US Tech Company, Zedge, To Expand its Lithuanian Operations

Zedge, a prominent US technology company, has experienced substantial growth in recent years and is now poised to expand its footprint in Vilnius. Over the next three years, the company aims to add 20 highly skilled professionals to its workforce in the city, bolstering its existing team of specialists to a total of 50 individuals proficient in technology and mobile applications. In line with this expansion, Zedge has committed to collaborating with local universities exploring synergies, particularly in the realms of AI and data engineering.

Established in 2003 initially as a platform for ringtones, Zedge has evolved into a versatile mobile content platform, boasting over 40 million users and 620 million app downloads. The company’s recent growth trajectory includes strategic acquisitions such as Emojipedia in 2021 and GuruShots in 2022. Notably, in 2023, Zedge embraced AI technology, introducing innovative products like pAInt, an AI wallpaper maker, and AI Art Master, a generative AI game.

The company has offices in the USA, Norway, Lithuania and Israel. Since its inception in 2018, Zedge’s Vilnius office has emerged as a pivotal center for developing new products, driving innovation, and optimizing the platform’s systems. Currently employing 32 highly skilled professionals, constituting approximately one-third of its global workforce, Zedge Lithuania remains integral to the company’s technological advancements.

Looking ahead, Zedge plans to further strengthen its Vilnius team by hiring 20 additional software developers, product owners, monetization specialists, data engineers, and other professionals over the next three years. The recruitment focus will emphasize Senior-level expertise, complemented by a select group of Junior to Mid-level professionals.

In addition to focusing more on data engineering, a part of the Vilnius team will be dedicated to working closely with GuruShots, an online photography game acquired by Zedge.

Mr. Trasevskis continued: “Our Vilnius hub will continue to consolidate and grow our software development, monetization and marketing capabilities, playing a pivotal role in Zedge’s overall company structure.”

Beyond business growth, Zedge Lithuania has a new partnership with Vilnius University to foster an environment of continuous learning and community engagement. The highlight of this collaboration is a hackathon focusing on Generative AI and other AI applications.

According to Elijus Čivilis, general manager of Invest Lithuania, Zedge’s expansion shows that foreign investors are able to find skilled and talented individuals whose expertise drives their business in Lithuania. Also, collaborating with local higher education institutions is an excellent opportunity for the local tech community to grow and improve their know-how:

“The company’s decision to expand its footprint in Lithuania shows that local talent and the country itself can play a vital role in creating core business value and handling strategically important projects. At the same time, attracting and retaining such players as Zedge, who are at the forefront of future-proof competencies including AI and data engineering, is crucial for us in making the Lithuanian tech ecosystem resilient and competitive.”

About Zedge

Zedge builds marketplaces and games around digital content that people use to express themselves. The platform monetizes its user base through advertising, subscriptions, and a virtual token-based economy. The company’s leading products are the GuruShots photography game and Zedge’s freemium digital content marketplace, which today offers mobile phone wallpapers, video wallpapers, ringtones, and notification sounds. The synergy between the game and the marketplace unlocks additional engagement and enables the community to earn money from their artwork. Zedge also owns Emojipedia, a website that is the leading source of information about emojis. In July 2023, Zedge served approximately 40 million users.