Skyword, a US-based content marketing platform that counts diversified conglomerate Cox Enterprises as an investor, raised $25m on Tuesday from Rho Acceleration, part of venture capital firm Rho Capital Partners.
Founded in 2010 out of news and entertainment platform Gather, Skyword operates an online platform that hosts more than 1 million original articles, videos, images, animations, infographics or podcasts sourced from freelancers that function as branded stories for clients.
Skyword CEO Tom Gerace said: “People are avoiding and blocking interrupt ads and marketing techniques in record numbers. But they are consuming great content at unprecedented rates.
“To succeed, marketers must shift their fundamental marketing approach from ad-centric to story-centric. Our content marketing and personalisation technologies were designed to support this new marketing approach from the ground up.”
The funding, secured alongside a $5m working capital line from banking and wealth management firm Cambridge Trust, will support company growth and product development.
Skyword raised $3m in equity financing and $1.8m in debt before Cox subsidiary Cox Media invested $6m in 2011, returning to lead a $6.7m round two years later. It provided a further $11m in funding in 2014.
Gather had received $26m in funding from investors including media groups Hearst and American Public Media, educational publisher Mcgraw-Hill and venture capital firm Pilot House Ventures before being integrated into Skyword.
Rho Ventures managing partner George Bitar and venture partner Doug McCormick will join Skyword’s board of directors in conjunction with the funding, along with Mark Roehrenbeck, principal of Rho Fund Investors.
America’s Growth Capital and WilmerHale advised Skyword for the equity funding while Cafferty & Company was adviser for the debt facility.