• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechZeroing In

Is This App the Antidote to ‘Death by PowerPoint’?

By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 7, 2016, 1:39 PM ET

This story was updated June 7 to clarify the number of companies that pay for Prezi’s team edition.

Prezi, which sells a presentation app that competes with Microsoft PowerPoint, is angling for more business customers.

Although it has managed to build a following 75 million individual registered users who have created an estimated 260 million presentations over the past seven years, Prezi has failed to sign up many corporate accounts, relative to that number. An estimated 8,000 companies pay for the team edition of its app.

Business customers listed on Prezi’s website include Staples (SPLS), Verifone (PAY), Box (BOX), Salesforce (CRM), Discovery Channel, and Autodesk (ADSK).

Prezi’s relatively low adoption by corporations is largely due to the overwhelming dominance of Microsoft’s widely used slide show software, PowerPoint, which is bundled into the software giant’s Office suite and is installed on more than 1 billion computers worldwide. Prezi also competes against Google’s Slides app (GOOG) and Apple’s Keynote (AAPL).

Prezi’s pitch has been that audiences respond better to presentations that rely more on visual cues than on mind-numbing lists. Its service departs from the traditional slide show template that most widely used presentation apps focus on. Instead, people organize their ideas visually on a “canvas” using photos, graphics or key phrases. The presenter can drill down or “zoom” into these subjects based on what a particular audience requires, rather than being forced to stick to a linear presentation style.

The company, founded in 2009, has raised close to $73 million in funding. Its last investment round for $57 million came in November 2014 and was led by Accel Partners and Spectrum Equity. Prezi does not discuss its valuation.

“People will understand a talk more if you use fewer bullet points. It’s less tempting to read the text as someone is talking, less distracting, and you retain more,” said Peter Arvai, CEO and co-founder of the San Francisco-based company.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily technology newsletter.

But Prezi has also given its product, Prezi Business, a slew of features specifically meant for teams. For example, when someone shares an online presentation, the software collects data about which images are being viewed and which slides audience members look at the longest. There are also a number of collaboration features including tools that let individuals leave comments. Prezi also integrates with the Slack messaging service so that Slack automatically sends alerts when someone comments on a presentation or uploads a new one.

Prezi’s long-term mission? Arvai says it’s his company’s mission to reach more than 2 billion users. To get there, it will definitely need to get beyond signing up one person at a time.

 

About the Author
By Heather Clancy
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

human
Economydisruption
BofA throws cold water on AI apocalypse panic: 60% of today’s jobs didn’t exist in 1940
By Nick LichtenbergMay 4, 2026
2 hours ago
doctor
AITech
A Harvard study just found AI can now out-diagnose physicians in the ER: ‘We’re already at the ceiling’
By Jake AngeloMay 4, 2026
3 hours ago
dario
AIAnthropic
Anthropic takes shot at consulting industry in joint venture with Wall Street giants
By Nick LichtenbergMay 4, 2026
5 hours ago
Frustrated job seeker on laptop
NewslettersFortune Workplace Innovation
Nearly 4 in 10 job candidates have bailed on a hiring round because it required an AI interview
By Emma BurleighMay 4, 2026
7 hours ago
VC firm Ethereal has avoided the spotlight for 5 years—now it’s telling its story
NewslettersTerm Sheet
VC firm Ethereal has avoided the spotlight for 5 years—now it’s telling its story
By Jeff John RobertsMay 4, 2026
8 hours ago
The eBay logo with a mobile phone in 2025. (Photo: Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
GameStop makes an unsolicited $56 billion offer for eBay
By Andrew NuscaMay 4, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
Success
Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
By Emma BurleighMay 3, 2026
1 day ago
As economic despair mounts, Russian official admits the country has had enough of Putin's war on Ukraine. 'We can’t even take one region'
Economy
As economic despair mounts, Russian official admits the country has had enough of Putin's war on Ukraine. 'We can’t even take one region'
By Jason MaMay 3, 2026
23 hours ago
America got rich and got sad. A top economist says 2020 broke something that hasn't healed
Economy
America got rich and got sad. A top economist says 2020 broke something that hasn't healed
By Nick LichtenbergMay 3, 2026
1 day ago
Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
Personal Finance
Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
By Fatima Hussein and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
3 days ago
I spent a decade selling homes to the ultra-wealthy. What I saw explains the housing market's nepo problem
Commentary
I spent a decade selling homes to the ultra-wealthy. What I saw explains the housing market's nepo problem
By Blake O'ShaughnessyMay 3, 2026
1 day ago
Sam Altman says the quiet part out loud, confirming some companies are ‘AI washing’ by blaming unrelated layoffs on the technology
AI
Sam Altman says the quiet part out loud, confirming some companies are ‘AI washing’ by blaming unrelated layoffs on the technology
By Sasha RogelbergMay 3, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.