• 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
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • 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
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Photo of Jim Farley
AIData centers
Ford CEO warns there’s a dearth of blue-collar workers able to construct AI data centers and operate factories: ‘Nothing to backfill the ambition’
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 18, 2026
7 hours ago
vian
Commentaryquantum computing
I oversee a lab where engineers try to destroy my life’s work. It’s the only way to prepare for quantum threats
By Bernard VianJanuary 18, 2026
10 hours ago
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press, saying he's talking to NATO about Greenland, before he departs the White House en route Palm Beach, Florida on January 16, 2026, in Washington DC, United States.
PoliticsGreenland
The weak business case for Trump acquiring Greenland: a $1 trillion price tag and few returns for two decades
By Jordan BlumJanuary 17, 2026
1 day ago
boardroom
CommentaryCorporate Governance
When AI decides how shareholders vote, boards need to rethink governance
By Jane SadowskyJanuary 17, 2026
1 day ago
The CEO of Informatica, Amit Walia
SuccessCareers
Like DoorDash and Google’s CEOs, $7.6 billion Informatica boss is a McKinsey alum—he says being ‘pushed around’ by smart consultants helped him grow
By Emma BurleighJanuary 17, 2026
1 day ago
photo of western union store
CryptoCryptocurrency
Stablecoins will shake up the $900 billion remittance market—setting up a fight between crypto firms and legacy brands like Western Union
By Carlos GarciaJanuary 17, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
AI
This CEO laid off nearly 80% of his staff because they refused to adopt AI fast enough. 2 years later, he says he'd do it again
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 11, 2026
7 days ago
placeholder alt text
Newsletters
The oil CEO who stood up to Trump is a follower of the disciplined 'Exxon way' and has a history of blunt statements
By Jordan BlumJanuary 13, 2026
5 days ago
placeholder alt text
Banking
'Absolutely, positively no chance, no way, no how, for any reason': Dimon says he'd never run the Fed but 'would take the call' to lead Treasury
By Jacqueline MunisJanuary 16, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Making billionaires illegal by taxing their wealth wouldn’t even fund the government for a year, budget expert says
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 17, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
The Nobel Prize committee doesn't want Trump getting one, even as a gift—but they treated Obama very differently
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 16, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Ford CEO warns there's a dearth of blue-collar workers able to construct AI data centers and operate factories: 'Nothing to backfill the ambition'
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 18, 2026
7 hours ago

© 2025 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.