Time, Inc. has acquired Seattle-based Cozi, the makers of a popular family organizer utility for web and mobile, the companies announced on Monday. Founded in 2005 by Robbie Cape and Jan Miksovsky, both previously of Microsoft, Cozi offers a suite of tools, primarily aimed moms, which help with organizing things like kids’ schedules, shopping lists, chore charts, meal plans, and more. Plus, it has messaging and journaling features that help families stay in touch, and keep track of notable milestones and memories.
Terms of the deal were not being immediately disclosed. According to Crunchbase, Cozi had raised $5.8 million in Series A funding from MBVH Investments, Benaroya Capital, and Pioneer Ventures last year. Previously, newspaper publisher Gannett Company invested in Cozi, which had raised more than $24 million.
Cozi may not have been one of the “buzzier” startups today because of its mom-on-the-go focus, which is not as sexy as…well….disappearing sext messages. However, the company had grown its user base over the years to 10 million, which is not bad for a lifestyle app of this nature. But that may have been as far as it could grow on its own.
For Time, Inc., the Cozi addition makes sense as it can tie in with the company’s brands, while also expanding the company’s digital and mobile technology lineup.
“Cozi is an asset that can be leveraged across our entire brand portfolio,” said Time Inc. Executive Vice President, Evelyn Webster, who will help to run Cozi, in a release. “Its organizational tools naturally align with the more than 53 million families with kids under 18 we reach every month through brands like Real Simple and we believe its products can have a wider application.”
All Cozi employees, many of which hailed from Amazon, Microsoft and Expedia, will join Time, Inc. and will continue to be based in Seattle.
