What Livingdocs does

Livingdocs is a Zurich-based software company founded in 2015 by Gabriel Hase (CEO) and Lukas Peyer (CTO) that builds a headless content management system purpose-built for news publishers and media organizations. The platform is organized as a modular SaaS offering anchored by the Article Editor (WYSIWYG, drag-and-drop, real-time collaboration, mobile-enabled), with surrounding modules covering Editorial Workflows, Page Management, Media Center, News Agency and Image Agency integration, Digital Edition, Print Connect (export to WoodWing/InDesign), Ticker, and an AI Assistants layer. Underlying technology is a Node.js, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, and Redis stack exposed via REST API and event-driven webhooks, operated on Kubernetes in Azure with a 24x7 SLA, six releases per year, and per-customer isolated environments.

The platform's distinguishing technical concept is a component-based content architecture: articles are flexible arrangements of approximately 20 smaller component templates, enabling seamless translation between online and print outputs — exemplified by NZZ running around 500 components across 24 component sets in six content products. Livingdocs monetizes via subscription-based SaaS with quote-based, non-publicly-disclosed pricing sold through an enterprise field sales motion supported by a certified integration partner network (Centralsoft, Appsfactory, Forward Publishing, jambit, unitb, a&f systems). The customer base is concentrated among large DACH and select Scandinavian publishers, including NZZ, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), t-online/Ströer, NRK, Handelsblatt, DER STANDARD, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, 20 Minuten, and Swisscom TV/Bluewin. NZZ Mediengruppe holds a 15% equity stake acquired in late 2016, the only disclosed external investment.

Name

Livingdocs

Legal name

Livingdocs AG

Website

https://livingdocs.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Livingdocs is a Zurich-based headless CMS that provides news publishers with an integrated, component-based SaaS platform for editorial workflows spanning article creation, AI-assisted automation, page management, digital editions, and unified print/digital output.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

News Publishing Software (Headless CMS)

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Software Publishers (5132), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Game Backend & LiveOps Platforms (BaaS/Analytics/Hosting) (BPAMAKAL)

Keywords

• Headless cms
• News publishing software
• Editorial workflow software
• Content management system
• Digital publishing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

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. SaaS Subscription: Livingdocs operates as a cloud-hosted SaaS CMS with subscription-based pricing. The Managed Service offering includes automatic updates, guaranteed uptime, and cloud scalability with no infrastructure burden on customers. Pricing is quote-based and likely tiered by organization size or feature access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Livingdocs is a headless content management system and publishing operating system purpose-built for news publishers. The platform combines a browser-based WYSIWYG article editor with collaboration, page management, digital asset handling, AI-assisted automation, news/image agency imports, digital edition delivery, and print output integration, delivered as a managed cloud SaaS on Microsoft Azure. It serves enterprise and mid-market newsrooms with unified digital and print editorial workflows.

Product overview

Livingdocs is a unified, headless publishing operating system for news publishers, delivered as a modular SaaS platform with a WYSIWYG article editor (Article Editor) at its core. The platform is organized around integrated modules including: Assistants and Automation (AI-driven text summarization and headline optimization), Digital Edition (finite digital product creation and delivery), Editorial Workflows (planning and content management), Image Agency (real-time agency image import), Media Center (central DAM hub for assets and metadata), News Agency (text agency integration), Page Management (web page curation with manual and algorithmic features), Print Connect (digital-to-print unification), and Ticker (live event reporting). The platform also includes an Editorial Consulting team that provides direct newsroom expertise. Livingdocs releases bimonthly updates to the platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Livingdocs Publishing Platform Livingdocs is a headless, API-first content management system and publishing operating system for news publishers, delivered as managed cloud SaaS. It combines a browser-based WYSIWYG article editor with collaboration, page management, digital asset handling, AI-assisted automation, news and image agency ingestion, digital edition delivery, and Print Connect integration for unified print and digital production, targeted at enterprise and mid-market newsrooms across Europe.

Quantifiable outcome

• 44% reduction in clicks required to publish articles
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration31 records

AI capability6 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CentralsoftcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSwiss integration partner and Livingdocs' first integration partner in Switzerland. Centralsoft is one of the most successful Livingdocs integrators, with references including Swisscom TV/Blue and Seven.One Media Group. CEO Dibran Isufi: 'I anticipate we will continue to evolve together side by side with Livingdocs.'
• AppsfactorycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGerman partner specializing in mobile applications across all platforms and integration of Livingdocs with Microsoft & Azure Services. References include kicker, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, and DER STANDARD.
• Forward PublishingcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSwiss-based collaboration partner for mid-size and large regional publishers in Switzerland and Germany. References include Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Berliner Zeitung, Mediengruppe Magdeburg, Aschendorff, and Schwäbisch Media.
• jambitcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGerman professional and experienced Livingdocs integrator with references including Süddeutsche Zeitung, Handelsblatt, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
• unitbminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCreative and trusted partner for large and mid-size enterprises. References include Neue Pressegesellschaft and Swiss Army.
• a&f systemsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExperienced partner for artificial intelligence and automation of print workflows. References include Neue Zürcher Zeitung and CH Media.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Contentful: Contentful is a leading headless CMS platform competing for the same API-first, multi-channel content delivery workloads as Livingdocs. While broader than news, Contentful is regularly evaluated against Livingdocs in enterprise publishing RFPs.
• Quintype: Quintype is a headless CMS and news platform targeting digital-first publishers with a similar API-first approach. It competes with Livingdocs for mid-market and digital-native news brands, particularly in emerging markets and India.
• CoreMedia: CoreMedia is a headless CMS platform with strong presence in European enterprise publishing and retail. It competes with Livingdocs for European publisher deals and shares the API-first, multi-channel content delivery architecture.
• Storyblok: Storyblok is a headless CMS with visual editor and component-based content modeling that mirrors Livingdocs' architecture. It targets the same digital-first publisher and media buyer segment with a developer-friendly headless approach.
• WordPress VIP: WordPress VIP is the enterprise offering of WordPress.com targeting large publishers and media organizations. It is a primary direct competitor to Livingdocs in the enterprise newsroom CMS market, leveraging the open-source WordPress ecosystem.
• WoodWing: WoodWing provides multi-channel publishing software with strong print/digital workflows and is both an integration partner and overlapping competitor to Livingdocs in the enterprise newsroom segment. Both serve major DACH publishers including NZZ and share a print-to-digital orientation.
• Arc XP: Arc XP (formerly Arc Publishing, spun out of The Washington Post) is a headless CMS platform purpose-built for news and media organizations. It directly competes with Livingdocs for enterprise publisher deals globally and shares the API-first, newsroom-centric positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Adobe Experience Manager: Adobe Experience Manager (formerly Adobe CQ5, which Livingdocs displaced at Swisscom/Bluewin) is a broad enterprise CMS incumbent. It competes with Livingdocs in larger enterprise deals where Adobe's broader marketing cloud is a tie-in.
• CUE (Censhare): Censhare is a content management and marketing operations platform with strong roots in European publishing. It overlaps with Livingdocs' enterprise CMS positioning and serves similar multi-brand publisher and content-driven organizations.

Emerging players

• Strapi: Strapi is an open-source headless CMS with growing enterprise adoption. It competes at the lower end of the headless CMS market where publishers build custom editorial workflows on top of Strapi rather than adopt Livingdocs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/livingdocsIO

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Livingdocs