Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Wikia Continues Global Expansion with $5 Million In D-Round Funding

27/08/2014

Digital Garage and Existing Investors Lead Substantial Raise to Double Company Valuation

San Francisco August 27, 2014 Wikia, the social universe of fandom, today announces it has secured Series D Funding to enable the company to accelerate its global momentum with a focused entry into the Japanese and Asian markets. Digital Garage joins existing investors Amazon, Bessemer Venture Partners and Institutional Venture Partners, as well as a strong line-up of additional investors with strategic strength in Japanese and Asian expansion, significantly raising the company's valuation.

As one of the world's largest media companies, Wikia already represents over 120MM global unique users and 34 million pages of fan-authored content in more than 200 different languages. The site currently boasts more than 400,000 fan communities of video games, TV, movies, music, comics and anime, books, and lifestyle. Wikia reaches these fans through its web property (www.wikia.com) and a suite of mobile applications and has established strategic and syndication partnerships with top brands around the world including Warner Bros., Carbine Studios, IGN, IDG, and Roddenberry Entertainment. The company also recently announced Sony's launch of a range of next generation applications with richly syndicated Wikia community content.

While Wikia reaches consumers and superfans across the globe, to date, Wikia has generated revenue primarily in North America and Europe. Because Japan is a culture steeped in fandom and famous for creating video games, anime and comics many of which anchor some of the largest Japanese and global communities in Wikia this makes it a very logical and strategic country for Wikia's global business expansion, stated Craig Palmer, Wikia's CEO and President. The strategic investors in our Series D Round offer a wide array of media and Japanese business experience that will help us greatly accelerate our success throughout Asia.

Digital Garage led Wikia Series D Funding. Digital Garage is known to invest primarily in companies entering the Japanese Market, Twitter being a notable recent investment. In addition, they offer media advertising/promotion solutions as well as payment solutions that will benefit Wikia's launch in Japan. Digital Garage board member Joichi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab, who also serves on the board of Sony, The New York Times, Creative Commons, and Mozilla, will be advising Wikia on expansion plans into the market.

Joining Digital Garage in the Wikia Series D Funding are Asuka Investments, owned by Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, Chairman of KADOKAWA Corporation one of Japan's largest publishers of anime, comic book and video games; Tose a silent force behind the video game market that has developed thousands of first party games for leading Japanese and global video game publishers; Suneight a boutique investment firm that helped Wikia arrange a portion of Japanese investment; and Nobuyuki Idei founder of Quantum Leaps, a consultancy that invests in and advises next generation private and public companies. Idei currently serves on the board of Accenture and Lenovo and was previously CEO of Sony.

Wikia's existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Institutional Venture Partners and Amazon also participated in Wikia's D-Round.

About Wikia:

Wikia, the social universe for fans, by fans, is the home for social fandom and the ultimate source for powerful and relevant pop culture, entertainment and gaming expertise. It is the definitive place for people to contribute to the assembly of original bodies of multi-media content around subjects they know and love. Using Wikia, anyone can form new communities around any subject or participate in over 400,000 existing communities by reading or contributing new content. With over 34 million pages of rich content, Wikia's communities are the most authoritative information about any topic on the Internet. Wikia's video game vertical (games.wikia.com) is a leading video-game focused information hub on the Web. Wikia's recently expanded entertainment verticals (movies.wikia.com, tv.wikia.com, books.wikia.com and music.wikia.com) collectively represent the fastest growing U.S. entertainment destination around the world. Lifestyle.wikia.com boasts over 75,000 communities chronicling fashion, food and technology.

Launched in 2006 by founder Jimmy Wales, Wikia attracts more than 120 million global unique visitors per month and is ranked a Quantcast Top 25 and comScore Top 80 Internet site, as well as a Nielsen Top 10 social network. www.wikia.com or @wikia

--
LINK: http://www.ivp.com/news/press-release/wikia-continues-global-expansion...
See more stories from ivp

Most recent headlines

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

01/05/2025

Fired CPB Board Members Sue Trump Administration

WASHINGTON The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from firing three of its board members, claiming the pre...

01/05/2025

Riedel Opens Hong Kong Office

HONG KONG Riedel Communications today said it has opened a new office in Hong Kong, enhancing its presence in the Asia-Pacific region....

01/05/2025

NextGen TV: Sinclair Applauds New ATSC 3.0 D2M Phones

MUMBAI, India & BALTIMORE In a development that could advance efforts to bring NextGen TV to cellphones, FreeStream Technologies, Lava International and HMD hav...

