New York Times invests in Israeli firm OpenWeb at $1b valuation
The New York Times Company was among a#nbsp;series of#nbsp;investors who participated in a $#nbsp;150 million Series E#nbsp;funding round for Israeli company OpenWeb, the developer of#nbsp;online community engagement and content solutions for publishers and brands worldwide.
The investment was led by#nbsp;New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners and Canadian investment firm Georgian Partners, valuing OpenWeb at#nbsp;over $#nbsp;1 billion and making it#nbsp;Israel’s newest "unicorn" — a#nbsp;privately held startup valued at#nbsp;over $#nbsp;1 billion#nbsp;— according to#nbsp;the announcement Wednesday. Other investors included US-Israeli venture firm Entrée Capital, Japan’s Dentsu, and Samsung Next, as#nbsp;well as#nbsp;Prof. Scott Galloway, an#nbsp;author and business professor at#nbsp;New York University who has joined OpenWeb’s Board of#nbsp;Directors.
Founded in#nbsp;2012, OpenWeb says it#nbsp;builds technologies that allow publishers to#nbsp;foster and engage with online communities while maintaining civil discourse, increasing user retention, and reducing toxicity. The company’s software OpenWebOS helps "publishers host the engaging discussions the public is#nbsp;starving for, right beside the stories everyone wants to#nbsp;talk about," OpenWeb says.
The company works with over 1,000 publishers globally including Hearst, a#nbsp;major media company that owns#nbsp;TV channels and stations such as#nbsp;ESPN and periodicals including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Houston Chronicle, Cosmopolitan and Esquire, as#nbsp;well as#nbsp;Yahoo! and News Corp., owned by#nbsp;the Murdoch family (of#nbsp;Fox News fame).