Germany-based online television broadcaster Mediakraft Networks raised $23m yesterday in a series B round led by corporate-backed venture capital firm Iris Capital.
Iris, which counts telecommunications company Orange and marketing firm Publicis as limited partners, invested alongside Capnamic Ventures and existing backer Shortcut Ventures. Capnamic is a Germany-based fund managed by Iris that is backed by corporate investors and family offices.
Founded in 2011, Mediakraft oversees more than 2,000 channels on platforms such as YouTube, Yahoo and ClipFish, which are watched by about 36 million subscribers and 1.5 million daily viewers.
In addition to claiming to be Central Europe’s largest online television channel, the company stated that the round represented the largest venture round ever raised by a multi-channel online network based in the European Union.
Erkan Kilicaslan, partner at Iris Capital, said: “Mediakraft Networks is the driving force in the super fast-growing market for online video. We are thrilled and excited to be on board in what is the most promising space in the entertainment sector.”