SmartNews is a news app with a mission of “delivering the world’s quality information to the people who need it,” according to its website. To achieve that goal, the platform uses machine learning to find quality journalism, and it shares traffic and revenue with the publishers behind that journalism.

Who owns Smartnews?

Syrian activists based in France established the Syrian Media Action Revolution Team (SMART) in April 2011. One of its co-founders was Chamsy Sarkis, who would later become the founder and CEO of SMART News Agency. SMART cooperates with other media organizations such as the Association for the Support of Free Media and Enab Baladi. Part of their work included smuggling modems into Syria to broadcast content.

The company has grown to include more than 200 employees across Japan and the U.S. At TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2020 conference, Hamamoto, who is also SmartNews’ COO and chief engineer, said that the U.S. is “not only an attractive market but also an important development center.

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