28% on average after switching to Sesamy
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Sesamy
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Sesamy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration40 records
Feature12 records
Sesamy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- StripecoreStripe is the primary payment processor for card payments. Sesamy uses Stripe Connect architecture so publishers own their own Stripe accounts. Supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, and card payments.
- VippscorePrimary Nordic mobile payment method with Vipps account takeover for payment continuity during migrations. Supports recurring payments for subscriptions.
- SwishcoreSwedish mobile payment solution integrated for Swedish publishers.
- KlarnacoreBuy now pay later payment method integrated for subscription payments with account continuity support.
- BillogramcoreInvoice and payment reconciliation platform handling invoice generation, delivery, and tracking for Nordic publishers.
- Auth0coreAuthentication platform powering fully hosted login with passwordless codes, SMS, social login, and enterprise identity providers.
- HelthjemcoreNorwegian print distribution service integrated natively for print subscription fulfillment in Norway.
- DI (Dagens Industri)coreSwedish print distribution service integrated natively for print subscription fulfillment in Sweden.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sesamy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Piano: Piano is a direct competitor offering subscription, paywall, and content monetization software to publishers globally. It targets the same buyer (publishers and media companies) with similar paywall, registration, and analytics capabilities, but is a larger, more global incumbent.
- Memberful: Memberful is a subscription and membership platform for creators and independent publishers, offering paywalls, gated content, and member management. It targets a similar SMB publisher segment but lacks Sesamy's Nordic payment and print depth.
- Outseta: Outseta is an all-in-one subscription, billing, CRM, and help desk platform aimed at SaaS and membership businesses. It competes for the same publisher wallet with a unified subscription stack, though without Nordic-specific rails.
Broad incumbents
- Stripe Billing: Stripe Billing is a broad incumbent subscription billing and payment infrastructure product used by publishers and SaaS companies alike. It overlaps with Sesamy's billing and paywall primitives and benefits from Stripe's payment-rail dominance.
- Recurly: Recurly is an established subscription management and recurring billing platform used by media and B2B publishers. It overlaps with Sesamy's subscription management and billing modules at the enterprise tier.
- Zuora: Zuora is a broader enterprise subscription management and billing platform. While it serves a wider set of industries, it is increasingly used by publishers for digital subscription infrastructure and competes for the same enterprise deals as Sesamy.
Emerging players
- Substack: Substack is a creator/newsletter subscription platform with built-in paid subscription and paywall tools. It targets a more creator-led audience than Sesamy but represents an emerging alternative for independent publisher monetization.
- Supertab: Supertab provides metered access, micropayments and paywall solutions for digital publishers. It overlaps with Sesamy's paywall and checkout modules, particularly the SmartID pay-per-article concept.
Regional players
- Comember: Comember is a Nordic membership and subscription platform that integrates with Sesamy. It is a regional ecosystem peer focused on Norwegian and Swedish publishers.
Others
- Labrador CMS: Labrador CMS is a Nordic news CMS that integrates natively with Sesamy for paywall and subscription management. It is an ecosystem/technology partner rather than a direct competitor, but a relevant adjacent platform in the Nordic publishing stack.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sesamy social profiles
Digital presenceSesamy compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Sesamy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sesamy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Sesamy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sesamy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sesamy
What does Sesamy do?
Sesamy provides a subscription and monetization platform for media publishers and podcasters. The platform handles digital subscriptions, single purchases, print fulfillment, and B2B multi-seat licensing with shared subscriber management, billing, identity, and analytics. It includes no-code paywall building, passwordless authentication, and Nordic-native payment integrations including Vipps, Swish, Klarna, and Stripe.
Is Sesamy a public or private company?
Sesamy is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sesamy founded?
Sesamy was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sesamy based?
Sesamy is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Sesamy make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Platform SaaS.
Who are Sesamy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Piano, Memberful and Outseta. Broad incumbents are Stripe Billing, Recurly and Zuora. Emerging players are Substack and Supertab. Comember is listed as a regional player. Labrador CMS is listed as an others.
Does Sesamy have an API?
Yes. Full versioned REST API (/v2/...) covering subscriptions, paywalls, billing, analytics, entitlements, and identity. Authenticated with Bearer tokens, rate-limited by tier, versioned base paths. Webhooks fire on subscription and billing lifecycle events (subscription.created, payment.failed, entitlement.changed, cancellation.requested, invoice.paid). Signed with HMAC, retried with exponential backoff on non-2xx responses, delivered at-least-once with idempotency keys. Developer documentation is at developers.sesamy.com.
What industry is Sesamy in?
Sesamy's product category is Publisher Subscription Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACADAD, Podcast Ad Sales Networks & Monetization Platforms, with a secondary code of MPACADAF, Podcast Hosting & Enterprise Solutions (Private/Branded Podcasts). Its NAICS code is 516210 and its SIC code is 7370.