WPP Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of marketing firm WPP, has led an $18.5m series B round for US-based digital media company Woven Digital.
Venture capital firms and existing investors Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) and Advancit Capital also took part in the round, as did H-14.
Founded in 2010, Woven produces written and video digital media content targeted at millennial males, and claims to reach 50 million users each month through news, sports and culture site Uproxx, entertainment review site Hitfix and lifestyle site BroBible.
The company, which operates out of offices in California, New York and Chicago, intends to use the funding to grow its video studio and expand news, sports and entertainment coverage.
Colin Digiaro, chief executive of Woven Digital, said: “Media is at a critical juncture, where young people watch, read and share content they care about, across a variety of platforms and in turn this becomes a reflection of who they are.
“Having WPP as a partner brings a global view of the quickly evolving media and advertising landscape, and this perspective will be invaluable as we continue to build out Woven’s video and editorial capabilities.”
Woven raised $5.5m from undisclosed backers in 2011 before securing $18m in series A funding from United Talent Agency, IVP, Advancit and various angel investors in late 2014.