Brett Lindenberg
Vimeo bought WIREWAX, a London company known for interactive and shoppable video. Vimeo announced the deal on November 10, 2021 and completed it on December 6, 2021. The WIREWAX editor now runs inside Vimeo as the Interactive studio, which Vimeo's help center calls classic interactive. A second editor, New Interactive, sits beside it. Both need a Vimeo Enterprise plan (checked October 2026), and you can no longer buy WIREWAX as a separate product. Vimeo has also changed owners: Bending Spoons completed a $1.38 billion all-cash purchase of Vimeo on November 24, 2025.
Timeline of the Vimeo, WIREWAX, and Bending Spoons deals
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| November 10, 2021 | Vimeo announces agreements to buy WIREWAX and Wibbitz, a video creation suite. It does not disclose financial terms. | Vimeo press release |
| December 6, 2021 | Vimeo completes the WIREWAX purchase. The report says Vimeo paid for WIREWAX and Wibbitz together with cash plus contingent payments tied to financial metrics and integration milestones. | Vimeo 2021 annual report (Form 10-K) |
| August 27, 2024 | Vimeo's help center publishes articles on New Interactive, a second drag-and-drop editor. | Vimeo help center |
| February 19, 2025 | Vimeo's annual report for 2024 lists interactive video tools as a Vimeo Enterprise feature. It still reports WIREWAX in its "Other" category, outside Self-Serve and Enterprise. | Vimeo 2024 annual report (Form 10-K) |
| September 10, 2025 | Vimeo agrees to be acquired by Bending Spoons for $7.85 per share in cash, about $1.38 billion in total. | Vimeo press release (SEC filing) |
| November 13, 2025 | Vimeo's help center publishes instructions for in-video quizzes in New Interactive, with export to an LMS. | Vimeo help center |
| November 24, 2025 | Bending Spoons completes the purchase. Vimeo becomes a private, wholly owned subsidiary, and Nasdaq stops trading its shares. | Vimeo Form 8-K |
| January 20, 2026 | Vimeo announces a layoff. A Bending Spoons spokesperson confirmed the date to Gizmodo and gave no other details. | Gizmodo, January 23, 2026 |
| May to August 2026 | Vimeo's help center adds articles for a Studio plan and for two plans it says are "being rolled out gradually," Core and Professional. | Vimeo help center |
What WIREWAX was
WIREWAX was founded in 2008, with headquarters in London and an office in New York. Vimeo's 2021 announcement describes a studio that combined AI-based object tracking with a drag-and-drop editor. Teams used it for shoppable videos, product demos, and training modules, with choose-your-path journeys and engagement tracking. The release says more than 39,000 brands, broadcasters, studios, and publishers had used WIREWAX, including Disney, Nike, Walmart, and Google.
Why Vimeo bought it
Vimeo presented the WIREWAX and Wibbitz deals as part of its push into enterprise video software. In the same release, Vimeo said it served more than 6,000 enterprises and that its Enterprise revenue grew more than 60% year over year in the third quarter of 2021. Vimeo said it expected to add WIREWAX features to the Vimeo platform in 2022 and that existing WIREWAX customers could keep using the tools without interruption.
Is WIREWAX still available?
WIREWAX is no longer sold as its own product. Vimeo runs the WIREWAX editor as its Interactive studio, and its help center says classic interactive requires an Enterprise plan and asks interested customers to contact their account manager. Vimeo's troubleshooting steps for the classic editor tell users to clear browser cookies for *.wirewax.com. The old wirewax.com website did not respond when we checked it on October 1, 2026.
What Vimeo interactive video offers today
We checked the features below in Vimeo's help center and on its pricing page in October 2026. Vimeo runs two interactive editors, and you choose one for each video. Vimeo's article on New Interactive says that choice is permanent once you save the video.
Classic interactive (the WIREWAX editor)
- Static hotspots stay in one place in the frame. Sticky hotspots follow a person or object as it moves. Vimeo tracks the object inside a grab-net that you draw around it.
- A hotspot click can open an overlay panel, jump to another point in the video, or open a website. You set for each hotspot whether the video pauses or keeps playing.
- Time triggers pause or loop the video, or show an overlay, without a viewer click.
- Overlay panels can hold text, images, buttons, and embedded media such as maps or web pages. You can save hotspots and overlays as a template for other videos.
- The Vimeo Player API reports hotspot and button clicks, with custom key-value data such as a product SKU. Developers use these events to build an add-to-cart action on the host page.
- Classic analytics show totals for each video: interactions per viewer, total interactions, time in overlays, the most popular hotspot, clicks compared with taps, and click-out URLs. They refresh every 10 minutes.
The classic editor cannot open videos longer than 4 hours. Vimeo also says classic interactive is not available in a SCORM wrapper. And the interactivity works only in the Vimeo player, so a downloaded file plays without it.
