Participated · Series D · Dec 2015

NowThis Media produces short, mobile-first videos about trending stories, targeting 18- to 34-year-olds and distributing across social platforms. The company uses a proprietary technology that identifies trending topics on social networks and enables editors to produce and publish videos quickly. It publishes roughly 60 videos every day for platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Vine, Kik, WeChat and YouTube. Founded in 2012 by Kenneth Lerer and Eric Hippeau, the startup focuses on rapid, social-native video production and widespread platform distribution. The business raised $16M in a new funding round, strengthening its financial position. The article does not disclose revenue or user metrics beyond publication volume. NowThis Media, founded in 2012 by Kenneth Lerer and Eric Hippeau, produces short-form news videos (commonly 15–30 seconds) optimized for mobile and social feeds. The company emphasizes distributed distribution over driving traffic to its own app or website, tailoring video length to each platform. It has an audience skewing 18–34, described as tech‑savvy and politically progressive, and reported growth from about 1 million monthly video views in early summer to roughly 40 million in November. NowThis has launched NowThis Studio to focus on branded content and acquired Cliptamatic, which provided the foundation for a new production platform called Switchboard. Switchboard, scheduled to launch early in 2015, is intended to streamline finding trending video, editing, and distribution; NowThis plans to use it with partners and may offer it as a technology product. Recent strategic partnerships include earlier funding from NBC Universal News Group and ongoing collaboration with media partners. NowThis News produces short-form video journalism tailored for Facebook, Vine, YouTube, Snapchat and other social and mobile platforms and distributes content via its mobile app. The company was founded by Kenneth Lerer, Eric Hippeau, and Brian Bedol and employs journalists who previously held senior roles at ABC News, CNN, The Washington Post and The Huffington Post. NBCUniversal News Group made a minority equity investment, taking a reported 10% stake, and will co-produce content with NowThis. As part of the partnership, NBC staff will work in NowThis’s studio to co-produce 30–40 short videos per week for distribution across TODAY, MSNBC, NBC News, CNBC and NowThis channels. NowThis previously raised $10 million from Lerer Ventures, SoftBank and others. The company plans to debut new Twitter and Facebook products and pursue short-form video formats and ad integrations aimed at younger, mobile-first audiences. NowThisNews produces short, shareable video news clips (typically under three minutes) designed for smartphones, tablets and social distribution. The company publishes roughly 18–25 videos per day with a lean editorial staff of a little more than 20 employees and small production teams for events. Its iPhone and iPad apps have been available for about five months, and the company relies on app users, referrals from outside sites, and social-channel replays for viewership. NowThisNews was founded by Kenneth Lerer, Eric Hippeau and Brian Bedol and has assembled journalists from ABC, CNN, The Washington Post and The Huffington Post. At SXSW the startup ran an exclusive channel, deployed production teams on the ground, and launched a six-second Vine pitch contest to reach a younger (18–34) and tech-oriented audience.