Spines is doing for publishing what Spotify did for music

The story of the Spines platform is, in many ways, the personal story of its founder, Yehuda Niv. Niv’s journey—from an electrical engineer with a passion for books to the founder of a groundbreaking company aiming to revolutionize a traditional industry—illustrates how a personal challenge can spark wide-reaching innovation.

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The turning point came when Niv, then pursuing a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Ben-Gurion University, published a novel he had written while still a soldier. The thriller, titled Silent Thunder, was not particularly successful by his own account, but the experience exposed him to the cumbersome bureaucracy and numerous inefficiencies involved in the publishing process. This insight led him to found Niv Books in 2013, which has since grown to become Israel’s most prolific publishing house.

Spines founders.

Since launching Spines, growth has been meteoric. In 2023, the company grew its revenue by 1,000%, and it repeated that performance again in 2024.

The U.S. market alone sees about 2.3 million new books published annually, through a slow and expensive process that can cost authors between $10,000 and $50,000 per book and take six to 18 months. Spines offers a game-changing alternative: its platform allows authors to upload their manuscript and have a book ready for publication in less than three weeks, at a cost of up to $5,000.

Spines’ technology automates every stage of production. It edits and proofreads the text, designs a cover based on the book’s content and algorithmic recommendations, and exports over 70 different versions to suit more than 100 distribution channels. Once the book is released, the platform automatically manages distribution, optimizes metadata, and handles royalty payments to authors.

Another significant advantage is the platform’s fast, affordable audiobook production. Today, around 40% of book consumption is in audio format. Spines offers authors access to 60 synthetic voices with diverse accents and even allows the creation of an audiobook in the author’s own voice, using just a three-minute voice recording.

Spines is in a phase of rapid expansion, entering new markets such as Latin America and piloting operations in Israel. The platform also offers high-quality book translation through a hybrid model: AI for speed and human editors for accuracy, opening new global markets for authors. Niv estimates that there are around 60 million existing books, most of which lack audio versions or translations—a gap Spines is well-positioned to fill.

With connections to over 100 distribution channels, Spines enables authors to reach broader audiences with minimal investment. Niv emphasizes that Spines is currently the only platform offering such a comprehensive, cost-effective publishing solution. To date, Spines has helped over 2,800 American authors publish their books, with a 15% return rate for authors publishing a second book—an indicator of high user satisfaction.

Spines’ revenue model is diversified, including production fees, subscription fees for distribution and royalty management, access to a marketing knowledge base, royalties from book sales, management of sponsored marketing campaigns, and printing services. Niv highlights that publishing through Spines is significantly cheaper than traditional methods, allowing authors to start small and add services as they grow—removing budget barriers and democratizing the publishing process.

Niv’s vision is reminiscent of YouTube’s approach: anyone can upload content, and it’s the audience that decides what deserves attention. Spines does not gatekeep who can publish a book—anyone who writes one can publish it, while the platform’s technology helps polish and present it to readers.

Future plans include expanding to additional languages and markets, and implementing new integrations. Niv sees vast growth potential in the global publishing industry and believes Spines will continue to drive the industry’s transformation—helping more authors realize their dreams of reaching readers worldwide.

Company ID
Sector: Publishing
Established: 2021
Founders: Lev David, Yehuda Niv, Niv Ovdat, Nir Kenner
Employees: 100
Funding: $22.5 million from Zeev Ventures, with participation from existing investors Aleph, M-Fund, LionTree, and angel investors including Sharin Fisher Dibrov