There’s no shortage of services that will take your blog or your content and build an app out of it (our own Sarah Perez worked up a hefty Google Doc full of them a while back) but Israeli startup UppSite thinks theirs is a faster, simpler solution for the masses.
As it turns out, they’re not the only ones who appreciate their approach. The team announced earlier this morning that they secured $2.1 million in “pre-A” funding from Israeli incubator thetime and Matomy Media.
Let’s back up a moment though — here’s how UppSite works in a nutshell. Upon providing the URL of the blog or forum to be app-ified to UppSite, users can select either a free, ad-supported option, or a premium option that (among other things) allows users to receive 50% of the ad revenue, enable push notifications, and exercise greater control over the app’s design.
Once you hit “submit,” UppSite takes that content and converts it into a native app for the chosen platform (only iOS and Android are supported for now), and after a staff review process, the app will be submitted to the selected App Stores on your behalf. It may not be the ideal solution for anyone who wants very granular control over their mobile experience, but then again, those people are hardly UppSite’s target audience. For quick, painless, and reasonably handsome mobile app results, UppSite is worth keeping an eye on.
UppSite first appeared on our radar last year when it was still firmly in its early days, but they’ve come quite a way since then. The service officially launched at IDG’s DEMO Conference earlier this year and was selected as one of WordPress’s VIP Partners, but now the team is looking to branch out — UppSite CEO Gal Brill says that the startup plans to use the funds to open a new office right smack in the middle of the Bay Area.