01/05/2025

Screen Australia empowers 100+ distinctive Australian narratives

01 05 2025 - Media release Screen Australia empowers 100 distinctive Australian narratives All The Boys Are Here writer/director Goran Stolevski and It s All...

01/05/2025

How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller Locked

How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller...

01/05/2025

Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF

Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF Brie Clayton May 1, 2025 0 Comments CAD Studios relies on large format, full fram...

01/05/2025

RT Investigates reveals details of Christian Brothers who managed congregation's assets are now convicted jailed child sexual abusers

RT Investigates reveals details of Christian Brothers who were senior leaders a...

01/05/2025

RT Statement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project

RT Statement The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project is one of the projects that was funded from the proceeds of RT 's land sale in 2017, the init...

01/05/2025

RT is Supporting 28 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this May

Watch our promo: RT Supporting the Arts | What's on This May, RT is delighted to support Bealtaine Festival, Fastnet Film Festival, and Dublin Dance Fest...

01/05/2025

Wandercraft Begins Clinical Trials for Physical AI-Powered Personal Exoskeleton

For Nicolas Simon, advancing the field of robotics is a personal mission that could change his siblings' lives. Two-thirds of Simon's family members us...

30/04/2025

Inside the Archives: Preserving and Saving At-Risk Films Takes a Village

Film elements held at the Deluxe warehouse in March of 2015. Photo by Luis Silva...

30/04/2025

Spotify and EA SPORTS Team Up To Pilot a New Kind of Audio Experience

EA SPORTS FC 25 fans in Australia and Saudi Arabia, get ready to immerse yourselves in the beautiful game like never before. Spotify is excited to announce a n...

30/04/2025

Tucker Wetmore Celebrates His Debut Album Release With an Intimate Performance for Fans

The past year has been nothing short of a whirlwind for Tucker Wetmore. After th...

30/04/2025

Spotify Celebrates Mexico's Booming Podcast Scene With First-Ever Podcast Awards

Mexico's love for podcasts is no longer a trend-it's a lifestyle. With m...

30/04/2025

Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award

Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award 30 April, 2025 Media releases Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Huda Fadlelmawla...

30/04/2025

SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives

SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives 30 April, 2025 Media releases SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ...

30/04/2025

Why Now is the Perfect Time to Join HPA

By Joyce JC Cataldo The media and entertainment industry is evolving faster than ever. Technology is shifting the way we create, distribute, and experience c...

30/04/2025

On-Demand Imagery: Enhancing Monitoring and Analysis with Advanced Streaming Platforms

An image of Valencia, Spain, in the OneAtlas Living Library...

30/04/2025

WPSD-TV Taps Bitcentral To Modernize Playout

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. WPSD-TV, the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., has selected Bitcentral's Central Control playout system to upgrade the station's mast...

30/04/2025

Baris Zavaroglu Appointed CEO of Zero Density

AMSTERDAM Zero Density, a global provider of virtual studio productions and on-air graphics, has appointed Baris Zavaroglu as its new CEO. Zavaroglu succeeds Of...

30/04/2025

The Avit Group Elevates Audio-visual Experiences with Mar...

The Avit Group, a forward-thinking audio-visual technology company, is bringing over 50 years of combined experience in delivering audio-visual design and insta...

30/04/2025

NXTGENbps brings portable, sustainable battery solutions...

NXTGENbps will be showcasing its latest sustainable battery power solutions at this year's Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), appearing alongside pa...

30/04/2025

Van Dyke Scores Hit with Hockey Comedy Shoresy Shot on Ze...

Van Dyke skates and operates on Shoresy | photo by Dave Ferguson Toronto-based Cinematographer Brett Van Dyke (Heartland, Jann, Carter) stepped into the rink...

30/04/2025

PlayBox Neo presents Next-Generation Smart Media Solution...

Leading provider of media playout solutions PlayBox Neo will exhibit a vast array of significant upgrades to its range of smart media innovations at CABSAT from...

30/04/2025

QuickLink StudioEdge Transforms Remote Contributions for...

ITV Studios is renowned for its award-winning productions, including the reality TV phenomenon I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Produced by Lifted Ente...

30/04/2025

UK Pavilion exhibitors continue to impact at CABSAT and S...

The UK's presence at this year's CABSAT brings together 20 innovative companies under the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland banner. From advanced infra...

30/04/2025

Lightware Reinforces ESG Commitment with Participation in...

