Other
Oct 2023Podnews reported criticism of Rest for charging users to listen to freely available podcasts without creator opt-in or revenue share; the company reportedly made changes afterward.
SourcePodcast App is for the curious.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 30, 2026
Overview
Evolve Global, Inc. is a San Francisco-based consumer software company behind Podcast App, one of the largest independent podcast players, and Rest, an AI sleep coach built around CBT-I and science-backed sleep programming.
Primary product
Podcast App
Founded
2017
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
Team size
20-30
Industry
Software Development
Sub-industry
Consumer podcasting / mobile audio apps
Offices
San Francisco, California, United States (HQ)
Mill Valley, California, United States (public Google Play developer address)
Business model
freemium
ad-supported free tier
in-app purchases
premium subscription
consumer mobile app
Funding
Stage
seed
Total raised
$125K
Latest round
Seed · Jan 2018
Latest amount
$125K
Jan 2018 · Y Combinator
People & investors
Leadership
Co-Founder & CEO
Founder & CPO
Head of Product
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Technology Officer
Head of Marketing
Work & culture
Public signals point to a product-focused, distributed consumer-app team with engineering and design at its core, a strong personalization/discovery emphasis, and a Latin American team identity.
Compensation
No public salary bands or compensation policy were found in official sources.
Product & market
Pricing
Freemium; ad-supported free tier with premium subscription / in-app purchase options.
Differentiators
- —Machine-learning-based playlist generation and personalized recommendations
- —Minimalist, discovery-first podcast player UX
- —Broad topical podcast catalog and fast search/filtering
- —Cross-platform iOS and Android availability
- —Rest adds AI sleep coaching built on CBT-I principles
- —Science-backed messaging and clinician-adjacent positioning for Rest
Technology
React
Python
machine learning
Google Analytics
Google Firebase
GitHub
Travis CI
Bitrise
Fastlane
Google AdSense
AdMob
Google Ads
Facebook remarketing
Stripe
Customers
podcast listeners
curious consumers
people discovering or following podcasts
sleep-challenged users interested in CBT-I sleep coaching
Competitors
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Pocket Casts
Overcast
Castro
Castbox
Podcast Addict
Podbean
Podcast Republic
Podchaser
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
US$4M-US$10M (estimated; public sources vary)
Estimated monthly visits
223.5K
Traffic estimate as of Jul 2026
Signals & risks
Latest news
ReadySetLaunch · Jun 2026
A 2026 case study described Evolve as a YC-backed consumer app company, framing Podcast App as a solution to podcast discovery fragmentation and highlighting retention and product-market-fit claims.
Fast Company · May 2026
Fast Company covered the reciprocal relationship between money stress and sleep loss; the piece supports Rest's positioning around sleep as a productivity and health problem.
citybiz · May 2026
Rest released a Sleep Tax Report estimating $428B-$867B in annual productivity losses from poor sleep, with methodology based on workforce and Fortune 500 data.
Chief Marketer · Mar 2026
Chief Marketer described Rest's 'Late Night Mistakes' awareness campaign, creator partnerships, and paid social strategy aimed at insomniacs in the overnight hours.
RevenueCat · Oct 2023
RevenueCat interviewed Martin Siniawski about YC, bootstrapping Streema, and how Podcast App later secured seed funding after YC acceptance.
Jobs and careers at Evolve (makers of Podcast App & Rest AI)
4 jobs at Evolve (makers of Podcast App & Rest AI)
Recruitment Consultant
On-site
Evolve With Us
Milton Keynes
2mo ago
On-site
Full-time
Recruitment Partner (Quant & Software Engineering) - Remote / Global
Remote
Evolve With Us
remote
3mo ago
Remote
Full-time
Recruitment Consultant
On-site
Evolve With Us
Milton Keynes
5mo ago
On-site
Full-time