Mashable, the leading media company for the Connected Generation, announced today that it has raised $17 million in Series B funding, led by Time Warner Investments. The capital will allow Mashable to add over 100 employees, investing heavily in strategic growth areas such as video production across all formats and Mashable’s proprietary Velocity technology, while also continuing to bolster the breadth and depth of its editorial talent.
Over the past year, Mashable has seen a tremendous increase in revenue, readership and social followers due in large part to the support of its Series A investors, led by Updata Partners. Based on this growth, all major investors will be taking part in the Series B funding.
Three key indicators of the company’s success in 2014 include:
45% growth in revenue;
40% growth in monthly unique visitors to 42 million globally; and
60% increase of social followers to 21 million across all platforms.
Mashable’s global expansion has been crucial to its success over the past year, adding sales and editorial staff in London and Los Angeles, and reporters in Sydney and Ukraine.
Additionally, Mashable expanded its coverage to include reporting on climate, travel, real-time and global news and the launch of an entertainment vertical based in Los Angeles.
Mashable will continue to foster its audience development and visual storytelling offerings for both its editorial and brand partners, including emerging and established platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Vine, Twitter and stop-motion animation capabilities, which has allowed Mashable to provide world-class creative to its community on the platforms they use the most.
“When I first started Mashable almost a decade ago, I set out to explore how the Internet would change the world; over the last year, digital media has aggressively accelerated that change and Mashable is at the center of it,” said Pete Cashmore, Founder and CEO of Mashable. “As consumer consumption habits only continue to change, we are building a company for the long-term that will serve the Mashable community across formats.”
Mashable’s ability to build a sustainable and fast-growing digital media company for the 21st century has been due in large part to its rapid exposure within the advertising and consumer markets, which has continued to increase and diversify its portfolio of advertising partners. Mashable also continues to enhance and innovate its suite of marketing products in order to better serve the brands and consumers of the digital age.
This year Mashable continued that trend by adding another revenue stream through licensing its proprietary Velocity technology, which predicts and tracks the viral life cycle of digital content, to media agencies 360i and MEC. With this infusion of capital, Mashable will continue to develop and refine the technology in order to better serve both its existing and potential partners.
Over the course of the past twelve months, Mashable has reached notable milestones, including:
Diversifying its advertising portfolio through integrated partnerships with blue chip clients;
Launching dedicated country sites in the UK and Australia;
Being named one of the top publishers of the year on Twitter (Newswhip); and
Continuing to host global events such as Social Good Summit, industry-wide programs including the Mashable Media Summit and The Mashies, as well as innovative experiences with many of its brand partners.
“Mashable’s ability to combine great content with its innovative Velocity technology to reach a scale millennial audience represents an amazing investment opportunity with great partnership potential for Time Warner’s news and entertainment operations,” said Rachel Lam, Group Managing Director of Time Warner Investments. “Mashable has built an outstanding leadership team that has executed an impressive growth strategy while maintaining its respected editorial voice — I look forward to joining a company that continues to foster one of the most active and social audiences in the digital era, and one that is poised for breakout growth.”
Rachel Lam, who has a long history of working with world-class media brands and executives, will join Mashable’s Board of Directors, which currently includes Pete Cashmore as Chairman, Jon Seeber, Partner at Updata Partners, Jordan Kretchmer, Founder and CEO of Livefyre, Barbara Messing, Chief Marketing Officer of TripAdvisor and a rotating Mashable executive, which currently is Chief Strategy Officer, Adam Ostrow.
With this Series B funding, Pete Cashmore, Founder and CEO of Mashable, will continue to remain majority owner of the company. Under his vision and leadership, Mashable has been one of the most efficient digital publishers since it was founded in 2005, and will continue to scale in a smart and strategic way while optimizing long-term revenue prospects.
“Mashable over the past year has made tremendous progress, increasing our audience reach and growing our staff globally, and earning record revenue growth,” said Mike Kriak, Chief Financial and Operating Officer. “Mashable’s ability to continue to operate as it has for nearly a decade, as a self-sustaining media-tech hybrid with the backing and support of world-class investors, makes me incredibly excited for our long-term success. This new investment will allow Mashable to quickly capitalize on the market opportunity we see in further developing our video and Velocity platforms.”
With the addition of the Series B capital, Mashable has raised a total of $31 million since its founding in 2005.
About Mashable Mashable is a leading source for news, information and resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable’s 42 million unique visitors worldwide and 21 million social media followers are one of the most influential and engaged online communities. Founded in 2005, Mashable is headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London.
About Time Warner Investments The Time Warner Investments group was founded in 2003 and focuses on investment opportunities that directly enhance Time Warner’s ability to meet specific strategic goals. These strategic goals include the delivery of new services, enhancement of an existing product, entry or expansion into a key strategic market, completion of a strategic partnership, and critical research and development.