Lightware continues to strengthen its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives by fostering diversity, inclusion, and community engagement within...

30/04/2025

LiveU to Demonstrate LiveU IQ in UK For The First Time at...

LiveU is demonstrating for the first time in the UK, its revolutionary technological breakthrough in IP-video transport, LiveU IQ (LIQ ) and bringing its expand...

30/04/2025

Calrec MPTS 2025 Preview

Stand: A40 Calrec has been putting sound in the picture for more than six decades and is still pushing the boundaries of audio broadcasting with a full range o...

30/04/2025

Buckinghamshire New University opens advanced virtual pro...

Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) has opened its new virtual production studio, designed and integrated by CJP Broadcast. The installation equips students wi...

30/04/2025

Collective Newsroom chooses nxtedition for seamless workf...

Independent news producer in India focuses on delivering stories nxtedition has supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, based in New Delhi,...

30/04/2025

FOR-A Showcases Next-Generation Broadcast Solutions at CA...

Connecting the present, building the future FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast technology company backed by more than 50 years experience, will showcase it...

30/04/2025

DAD by NTP Technology Highlights Upcoming Expansion Optio...

DAD by NTP Technology reports a successful NAB Show in Las Vegas where the company focused on upcoming expansion options in development for its Thunder | Core a...

30/04/2025

CVP and Canon unveil 2025 Canon Stories in Motion Young F...

CVP and Canon UK & Ireland are proud to announce the winning projects from the third annual Stories in Motion Young Filmmakers Awards, which took place on the e...

30/04/2025

beIN scores world first with new beIN STREAM using Syname...

Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that beIN MEDIA GROUP ( beIN'), one of the foremost global sports and entertainment broadcasters...

30/04/2025

The Canadian Premier League launches new digital experien...

The Canadian Premier League (CPL) today launched a new-look website and app, offering supporters of Canada's men's domestic professional soccer league a...

30/04/2025

FCC's Carr Says Regulator Wants to Empower Local Broadcasters'

WASHINGTON In a wide-ranging press conference, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had both good and bad news for broadcasters, stressing that ...

30/04/2025

Filipino Sports Streamer Leverages Quickplay Shorts for Video Prep

TORONTO Cignal TV is relying on Quickplay's Shorts tool for its recently launched Pilipinas Live Shorts service, available to millions of users of Pilipinas...

30/04/2025

TVB President and CEO Steve Lanzano to Retire

NEW YORK Steve Lanzano will retire as president and CEO of the Television Bureau of Advertising at year-end, the group said....

30/04/2025

Collective Newsroom Deploys Nxteditions Newsroom System

The news production tech provider nxtedition is reporting that it supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, an independent news producer based...

30/04/2025

IAB Double-Clicks on AI Efforts

NEW YORK As part of a major push to advance the role that artificial intelligence (AI) plays in the advertising industry, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has...

30/04/2025

SES Open Orbits Selected by Two National Carriers to Equip their Fleets with Truly Seamless Connectivity Services

Uzbekistan Airways is the latest airline to choose SES's network, while Thai...

30/04/2025

Loaded Uses Blackmagic Design for shroud Subathon Live Streams

Loaded Uses Blackmagic Design for shroud Subathon Live Streams Brie Clayton April 29, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic Studio Cameras and Micro Studio Camer...

30/04/2025

Help shape the future of video creator tools with MIDiA

Help shape the future of video creator tools with MIDiA Brie Clayton April 29, 2025 0 Comments After a successful debut in 2024, MIDiA is calling once...

30/04/2025

Tania Len and Kelli O'Hara to be Honored at Boston Conservatory at Berklee's Commencement Ceremony

Tania Le n and Kelli O'Hara to be Honored at Boston Conservatory at Berklee&...

30/04/2025

Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College of Music 2025 Commencement

Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College ...

30/04/2025

New RT News Podcast Behind the Story Available Now

You've seen the headlines, now it's time to go Behind the Story RT News has today (Wednesday) launched a brand-new news podcast, Behind the Story, h...

30/04/2025

Re-imagined series of Bergerac set to return to U and U&DRAMA in 2026

Damien Molony will head back to Jersey for a second series of Bergerac, written by Toby Whithouse alongside Ashley Sanders, Emilie Robson and Faebian Averies D...

30/04/2025

Advancing multi-domain EW operations: Rohde & Schwarz unveils latest innovations at AOC Europe

Advancing multi-domain EW operations: Rohde & Schwarz unveils latest innovations...