Gleeph

What Gleeph does

Gleeph is a French mobile-first reading platform founded in 2015 and headquartered in La Rochelle, France. The company operates a virtual library application that enables individual readers to manage personal book collections, share reviews, and discover new titles through curated thematic shelves, community selections, and a personalized recommendation engine. Its product surface spans four components: the Gleeph consumer app (iOS, Android, and web), Gleeph Premium (a paid subscription tier for dedicated readers with enhanced features and exclusive content), Gleeph Pro (a B2B offering providing publishers and bookstores with reader-engagement and market-reach tools), and a barcode scanner/import utility enabling users to digitize existing physical libraries through EAN scanning or CSV/XLS upload.

The underlying technology is a mobile-first platform with iOS and Android applications, browser-based web access at gleeph.com, barcode and QR scanning functionality, and a recommendation engine that processes text-based inputs (reading history, library composition, reviews) to deliver personalized suggestions. Content coverage spans 12+ verticals including fiction, romance, mystery/thriller, fantasy/sci-fi, classics, comics/graphic novels, manga, young adult, children's, health/lifestyle, art/culture, and education. No public AI research, named proprietary models, patents, or API/SDK distribution are disclosed.

The business model is product-led and freemium, monetizing through Gleeph Premium consumer subscriptions and the Gleeph Pro professional offering for publishers and bookstores. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution relies on app store placement, organic social channels (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn), and content marketing via blog posts and curated reading lists. The company has approximately 750,000 application users (as of April 2024), 11-50 employees, and is venture-backed with a second fundraising round of €1 million led by Banque des Territoires completed in April 2024.

Name

Gleeph

Legal name

Gleeph

Website

https://gleeph.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gleeph is a French mobile-first reading platform serving ~750,000 users with virtual library management, personalized book recommendations, and a B2B offering (Gleeph Pro) for publishers and bookstores to drive reader engagement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reading and Book Discovery Platform

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)

akta.pro primary industry

Meta-Search & Search Aggregators (BPAMAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humor, Gift & Specialty Format Books (Journals, Coloring, etc.) (MPAJAAAN), Shopper & Retail Insights (In-Store/Path-to-Purchase, Category Insights) (MPAAALAJ)

Keywords

• Book recommendation platform
• Virtual library app
• Reading community platform
• Personal library management
• Book discovery service

Headquarters

HQ city

La Rochelle

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscription: Freemium model with premium subscription tier offering enhanced features. The app includes a 'Premium' section indicating subscription-based monetization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Gleeph provides a mobile and web application that allows individual readers to manage personal book collections via barcode scanning, receive personalized reading recommendations based on individual preferences and reading history, and engage with a community of readers through reviews and curated thematic selections. The company also offers Gleeph Pro, a separate platform for publishers and bookstores to access reader engagement tools and promotional capabilities.

Product overview

Gleeph is a virtual library and reading community platform consisting of a core mobile application (Gleeph App), a premium subscription tier (Gleeph Premium), a professional offering for publishers and bookstores (Gleeph Pro), and a barcode scanner tool for library import. The platform enables users to manage personal book collections, receive personalized recommendations, read and write book reviews, and discover books through curated selections organized by genre and theme.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gleeph App Virtual library mobile and web application that lets individual readers manage their personal book collections, receive personalized reading recommendations, share book reviews, and discover new books through community selections and editorial picks. Available on iOS, Android, and the web.
• Gleeph Premium Premium subscription tier of the Gleeph App offering enhanced features for dedicated readers, including exclusive content, early access to new capabilities, and premium reading tools.
• Gleeph Pro Professional version of the platform designed for publishers and bookstores, providing tools to manage book catalogs, engage readers, and promote titles through the Gleeph reader community.
• Gleeph Barcode Scanner and Library Import Tool Standalone web tool that lets users import a book library into Gleeph by scanning barcodes or by uploading an XLS/CSV list of EAN codes, which it converts into printable scannable barcodes for rapid library setup.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Goodreads: Amazon-owned book discovery, review, and recommendation platform. Closest direct competitor in functionality (library tracking, reviews, recommendations) but with vastly larger scale, English-first catalog, and tight Kindle/e-commerce integration.
• The StoryGraph: Book tracking and personalized recommendation app founded by a former Goodreads user. Directly comparable as a mobile-first, community-driven reading tracker with subscription-based premium tier and algorithmic recommendations.
• Bookly: Mobile book tracking app with reading stats, goals, and library management. Competes for the same mobile-first reader-tracking use case, with a freemium/premium subscription model similar to Gleeph.
• LibraryThing: Cataloging and community platform for book enthusiasts with social, tagging, and recommendation features. Comparable for personal library management and reader-community use cases.
• Babelio: French-language book community and review platform. Strong regional direct competitor in Gleeph's home market, sharing the same reader-discovery and review-generation value proposition.

Emerging players

• Fable: Social reading app focused on book clubs, reviews, and community. Overlaps with Gleeph on social/community-driven book discovery and mobile-first engagement.
• BookBub: Book discovery and deal-aggregation platform connecting readers with discounted ebooks. Comparable on the publisher-to-reader discovery and promotion axis, overlapping with Gleeph Pro's value proposition.

Regional players

• SensCritique: French review and recommendation platform covering books, films, series, and games. Comparable for French-market community-driven reviews and recommendation mechanics, though broader than books-only.
• Livresque: French book-discovery and tracking community app. Regional peer with overlapping mobile-first reader-tracking and book-recommendation use case in the French-speaking market.

Broad incumbents

• Google Books: Broadly incumbent book search and discovery portal from Google. Overlaps with Gleeph's search/discovery and library-management functionality as part of a much wider portfolio of information services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/gleephapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/f-451
• Instagraminstagram.com/gleephapp
• TikToktiktok.com/@gleeph

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gleeph