Axel Springer acquires interest in US startup for Millennials
Anton Waitz, MD of Axel Springer Digital Ventures said: “Through our participation in Mic, we are expanding our early stage portfolio in the US to include another emerging journalistic offering with a high level of technological expertise. With intelligent content and a fresh voice, Mic is in the process of building up a strong journalistic brand among the ‘Millennials’ in the US.”
Mic was founded in New York in 2011 by Chris Altchek and Jake Horowitz. The company now has 75 employees, including 44 editors. Mic reached 30 million monthly users in May 2015 according to its own figures. In addition to Axel Springer, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Advancit Capital are among the investors in the current financing round which amounts to a total of US$17m.
Axel Springer in the US
Axel Springer founded Axel Springer Digital Ventures, an American subsidiary based in Silicon Valley, in 2014. In the US, Axel Springer is the largest investor in Ozy, an online magazine for news and culture, and holds minority interests in the online business magazine Business Insider, the social-video-news media company NowThis Media, the Pixlee photo-community, the save-for-later app Pocket, the A Plus media start-up and the Airbnb community accommodations marketplace. The digital publisher Livingly Media is fully owned by women’s portal aufeminin.com, in which Axel Springer holds a majority interest. Axel Springer also has a majority shareholding in the Retale shopping platform through the Bonial.com Group.
More about Axel Springer and Mic.
Axel Springer is a FIPP member company.
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