Metabar, a Russian competitor to browser bar builder Conduit, has raised $1m from local seed-stage VC firm Runa Capital.
Metabar’s platform is designed to enable publishers to create a browser bar-type app without having to write code. This can include content from their site, such as a news ticker or headlines, instant notifications to new content or even games. Additionally, the ‘bar’ can give access to search engines, which is also the way Metabar and its publisher partners can make money via an ad revenue-share option.
The comparison with US-based Conduit, of course, is an obvious one, although I won’t go as far as to call Metabar a Russian clone. But either way, right now Metabar is targeting Russia alone.
Its partners include brands such as Vedomosti.ru (a leading daily Russian business publication and partner of Dow Jones and the Financial Times), KP.ru (Komsomolskaya Pravda, the leading Russian tabloid) and Kupivip.ru (the leading Russian online shopping club similar to Gilt.com).
Dmitry Chikhachev, managing partner of Runa Capital, comments: “Metabar’s business model is similar to California-based Conduit.com with revenue coming via advertising searches. However, Metabar is the first to offer these capabilities in the Russian market.”
While Michael Ushakov, CEO at Metabar, adds: “The Russian internet today includes hundreds of sites that attract a million plus visitors. Our platform allows website owners to quickly offer applications that can transform casual visitors into regular audiences.”