OpenWeb Raises $170 Million In Series F as it Continues Rapid Expansion with $1.5 Billion Valuation

The innovative B2B2C platform empowers people, publishers, and advertisers alike with safe and engaging end-to-end experiences that contribute to a healthier, social open web.

NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenWeb, the premium community engagement platform serving more than 1,000 publishers and leading the way in enabling a healthier open web, today announced it has raised $170M in Series F funding led by Georgian, bringing its total valuation to $1.5 billion.

This new financing will support the company's continued expansion as it grows from 100+ million active monthly users and pursues new publishers, more advertisers, innovative partnerships, and industry-leading applications.

"This investment represents an incredible show of confidence in the mission we have set for ourselves: To combat toxicity and create healthier, open spaces for conversations that move society forward," said Nadav Shoval, co-founder and CEO of OpenWeb. "There is a paradigm shift happening right now in the media, and we have the opportunity to drive major changes in how people communicate with one another in virtual spaces, as well as how publishers and advertisers form and maintain lasting relationships with their audiences. OpenWeb is delivering the building blocks for the future of online networks."

Sitting at the convergence of the needs of today's web users, publishers and advertisers, OpenWeb offers solutions that are uniquely positive for people, fair for content creators, safe for brands, and healthier for society at-large.

OpenWeb's B2B2C platform is designed to power end-to-end user experiences with user activation and management, first-party data aggregation and management, AI moderation, and social experiences. The company's proprietary technology is used by the world's top publishers, including The New York Times, Hearst, Yahoo!, Penske Media Corporation, and News Corp., to gain independence from traditional social media and cultivate trust, community, and quality conversations. The platform incentivizes civil engagement and the creation of high-quality content while leveraging and monetizing first-party data through scalable, brand-safe advertising.

"OpenWeb offers a wealth of premium publishers, engaged users, first-party data capabilities, and unique algorithms for moderation and targeting," said Margaret Wu, Lead Investor at Georgian. "As publishers and advertisers search for trusted, quality alternatives to the 'walled gardens' of social media, we saw an opportunity to collaborate with OpenWeb to create quality social environments for brands that deliver personalized advertising at-scale."

"Georgian is a leader in the space and shares our ambitious vision for a more civil, healthier, decentralized social experience online," said OpenWeb CFO Haim Sasson. "Despite some headwinds in the economy, the interest level for this funding round was high, and we couldn't have chosen better investors with whom to partner to build on the incredible momentum we've experienced."

The company has achieved impressive, sustained growth over the past six years and is on track to continue that trajectory heading into 2023. Today's announcement comes on the heels of recent senior hires including Chief Business Officer Mark Howard and the company's first Chief Marketing Officer, Tiffany Xingyu Wang. OpenWeb also recently announced the $100 million acquisition of global advertising platform ADYOULIKE. The Series F funding follows last November's Series E round, which raised $150 million. OpenWeb plans to further drive innovations for its partners, expand its global presence, and explore strategic acquisitions.

OpenWeb's mission is to improve the quality of conversations online, building a healthier web where content creators of all kinds are empowered to thrive. As a product company, OpenWeb partners with publishers and brands to build strong, direct relationships with their audiences. OpenWeb's technology empowers its partners to build vibrant communities rooted in healthy conversations and robust social experiences. OpenWeb works with more than 1,000 top-tier publishers, hosting more than 100 million active users each month.

Founded in 2015, OpenWeb has over 265 employees in New York City, Tel Aviv, Kiev, San Diego, Canada, London, and Paris and is backed by world-class investors including Georgian, Insight Partners, Entrée Capital, The New York Times, Samsung Next, Dentsu, and ScaleUp. To date, the company has raised $393 million in funding and is currently valued at $1.5 billion. To learn more about OpenWeb's platform visit OpenWeb.com, or follow @OpenWebHQ on LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE OpenWeb