Software Startup, Snapt, Shuts down
Application delivery controllers (ADCs) and load balancing software provider Snapt, located in South Africa, has shut its doors amid what appears to be a financing shortage. After the agritech WeFarm, Notify Logistics, and the Kenyan foodtech Kune, Snapt is the third well-known business to close its doors.
In order to meet the rising demand, Snapt, which was launched in South Africa in 2012, established a separate sales and marketing division there in 2015. It announced in 2015 that 85% of its clientele was located in the US and then went on to set up a separate sales and marketing division there. At the time, the company’s CEO, Dave Blakey, told Disrupt Africa that it wanted to grow by 1,000% annually.
According to reports, the business had 10,000 consumers in 50 different countries by 2017, growing 400% year over year in both 2014 and 2015.
Over $7 million in funding has been announced for the startup thus far: a $1 million seed round led by Convergence Partners in 2016 and a $3 million Series A round in 2018. More recently, in May 2022, Snappt introduced Snapt Nova, an AI-powered security package that was intended to aid over 3.9 million Kubernetes users in optimizing application production.
The company has since stopped seeking money, and it appears that it has run out of options. It informed consumers via email that it would be closed, and it provided assistance to enable them stop using its services.
“Over the past 12 months, Snapt has been in a growth phase of its business, driven by increased demand for our products at large enterprise customers,” the startup said.
“Given recent unforeseen events, outside of our control, Snapt has been left with no option but to cease operations immediately, as we believe this is in the best interests of our staff and clients. We are extremely saddened by this, especially given the recent growth of the business, and grateful for all the amazing interactions we’ve had with our clients over the years.”
Snapt will stop marketing its current software licenses, including Nova, NovaSense, and Aria, immediately. The Nova platform will be shut down at the end of this month, and all Nova systems will stop working. Additionally, Aria’s support services will be terminated. Up until then, Snapt said it will continue to serve all of its current customers and platforms.