Six Apart

What Six Apart does

Six Apart Ltd. is a Japanese-incorporated software company founded in 2001 that develops and commercializes Movable Type, a Perl-based content management system and blog publishing platform. The core product is a Perl/PSGI CMS currently at version 9, featuring a Data API that extends content management beyond traditional web publishing to mobile, IoT, and other digital experiences, along with enhanced asset management and support for both Apache httpd and nginx web servers. The company serves web content publishers and community operators through a horizontal segmentation approach, addressing use cases that range from website content management and multi-site publishing to community-driven content workflows.

Six Apart monetizes Movable Type through three primary revenue streams: (1) software licenses sold directly via its website on a perpetual-plus-annual-maintenance model priced at $499/year (ProUnlimited, one server, unlimited users), (2) AWS Marketplace AMI Editions sold on a usage-based ($0.07/hour) or annual subscription ($499/year) basis with a free tier on t3.micro/t3.nano instances, and (3) partner-delivered technical support services priced at $500/month or $1,200/quarter through the ProNet partner network, notably COLSIS, Inc. Distribution is multi-channel, combining direct self-serve e-commerce, AWS Marketplace listing, and an authorized partner/reseller channel, with marketing primarily executed through the movabletype.com product website and AWS Marketplace discovery.

The company historically raised approximately $22.6 million across three funding rounds (2003, 2004, 2006) from August Capital, Intel, Focus Ventures, and Neoteny, and executed a series of small tuck-in acquisitions between 2006 and 2014 (Rojo, SplashBlog, Apperceptive, Pownce, NaturalPath Media, 601am). It operates with a small team (11-50 employees), serves markets across Asia and North America from a Japanese legal entity, and has leadership including President Hajime Koga and Director/CTO Daiji Hirata.

Name

Six Apart

Legal name

Six Apart Ltd.

Website

https://sixapart.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Six Apart Ltd. is a Japanese software company that develops Movable Type, a Perl-based content management system and blog publishing platform, distributing through direct licenses, AWS Marketplace AMI editions, and a partner network serving web content publishers across Asia and North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Content Management System

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Syndication & RSS/Feed Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Content Syndication, Distribution & Rights Management Platforms (BPAMAJAN)

Keywords

• Content management system
• Blog publishing platform
• Web content software
• AWS marketplace deployment
• Digital publishing software

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Movable Type software licenses sold as perpetual licenses with optional annual maintenance renewals. Licenses cover 1 server with unlimited users. Maintenance (updates and upgrades) included free for 1 year after purchase.
2. AWS Marketplace AMI Sales: Movable Type AMI Edition sold through AWS Marketplace at $0.07/hour or $499/year. Free tier available on t3.micro and t3.nano instances. Includes OS pre-installed and optimized configuration.
3. Technical Support Services: Partner-delivered technical support services sold separately through the ProNet partner network (e.g., COLSIS). Support plans available as monthly or quarterly subscriptions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Six Apart develops and sells Movable Type, a Perl-based content management system and blog publishing platform available as on-premise software licenses and as a pre-configured Amazon Machine Image (AMI) on AWS Marketplace. The platform provides multi-site publishing, digital asset management, and a Data API that extends content management beyond traditional web publishing. Technical support services are delivered through authorized ProNet partners.

Product overview

Six Apart offers Movable Type as a unified content management system platform. The core product is Movable Type CMS, a blog software and publishing platform currently at version 9. This is supplemented by the Movable Type AMI Edition, which provides the same CMS functionality as an Amazon Machine Image optimized for AWS deployment with Apache httpd or nginx web servers on either arm64 or x86 architectures. Technical support is available as a separate add-on service provided through partner COLSIS, Inc. The Data API enables extending content management capabilities beyond traditional web publishing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Movable Type: Content Management System, Blog Software & Publishing Platform

Products and services

• Movable Type A content management system, blog software, and publishing platform that enables organizations and individuals to create, manage, and publish digital content. Version 9 features enhanced asset management and a Data API for extended content management capabilities. Sold as a perpetual license covering 1 server with unlimited users, with 1 year of maintenance (updates and upgrades) included.
• Movable Type AMI Edition Amazon Machine Image edition of Movable Type pre-installed with optimized OS, web server, PSGI server, PHP, and database on Amazon Linux 2023 (AL2023). Available in both Apache httpd and nginx variants, supporting arm64 and x86 architectures. Includes 7-day free trial and free usage on t3.micro/t3.nano instances. Priced at $0.07/hour or $499/year.
• Movable Type Technical Support Service

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• COLSIS, Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCOLSIS is a web developer and Six Apart ProNet partner in Japan that provides technical support services for Movable Type. They offer monthly ($500) and quarterly ($1,200) support plans in English.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS Marketplace hosts Movable Type AMI Edition, a pre-configured Amazon Machine Image including OS, web server (Apache httpd or nginx), PSGI server, PHP, and database optimized for Movable Type. Available in both arm64 and x86 architectures.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• WordPress.org (self-hosted): Self-hosted WordPress is the open-source CMS against which Movable Type competes most directly for self-serve, license-based website and blog publishing customers. Its massive plugin/theme ecosystem makes it the default alternative.
• Joomla: Joomla is an open-source CMS comparable to Movable Type as a self-hostable publishing platform. Both target web content publishers and community operators with extensibility requirements.
• Drupal: Drupal is an open-source CMS used for enterprise-grade websites, publishing, and digital experiences. It competes with Movable Type for organizations needing a license-free or self-hosted content management solution with extensible publishing workflows.
• Ghost: Ghost is an open-source, Node.js-based publishing platform for blogs, newsletters, and membership sites. It directly competes with Movable Type as a self-hostable, professional publishing CMS, particularly for creators and independent publishers.

Broad incumbents

• Automattic (WordPress.com): Automattic operates WordPress.com, the dominant hosted blogging and CMS platform globally. It is the principal head-to-head competitor to Movable Type in the blogging and website publishing category and dwarfs Six Apart in user base and ecosystem.
• Squarespace: Squarespace is a hosted website builder and CMS targeting creators, bloggers, and small businesses. It overlaps with Movable Type's web publishing and content management positioning, particularly for non-technical end users.
• Adobe (Experience Manager / Adobe Commerce): Adobe offers enterprise content management and digital experience platforms (Adobe Experience Manager). It competes with Movable Type for large organizations needing CMS, asset management, and omnichannel content distribution.

Emerging players

• Contentful: Contentful is a headless CMS platform serving developers and digital teams. It overlaps with Movable Type's Data API omnichannel content distribution value proposition and competes for technical buyers seeking API-first publishing infrastructure.
• Concrete CMS: Concrete CMS is an open-source CMS offering commercial add-ons and a self-hosted publishing platform similar to Movable Type's positioning. It represents a smaller but technically similar peer for SMB and developer-led publishing use cases.
• Strapi: Strapi is an open-source headless CMS built on Node.js. It is comparable to Movable Type as a self-hostable content management solution, and represents the modern, developer-friendly stack against which Movable Type's Perl-based architecture must compete.

Market position

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sixapart
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/six-apart

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors4 records

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

M&A6 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Six Apart