Newsletter platform Substack valued at $1.1 billion in latest funding round

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(Reuters) -Substack has raised $100 million in a funding round led by venture capital firms Bond and the Chernin Group at a valuation of $1.1 billion, the newsletter platform said on Thursday.

The series C funding round also saw participation from existing investor Andreessen Horowitz, as well as Rich Paul, CEO and founder of Klutch Sports Group and Jens Grede, CEO and co-founder of SKIMS.

The funding comes four months after the San Francisco-based company said it had more than 5 million paid subscriptions on the platform, up from 4 million paid subscriptions in November last year.

The company, which has raised $200 million in total since its founding in 2017, is a leading platform for writers, journalists and creators to publish and monetize newsletters, podcasts and other digital content directly to subscribers.

Users are increasingly turning to newsletter platforms such as Substack and Ghost amid growing digitization, as they offer creators greater control by delivering content directly to subscribers.

Such content distribution often bypass traditional social media algorithms providing better user-targeting.

“We’re doubling down on the Substack app, which is designed to help audiences reclaim their attention and connect with the creators they care about,” Substack co-founders said in a blog post.

As part of the funding, Bond general partner Mood Rowghani will join Substack’s board of directors, the company said.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru)