Vend
Vend is an Oslo-headquartered Nordic digital marketplace operator (formerly Schibsted Marketplaces) focused on real estate listings and adjacent verticals, with AI-powered home search via subsidiary Finn; the legacy Vend cloud-POS business was acquired by Lightspeed Commerce in 2021.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersAuckland, New Zealand
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Vend does
Vend is an Oslo-headquartered digital marketplace operator (formerly Schibsted Marketplaces, rebranded May 2025; ticker SBSNY) focused primarily on the Nordic real estate vertical, with adjacent operations in additional vertical categories. The company runs marketplace platforms serving consumers and businesses in Norway and the broader Nordic/Baltic region, and reports revenue on a marketplace-commission basis. Its wholly-owned subsidiary Finn operates an AI-first home search platform piloted in Norway as part of a verticalisation strategy.
The legacy Vend entity — a New Zealand-founded cloud POS and retail management platform founded in 2010 — was acquired by Lightspeed Commerce in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now marketed as "Lightspeed Retail (X-Series)," a unified commerce platform spanning POS, embedded payments, eCommerce, inventory management, marketing/loyalty, analytics, and merchant cash advances (Lightspeed Capital). That platform serves retail, restaurant/hospitality, and golf verticals with named enterprise customers including Birkenstock, Casetify, and L'Occitane.
Vend Marketplaces monetises via marketplace commissions, targeting 12–17% real estate revenue growth and a 45–50% EBITDA margin for the full year; it completed a €336 million debt refinancing tied to its Adevinta stake and divested its Swedish and Finnish jobs platforms to refocus on real estate. The combined Vend footprint (marketplaces plus legacy Lightspeed POS) spans more than a dozen retail sub-verticals, restaurant segments, and golf course types globally, with distribution through direct enterprise sales, inside sales, self-serve SMB onboarding, and a certified partner network.
Vend firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Vend
- Legal name
- Lightspeed Commerce Inc.
- Website
- https://vendhq.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Vend is an Oslo-headquartered Nordic digital marketplace operator (formerly Schibsted Marketplaces) focused on real estate listings and adjacent verticals, with AI-powered home search via subsidiary Finn; the legacy Vend cloud-POS business was acquired by Lightspeed Commerce in 2021.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Vend industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Point-of-Sale and Retail Management Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments (CRAFALAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- SME Banking Suite (Business Accounts, Invoicing, Payroll Integrations) (FSAGAAAI), Alternative Payments & Digital Wallet Acceptance (A2A, RTP, wallets) (THALAHAH)
Keywords
Where Vend is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Auckland
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Vend business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Marketplace Operations: Vend Marketplaces generates revenue through its marketplace platforms spanning real estate and other vertical categories. Q2 results showed total revenues of NOK 1,694 million with real estate revenue growing 11% organically.
- SaaS Subscription (POS Platform): Lightspeed (ex-Vend) provides cloud-based POS and retail management platform on subscription basis with tiered pricing for different business sizes and needs.
- Payment Processing: Integrated payment processing within POS system with automated payment processes and PCI compliance.
- Hardware Sales: Sale of POS hardware including scanners, terminals, and other retail equipment.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free trial available for new customers |
| Subscription | Monthly | Subscription tiers for Retail, Restaurant, and Golf sectors |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Vend product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Vend (now Lightspeed Retail X-Series) provides a cloud-based unified commerce platform combining point-of-sale, integrated payments, eCommerce, and multi-location inventory management for retail, restaurant, and golf businesses. The platform spans SMB self-serve to enterprise multi-store retailers and is offered via subscription with add-ons for loyalty, analytics, capital, and workforce management.
Product overview
Vend is now part of Lightspeed, operating as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series) - a cloud-based commerce platform offering a unified suite of POS, payments, e-commerce, and inventory management solutions. The platform serves multiple verticals including retail, restaurant, and golf industries. Core offerings include Lightspeed Retail POS with embedded Lightspeed Payments, supplemented by eCom for online channels, Inventory Management for multi-location stock control, and Marketing & Loyalty powered by Marsello for customer retention. Analytics are delivered through Lightspeed Insights, while business funding is available via Lightspeed Capital. The platform also includes sector-specific solutions: Lightspeed Restaurant (with tableside, kitchen display, and reservations) and Lightspeed Golf (with tee sheet and pro shop management). The B2B wholesale channel is served through NuORDER by Lightspeed.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Finn: AI-first home search platform operating in Norway, part of Vend's verticalisation strategy in real estate.
Products and services
- Lightspeed Retail (X-Series) Cloud-based point-of-sale and retail management platform (formerly Vend) that streamlines operations, manages inventory, processes payments, and enables multi-channel retail across physical and online stores for retailers ranging from single independent stores to multi-location enterprises.
- Lightspeed Payments Unified payment processing seamlessly embedded into the POS system, automating payment workflows, reducing manual errors, and providing PCI-compliant, end-to-end encrypted transactions for retail and restaurant merchants.
- Lightspeed eCom E-commerce platform enabling online selling, social selling, multi-language support (up to 14 languages), multi-currency transactions, and integrated shipping tracking for retailers selling across physical and digital channels.
- Lightspeed Inventory Management Inventory tracking software for managing stock levels, SKUs, product variants, and serial numbers across all channels and locations, with built-in purchase order functionality for multi-location retailers.
- Lightspeed Marketing & Loyalty Customer acquisition and retention platform powered by Marsello, offering loyalty programs, email marketing, SMS campaigns, and behavioral-based customer segmentation for retail merchants.