New Interactive
- You drag hotspots, overlays, and polls onto the timeline. Hotspots can show text, icons, emoji, or an uploaded image. Overlays can hold text, media, polls, and embedded videos or web pages.
- Time actions jump to another point or pause the video.
- Quizzes mark a correct answer for each question. You can export the video as a SCORM package that sends the quiz score to your LMS. Vimeo requires an Enterprise plan with New Interactive turned on, plus learner seats for LMS tracking.
- New Interactive analytics count engaged viewers, hotspot clicks, and poll responses. You can download the hotspot and poll data.
Vimeo's interactive video page also lists branching, add-to-cart hotspots, and alt text descriptions for accessibility.
Vimeo interactive features by plan
| Feature | Vimeo pricing page | Vimeo help center |
|---|---|---|
| Chapters | Starter, Standard, Advanced, Enterprise | Starter, Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, and older Pro, Business, and Premium plans |
| Contact forms | Standard, Advanced, Enterprise | All paid plans |
| Cards and calls to action | Standard, Advanced, Enterprise | Advanced, Enterprise, and older Business and Premium plans |
| End screens | Not listed | Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, and older Plus, Pro, Business, and Premium plans |
| Hotspots, overlays, time triggers, polls, and quizzes | Enterprise only | Enterprise only |
| LMS integration, including quiz scores | Enterprise only (listed as Learning Platform integration) | Enterprise with New Interactive turned on, plus learner seats |
Sources: Vimeo pricing page and What interactive features are available with my plan? (updated May 6, 2026).
The pricing page lists Starter at $12, Standard at $25, and Advanced at $75 per seat per month on annual billing. On monthly billing, the same plans cost $20, $41, and $125 per seat per month. Enterprise has no public price. In 2026 the help center also added a Studio plan at $400 per month on annual billing with 10 seats, plus the Core and Professional plans. None of these three plan articles mentions interactive video.
What Vimeo does well
Vimeo puts hosting, live events, and interactive video in one account under one contract. Its classic editor still has motion-tracked sticky hotspots, which grew out of WIREWAX's object tracking. For training teams, Vimeo's LMS integration lists SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 v3, xAPI (Tin Can), AICC, and cmi5 for Enterprise plans with Vimeo Central or Streaming. If you gate videos behind Vimeo SSO, Vimeo links the learner IDs from your LMS to Vimeo users. Enterprise also adds DRM, geo-blocking, and SSO, according to the pricing page. If your company already runs its video on Vimeo Enterprise, adding interactivity there keeps one vendor and one player.
What changed for former WIREWAX customers
In 2021 Vimeo said WIREWAX customers could keep using the tools without interruption. Today a former WIREWAX project sits in Vimeo's classic interactive editor and plays in the Vimeo player.
- Interactive video needs a custom Enterprise account. Enterprise has no public price, so your cost depends on the contract you negotiate.
- A video saved in the classic editor stays there. To use New Interactive quizzes and LMS export, you build that video again in the new editor.
- Vimeo describes classic analytics as aggregate data for each video. To record events for each user, Vimeo points developers to the Player API.
- Interactivity works only in the Vimeo player. If you download the video or upload it somewhere else, the hotspots and overlays stay behind.
- Vimeo has been a private company owned by Bending Spoons since November 24, 2025. When the deal was signed, Bending Spoons said it planned ambitious investments across both Vimeo's creator and enterprise offerings. Vimeo announced a layoff on January 20, 2026, and added new plan names in 2026.
Before you renew, ask Vimeo in writing which editor your account includes, how many learner seats come with it, and what happens to your interactive videos if the contract ends.
What to check before you move an interactive project
Use these steps whether you stay on Vimeo, move to New Interactive, or change tools.
1. List every interactive video and where it plays
For each video, note the editor (classic or New) and every page, email, and LMS course that uses it. Some pages carry more than one interactive player, so check every embed on the page. Count the hotspots, overlays, time triggers, polls, and quizzes in each video, because that count sets the rebuild time.
2. Save the source files and the content inside the editor
Download the original video files from Vimeo. The interactivity does not come with them. Then copy what the editor holds: overlay images, button labels, link URLs, quiz questions and correct answers, and the start and end time of every element. Download New Interactive hotspot and poll data, and record the classic totals, while you still have Enterprise access.
