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OpenWeb

Adtech / publisher community softwareIsrael
New to Unitard
✂️ Markdown
Peak $1.5 BillionToday
~-67%
from peak
  1. 🦄
    Became a unicorn
    Nov 2021
  2. 📈
    Peak valuation
    $1.5 Billion ’22
  3. 💔
    Became a Unitard
    2025
  4. 💸
    Last valuation
    ~$499M
Current status
Temporary receiver ordered by the Tel Aviv District Court on lender Mars Growth Capital's motion (reported Sept 30, 2026); receiver not yet named; company said operations were continuing

The rise & fall

10 moments · 2012–2026

The key moments.

2012
Founded in Israel as Spot.IM
Nadav Shoval, Roee Goldberg and Ishay Green build moderated comment sections that publishers host on their own sites and monetise with advertising.
CTech
Nov 2021
Joins the unicorn club: $150M Series E
Insight Partners and Georgian lead the round at a valuation of over $1B.
Globes
Apr 2022
Agrees to buy ADYOULIKE for $100M
The second deal of the year after Hive Media Group for $60M in January; Jeeng follows for $100M in January 2023.
CTech
Oct 27 ’22
The peak: $170M Series F at $1.5B$1.5B
Georgian leads; the company says the round brings its total valuation to $1.5B.
OpenWeb
Sep 2024
Board names Tim Harvey CEO; the founder says he is staying
Chairman Tim Harvey says he is succeeding Nadav Shoval. Shoval says that is not true. A Tel Aviv court rejects his injunction request in November.
CTech
Jan 2025
Credit facility of up to $30M with Mars Growth Capital
Per the lender’s court filings, the loan is secured by a first-priority lien over the company’s assets and accounts.
CTech
2025
Valuation cut to $500M — joins the Unitard Club 💔$500M
Globes reports the valuation was cut to $500M when OpenWeb raised funds in 2025; no round details were published.
Globes
Jun 2026
Microsoft ends its engagement, OpenWeb says
OpenWeb's filing says Microsoft terminated in June 2026, withheld funds and demanded a refund citing invalid traffic. The lender dates the termination to February.
CTech
Sep 2026
Court orders a temporary receiver
OpenWeb asks for a trustee and a stay; on lender Mars Growth Capital’s motion over about $20M, the court orders a temporary receiver. Mars says potential offers of $97M-$100M are being evaluated.
CTech

How it happened

OpenWeb, founded in Israel in 2012 as Spot.IM, runs moderated comment sections on publishers’ sites and helps them earn advertising revenue. It became a unicorn on a $150M round in November 2021 and peaked at $1.5B on a $170M Series F in October 2022.

The board replaced founder-CEO Nadav Shoval in 2024, a move he fought and lost in court, and Globes reported that a 2025 fundraising cut the valuation to $500M. In its court filing OpenWeb blamed advertisers turning away from made-for-advertising sites, AI eroding its clients’ traffic, and Microsoft ending its engagement.

In late September 2026 the Tel Aviv District Court ordered a temporary receiver on lender Mars Growth Capital’s motion over about $20M of debt. The lender told the court that potential offers of $97M to $100M were being evaluated.

Glassdoor reviews were mostly positive but noted management and fast-pace strain as growth slowed.

Employee accounts paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗. See our methodology.

Source: Company blog and Globes (Oct 27, 2022): $170M Series F led by Georgian at $1.5B; Globes (Nov 9, 2021): $150M Series E at over $1B. Globes (Oct 1, 2026): valuation cut to $500M in a 2025 fundraising (single source; the drop is keyed to it). CTech (Sept 28 and 30, 2026): OpenWeb's request for a temporary trustee and stay; court ordered a temporary receiver on Mars Growth Capital's motion over about $20.01M; the lender's filing says potential acquisition offers were being evaluated at $97M-$100M (lender's claim, no bidder named).

Founders & leadership

  • Nadav Shoval
    co-founder & CEO (led at peak; removed by the board Sept 2024)
    Still there — Founder & Senior Advisor to CEOLinkedIn ↗
  • Roee Goldberg
    co-founder
    Now Co-Founder & CEO at Atmospheric AILinkedIn ↗
  • Ishay Green
    co-founder
    Now Chief Technology Officer at CommandryLinkedIn ↗
  • Jim Daily
    CEO (from Apr 2025; at the receivership)
    Still there — Chief Executive OfficerLinkedIn ↗

Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-10-02. See our methodology.

Disclosed investors (20)

Historical funding participation; lists may be incomplete and do not establish current ownership or investor losses.

* Lead in a funding round · Crunchbase ↗ · 2026-10-13 · Methodology · Leaderboard

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