Online content engagement and social distribution startup Playbuzz has raised $15 million in new funding, led by Saban Ventures with participation from The Walt Disney Company. Existing investors 83North (formerly Greylock IL), Carmel Ventures and FirstTime Ventures also participated in the investment round. Last March, the startup raised $16 million.
Playbuzz will use the investment to further enhance its proprietary content-engagement platform and expand its sponsored content business, which already works with many of the world's leading brands to create and distribute native advertising campaigns at scale.
Founded in 2012 by CEO Shaul Olmert and CTO Tom Pachys, Playbuzz enables publishers, bloggers, marketers and brands to connect with audiences in a meaningful and share-worthy way, through interactive storytelling in easily digestible formats such as quizzes, lists, surveys, ranking and more. Olmert is the son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The company has 100 employees in its offices in Tel Aviv, New York, London, Hamburg and Nashville.
Olmert said, "Playbuzz enables publishers and brands to create content that matches today's content-consumption habits, while generating meaningful engagement and new monetization opportunities. The support of global leaders in media, such as Saban and Disney, will enable us to expand both our editorial reach and sponsored content business."
The Playbuzz platform is used by tens of thousands of publishers, brands and content creators to create and distribute content in formats that optimize audience engagement and social distribution. Examples of Playbuzz's innovative content formats include slideshows, flip cards, galleries, quizzes, lists and video snaps.
Saban Ventures managing partner Barak Pridor, who joins Playbuzz's board, said, "Engaging content is the key to media consumption, and Playbuzz has positioned itself as the leading platform for media companies and brands to create and distribute such content across all devices. Playbuzz's unique network and distributed sponsored content offering make it the ideal platform for editorial and commercial growth of its partners."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 31, 2016
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016