- Lightspeed Restaurant Restaurant-specific POS solution with tableside ordering, kitchen display systems, inventory management, reservations, task management, and workforce payroll integration for restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, and quick-service operators.
- Lightspeed Golf Golf course management software covering tee sheet scheduling, POS, sales and marketing, website and app, reporting, payments, and hardware for multi-course, municipal, private, and resort facilities.
- Lightspeed Capital Merchant cash advance program providing business funding with no personal credit checks, flat-fee payment structure, and fast funding deposits for retail and restaurant merchants.
- NuORDER by Lightspeed B2B wholesale platform and supplier network enabling brands and retailers to manage catalogs, orders, and relationships in the wholesale channel.
- Lightspeed Workforce & Payroll Integrated workforce management and payroll processing for retail and restaurant operations, enabling scheduling, time tracking, and payroll within the Lightspeed (ex-Vend) commerce platform.
- Lightspeed AI AI-powered capabilities integrated across the Lightspeed platform for retail, restaurant, and golf operations, including AI Showroom and AI Blog features.
Quantifiable outcome
- 50% year-on-year increase in leads delivered to agents
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Vend
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Vend technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability9 records
Feature8 records
Vend partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Microsoft AzurecoreMicrosoft Azure OpenAI powers CoStar's Homes AI with speech recognition capabilities. Azure provides the cloud infrastructure for AI features across the platform ecosystem.
- GooglecoreZillow partnered with Google NotebookLM to make home-buying guidance available through AI research tools, indicating integration partnerships for AI-powered features.
- Yale Varty (Individual)coreAppointed as Chief Commercial Officer of Vend Marketplaces, effective December 15, 2025. Part of Vend's new growth phase focused on commercial development.
- AdevintacoreVend holds a minority stake in Adevinta and booked €336 million in proceeds from a debt refinancing deal involving Adevinta. This represents a significant financial partnership.
- NuORDER by LightspeedcoreB2B wholesale platform and supplier network integration for Lightspeed retail customers, enabling seamless supplier connectivity and order management.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves2 records
Vend competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Square (Block): Square's POS software plus integrated payment processing targets the same SMB retail and restaurant merchants as Vend with a comparable bundled hardware/software/payments GTM. It is the most direct competitor on subscription-plus-transaction-fee economics.
- Shopify POS: Shopify POS extends Shopify's commerce platform into physical retail with inventory, payments and multi-channel features that directly overlap Vend's unified commerce proposition for omnichannel retailers.
- Toast: Toast is the dominant vertical SaaS POS for full-service restaurants and shares Vend's restaurant workflow focus including tableside ordering, kitchen display and integrated payments.
- Clover (Fiserv): Clover provides a hardware-plus-software POS with payments and app marketplace targeting retail and food service SMBs that overlap closely with Vend's distribution-led SMB go-to-market.
- Revel Systems: Revel offers an iPad-based POS with inventory and multi-location capabilities serving retail and restaurant verticals that closely mirror Vend's unified commerce pitch.
- TouchBistro: TouchBistro provides iPad-based restaurant POS with tableside ordering, inventory and reservations that competes head-to-head with Vend's restaurant workflow offering.
- EPOS Now: EPOS Now targets independent retailers and hospitality operators with cloud POS plus integrated payments and inventory, mirroring Vend's SMB-led GTM and product mix.
- Heartland Retail (Global Payments): Heartland Retail serves specialty and multi-store retailers with a POS/inventory platform positioned upmarket, overlapping Vend's mid-market specialty retail cohort.
- ShopKeep: ShopKeep (acquired by Lightspeed in 2019) is a cloud POS for SMB retailers with inventory and payments that directly parallels Vend's core SMB product offering.
Broad incumbents
- Lightspeed Commerce: Lightspeed acquired the original Vend in 2021 and now operates the X-Series under the Lightspeed Retail umbrella. As both parent and broader-suite competitor across retail, restaurant and golf, Lightspeed is the closest incumbent peer even though it is no longer a standalone peer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Vend social profiles
Digital presenceVend compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Vend financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vend leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Vend subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Vend funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vend M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vend
What does Vend do?
Vend (now Lightspeed Retail X-Series) provides a cloud-based unified commerce platform combining point-of-sale, integrated payments, eCommerce, and multi-location inventory management for retail, restaurant, and golf businesses. The platform spans SMB self-serve to enterprise multi-store retailers and is offered via subscription with add-ons for loyalty, analytics, capital, and workforce management.
Is Vend a public or private company?
Vend is a public company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Vend founded?
Vend was founded in 2013. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Vend based?
Vend is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Vend make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Operations are the primary driver. The others are saaS Subscription (POS Platform), payment Processing and hardware Sales.
Who are Vend's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Square (Block), Shopify POS, Toast, Clover (Fiserv), Revel Systems, TouchBistro, EPOS Now, Heartland Retail (Global Payments) and ShopKeep. Lightspeed Commerce is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Vend have an API?
Yes. Lightspeed (ex Vend) offers a powerful retail API that extends the POS platform's capabilities. Developers can build custom reports and checkout workflows, connect all channels, integrate to enterprise ERP and accounting systems, and more. Developer documentation is at www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail/api.
What industry is Vend in?
Vend's product category is Point-of-Sale and Retail Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFALAH, Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments, with a secondary code of FSAGAAAI, SME Banking Suite (Business Accounts, Invoicing, Payroll Integrations). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 5734.