Playbuzz Secures $15M in Strategic Funding from Saban Ventures and Disney

Entrepreneurs / 4th April 2016

Playbuzz, the leading platform for online content engagement and social distribution, today announced it has raised $15 million in new funding, led by Saban Ventures with participation from The Walt Disney Company*. Existing investors 83North, Carmel Ventures and FirstTime Ventures also participated in the investment round.

Playbuzz will use the investment to further enhance its proprietary content-engagement platform and expand its sponsored content business, which already works with many of the world’s leading brands to create and distribute native advertising campaigns at scale.

“Playbuzz enables publishers and brands to create content that matches today’s content-consumption habits, while generating meaningful engagement and new monetization opportunities,” said Shaul Olmert, co-founder and CEO of Playbuzz. “The support of global leaders in media, such as Saban and Disney, will enable us to expand both our editorial reach and sponsored content business.”

The Playbuzz platform is used by tens of thousands of publishers, brands and content creators to create and distribute content in formats that optimize audience engagement and social distribution. Examples of Playbuzz’s innovative content formats include slideshows, flip cards, galleries, quizzes, lists and video snaps.

The popularity of content created using Playbuzz is skyrocketing, as engagement metrics for such items outpace those of traditional digital formats, such as articles and long-form video. Playbuzz-powered content generates average item completion rates of up to 94% and social share rates as high as 15%.

“Engaging content is the key to media consumption, and Playbuzz has positioned itself as the leading platform for media companies and brands to create and distribute such content across all devices,” said Barak Pridor, Managing Partner at Saban Ventures, who joins Playbuzz’s Board of Directors following this financing round. “Playbuzz’s unique network, and distributed sponsored content offering, make it the ideal platform for editorial and commercial growth of its partners.”

*The interest is owned by a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

About Playbuzz 

Founded in 2012 by Shaul Olmert and Tom Pachys, Playbuzz is the leading global platform for publishers and brands to create content people love. The company has 100 employees in its offices in New York, London, Tel Aviv, Hamburg and Nashville. Playbuzz’s rapid growth is fueled by the adoption of its platform by tens of thousands of publishers, brands and content creators worldwide who use the company’s analytics tools and mobile-friendly content formats to engage users, increase web traffic, boost their reach and optimize content for maximum social interaction and shares. The Playbuzz network reaches hundreds of millions of users every month through its network partners and through its owned and operated website playbuzz.com.

In March 2015, Playbuzz announced a $16 million round of funding led by 83North and with participation from existing investors, including Carmel Ventures, FirstTime Ventures and Oded Vardi.