Israeli digital content company Playbuzz today announced that it has raised $35 million in a Series C financing round, led by Viola Growth with participation from existing investors including Disney, Saban Ventures, 83North, Carmel Ventures, firstime and Oded Vardi.
The company, founded in 2012 by CEO Shaul Olmert, son of former prime minister Ehud Olmert, and CPO Tom Pachys, has raised $66 million to date including $15 million in its Series B financing round 18 months ago. The proceeds will help Playbuzz consolidate its position as the leading platform for publishers and brands worldwide as they align their content with today’s content consumption habits. Headquartered in New York, the company's development center is in Tel Aviv.
Playbuzz will use the investment to expand worldwide operations, with a focus on its branded content business which already works with Fortune 500 brands to create, distribute and measure engaging native advertising campaigns.
Olmert said, "Working with top media companies over the last 5 years has put us in a unique position to identify opportunities for growth and develop innovative technology to improve audience engagement. Playbuzz’s evolution into providing monetized content solutions to publishers and brands is of substantial value to our partners in their effort to increase readers’ attention spans and content viewability. Moving forward, Playbuzz will continue to drive engagement with interactive storytelling tools while answering partners’ content, revenue and data needs all in one place."
The Playbuzz platform is used by the world’s top publishers when they want their stories heard, enabling them to create engaging, visually-stunning editorial content - no design or development skills necessary. It is also relied upon by top brands who tap the company to create interactive branded content campaigns that Playbuzz then distributes at scale to its existing network of tens of thousands of publishers.
Viola Growth founder and general partner Harel Beit-On said, "As Playbuzz continues to grow, it will increasingly become a strategic partner for brands and publishers, all of whom must speak the language of modern consumers. The Playbuzz platform enables them to do just that, translating their content to meet the needs of today’s readers. Playbuzz’s innovative storytelling tools continue to drive the future of content creation and ensure publishers and brands’ stories are heard. We believe in the company’s excellent management team - with its strong creativity and operational skills - and are excited to join them as they enter this exciting phase."
Beit-On is joining Playbuzz's board.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 27, 2017
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