US-based media company Time Warner’s corporate venturing unit has invested $40m into US-based digital company Maker Studios, a key producer of original programming for YouTube, the online video company. The round is valued at $150m.
Before being backed by Time Warner Investments, Maker raised $4m from venture capital firms which included Greycroft Partners and GRP Partners.
Asian TV Conglomerate Conglom is also in discussions with Maker about purchasing a minority stake, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the talks. Chief Operating Officer of Maker, Courtney Holt, who joined the company from MySpace Music last year, has been working on raising a new round of capital for the company, according to sources.
Founded in 2009, Maker receives a portion of the revenues derived from a network of amateur videos. Maker’s channels generated more than 1.7bn views in September.