NewsCred Gains $15 Million in Series B Funding

Content marketing firm NewsCred has received $15 million in its Series B round of funding.

Investors this round included Greycroft Partners, Mayfield Fund, FirstMark Capital, and IA Ventures. Along with the funding announcement, NewsCred also reported that Mayfield Fund partner Rajeev Batra will join its board of directors.

“Marketing is being disrupted by software, big data, and the need for high-quality content, which we have witnessed firsthand given our involvement with the foremost marketing automation company, Marketo,” said Rajeev Batra, Mayfield Fund partner.

“For marketers, content is the currency for establishing authentic relationships with their consumers. We are excited to partner with the NewsCred team, which has demonstrated the vision and execution to dominate the content marketing space.”

NewsCred provides licensed content to publishers and brands; its clients include Pepsi and Forbes. The New York-based company says its services allow companies to create better content that increases audience engagement.

Recent NewsCred board member Batra comes to the firm from the Mayfield Fund. Batra has over 10 years experience in the venture capital field. Prior to his work in venture capital, Batra held a variety of positions at software firms Scopus Technology, Open Environment Corporation, and Siebel Systems.

Funding for NewsCred comes following a strong financial year. In 2012, the firm saw an increase in revenue. The news moved the firm to acquire cloud publishing platform firm Daylife. NewCred’s purchase was completed last October.

“Last year was a banner year for NewsCred. We saw an 11-fold increase in revenue, a 570 percent growth in new customers, and we acquired Daylife, the acclaimed cloud publishing platform,” says NewsCred CEO Shafqat Islam.

“We proved that our products and services answer a universal question looming over every marketer: how do I access the quality and volume of content that I need to fuel and scale my marketing initiatives across social media, email, and the web? As the demand for content marketing resources explodes, we have the strategy and capital necessary to continuously execute.”