Outbrain Raises $35 Million in New Funding Round

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 23, 2013) - Outbrain, the leading content discovery platform, announced that it has closed a new round of funding of $35 million, bringing its total financing to $99 million. HarbourVest led the round with participation from Outbrain's existing investors Carmel Ventures, Index Ventures, Gemini Israel Ventures, GlenRock Israel, Rhodium, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, as well as a new participant, Vintage Partners. The company will use the new funding to continue its innovations in content discovery and expand its global business, which currently spans 13 offices.

Outbrain was the first to market with its content discovery platform in 2006 and has led the category ever since, not just in terms of customers and installations, but also in its commitment to quality content and to ensuring the integrity of every recommendation it serves. Outbrain's links play a fundamental role in the content ecosystem that has emerged in recent years, and the company has been a vocal proponent of the need to maintain reader trust in order for this ecosystem to thrive. The company follows strict content guidelines and has excluded a number of questionable marketers from its network.

Outbrain is the only content recommendation platform formally listed and audited by comScore, which estimates that its recommendations reach 83% of all Americans online and over 391 million consumers globally.* The company serves more than 130 billion organic and paid content recommendations per month and its links appear on the websites of the most trusted and recognized names in the industry, like CNN, Slate, ESPN, The Telegraph, Le Monde and The Guardian.

"We've been following Outbrain's progress for over two years and continue to be incredibly impressed with what Yaron and the rest of the team have created," said Ian Lane, Principal at HarbourVest Partners. "This is a company committed to providing value to readers and publishers through quality content. Outbrain is a clear leader in a growing and increasingly important part of the internet advertising marketplace. HarbourVest is excited to partner with management and current investors in the next phase of Outbrain's growth."

"This investment comes at a pivotal moment in Outbrain's evolution. We've matured from an upstart content recommendation company to a key player in the content ecosystem and a trusted partner for the world's best brands and publishers," said Outbrain CEO Yaron Galai. "The team at HarbourVest will be an ideal partner for us as we move into our next phase of growth."

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, August 2013

About Outbrain
Outbrain (www.outbrain.com), the leading content discovery platform, is on a mission to help readers find the most interesting content online, while giving publishers and brands the ability to reach a highly engaged audience. Using personalized links, Outbrain recommends content across a network of more than 700 premium publishers, including CNN, Slate, ESPN, The Telegraph, Le Monde and The Guardian. Links to content on a publisher's own site increase stickiness, while links to high-quality third-party content increase site traffic and generate revenue. Outbrain is currently installed on more than 100,000 sites and generates more than 130 billion recommendations per month. Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in New York, with 13 offices globally, including the U.S., U.K., Israel, Singapore and Australia.