3. Map each Vimeo element to the new tool
| Vimeo element | What to confirm | Mindstamp equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Static hotspot | Position, size, and timing | Hotspot |
| Sticky hotspot | Whether the tool can follow a moving object | Hotspot with Track motion (the hotspot must show for at least 3 seconds and must not pause the video; not available for YouTube sources) |
| Overlay panel | Layout, text, and how the viewer closes it | Text, image, and button interactions, or an HTML modal for custom layouts |
| Time trigger | Pause, loop, and jump behavior | Pause and Change time |
| Poll or quiz | Question types, scoring, and LMS reporting | Questions, which pause the video, plus SCORM export |
| Contact form | Fields and where the lead goes | Lead capture |
| Add-to-cart event | Store connection or page script | Shopify integration or JavaScript player events |
| Click-out link | URL and whether playback continues | Open link |
4. Plan LMS and reporting changes
If learners watch through an LMS, the new tool needs its own package, and past scores stay in the LMS. Check which standard your LMS needs. Mindstamp exports SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 3rd edition, and SCORM 2004 4th edition packages. It does not export xAPI or cmi5, which Vimeo lists. Then decide whether you need totals or a record for each viewer, and confirm that the new tool's reports show it.
5. Replace embeds, links, and page scripts
Every embed code and shared link changes when you move a video. Update the pages, emails, and LMS courses from step 1 in one pass. If a developer built page scripts on Vimeo Player API events, such as an add-to-cart integration, those scripts need rework for the new player.
6. Test every path on a phone and a computer
Play each video to the end. Take every branch, answer every question, and click every hotspot. In shots where a tracked object moves fast, check that the hotspot stays on it.
Moving a Vimeo or WIREWAX project to Mindstamp
We built Mindstamp as an interactive layer, so you can keep Vimeo for hosting or move your files to us. To keep Vimeo hosting, paste the video's direct HLS or 1080p MP4 file link into Mindstamp, as our video sources guide explains. Vimeo offers direct file links on Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise plans and on some older plans. You can also upload the file, and Mindstamp hosts and streams it. Mindstamp does not import Vimeo interaction settings, so you rebuild each interactive video in Mindstamp.
In Mindstamp you can rebuild:
- hotspots, including hotspots that follow a moving object
- buttons, text, and images over the video
- questions with correct answers and scores, with SCORM export on Core and higher plans
- branching between scenes and videos
- lead capture forms inside the video
- Shopify products and an in-video cart
- reports for each viewer that show what they watched, answered, and clicked
If you have a large library, our Vimeo migration team reviews your videos, interactive work, and delivery needs, then sends a scoped quote at no cost. Vimeo stays the stronger choice for broad hosting, live events, and review, and some teams keep Vimeo for those jobs and use Mindstamp for interactive videos. Compare the two side by side on Mindstamp vs Vimeo and Mindstamp vs WIREWAX, or read our guide to choosing an interactive video platform. Mindstamp has a 14-day free trial with no payment card, and plans are on the pricing page.
Common questions
Who bought WIREWAX?
Vimeo bought WIREWAX. It announced the deal on November 10, 2021 and completed it on December 6, 2021, according to its 2021 annual report. Vimeo did not disclose the price.
Who owns Vimeo now?
Bending Spoons, an Italian technology company, owns Vimeo. Its US subsidiary completed the purchase on November 24, 2025, paying $7.85 per share in cash, a deal Vimeo valued at about $1.38 billion.
What is Vimeo?
Vimeo is a video platform for business, based in New York. It hosts and streams video and runs live events and webinars. It also offers review, editing, and interactive tools, which vary by plan. Its shares traded on Nasdaq from May 25, 2021, when it separated from IAC, until the Bending Spoons purchase in November 2025.
How much are Vimeo's monthly plans?
On October 5, 2026, Vimeo's pricing page listed Starter at $20, Standard at $41, and Advanced at $125 per seat per month on monthly billing. Annual billing lowers those to $12, $25, and $75 per seat per month. Interactive video is on Enterprise, which has no public price. Our Vimeo embed code guide lists which plans allow player customization and domain privacy.
Can I export a classic interactive video from Vimeo?
You can download the video file, but the hotspots, overlays, and time triggers stay in the Vimeo player. To use the same experience elsewhere, rebuild it in the new tool from your saved content.
Does Vimeo interactive video work with SCORM?
New Interactive quizzes do. You export a SCORM package with the quiz score on an Enterprise plan, and LMS tracking needs learner seats. Classic interactive videos cannot be packaged for SCORM.
Sources and further reading
These earlier studies describe video marketing around the time of the deal:
- HubSpot's Not Another State of Marketing Report 2020 surveyed more than 3,400 marketers in November and December 2019 and found that video was the most used form of media in content strategy.
- HubSpot's article on interactive video, updated May 13, 2025, draws on its survey of more than 500 video marketers.
- Cisco's Annual Internet Report forecasts internet users, devices, and network speeds from 2018 to 2023.
- A MarketingCharts chart lists the online video qualities that consumers say help their decisions, including video that lets them choose what information to view.
- Social Media Week published 2020 Video Marketing and Statistics: What Brands Need to Know on October 30, 2019.
