Raze, a US-based producer of digital media content targeting Latino audiences, has launched with almost $5m in series A funding from backers including talent agency UTA, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Raine Ventures, the venture capital arm of technology, media and telecom-focused merchant bank Raine Group, and VC firm Greycroft Partners also participated in the round, the size of which was revealed to the WSJ by people familiar with the matter.
Emiliano Calemzuk, former president of entertainment company 21st Century Fox production unit Fox Television Studios, set up Raze in 2016 with actress Sofia Vergara and her business partner Luis Balaguer.
Vergara and Balaguer formed Latin World Entertainment, a Hispanic talent agency, in 1994, and the company will now become part of Raze, according to Variety.
Raze’s first television series, “Her Name was Dolores, the Jenni I Knew”, a scripted show about the late Mexican-American singer and actress Jenni Rivera, began airing on Spanish-language television network Univision this month.
Another scripted show, inspired by the life of footballer Diego Armando Maradona, is currently under development.
Raze will launch an advertiser-funded mobile platform later this year, featuring short videos about subjects ranging from the news to lifestyle and beauty. The startup will also create content designed for established social media channels such as YouTube.
Brent Weinstein, partner and head of digital media at UTA, and Mark Terbeek, a partner at Greycroft, have joined Raze’s board in conjunction with the round, Variety reported.UTA and entertainment law firm Ziffren Brittenham, which Raze named as founding partners, will advise the startup.