US-based digital media platform Tastemade has secured $35m in a funding round featuring e-commerce firm Amazon and mass media group Comcast, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs co-led the round through its Growth Equity unit, and Raine Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and the state-mandated Cool Japan Fund also took part. Comcast invested through its corporate venture capital arm, Comcast Ventures.
Tastemade runs an online media platform that publishes short-form videos focused on food. It claims its videos are viewed some 2 billion times each month between its own platform and streaming channel, and third-party services such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
The funding will support the company’s expansion from food into other leisure areas, such as travel and home-themed programming. It also intends to increase headcount from 160 to 200 by the end of next year, with its online advertising team a particular focus.
Tastemade has now raised approximately $115m since it was founded in 2012. Comcast Ventures, film distributor Tohokushinsha and mass media companies Liberty Media and Scripps Networks Interactive all took part in its last round, a $40m series D in 2015.
Goldman Sachs led the series D round, which included Redpoint Ventures and Raine Ventures. The latter two both invested in the company’s $25m series C the year before alongside Scripps Networks Interactive, which led the round, Liberty Media and Comcast Ventures.
