US media start-up The Free Press raises new round of funding

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US media start-up The Free Press has raised a further round of funding from investors, valuing the business at about $100mn as it positions itself for the next phase of growth.

The company was launched in 2022 by former New York Times journalist Bari Weiss and describes itself as a “free press for free people”, joining a new wave of libertarian media start-ups on both sides of the Atlantic. It was originally called Common Sense when it launched as a Substack newsletter after Weiss left the New York Times in 2020.

Weiss is one of the best connected media executives in the US and has quickly grown a devoted audience for her website and newsletter in an increasingly crowded US digital media market.

The Free Press raised about $15mn in its most recent fundraising, according to two people close to the process, valuing it at about $100mn.

The fundraise was backed by multiple wealthy individuals, according to one of these people. Weiss has previously raised money from investors such as venture capitalists including Marc Andreessen and David Sacks.

Hedge fund boss Paul Marshall’s Old Queen Street Ventures was among the investors that took part in the most recent fundraising, they said, which followed on an earlier fundraising structured as a “simple agreement for future equity” instrument that offers investors stakes that can convert into equity.

The money will be used to fund the next stage of its growth, according to the people close to the situation. Weiss declined to comment on the fundraising.

The Free Press makes most of its money from subscriptions, including to its newsletters, and runs podcasts and events such as regular live debates.

This week, Weiss posted an article that said The Free Press now had more than 800,000 readers served by “dozens of reporters, editors, and producers”. 

She added: “We are growing fast — and in directions I could not have imagined when we began . . . you’ve joined because you believe in reviving fearless, independent journalism in service of a singular aim: the truth.”

The fundraising move heralds a new phase of the digital media world, where start-ups are seeking the next phase of their growth in a bid to reach profitability or, in some cases, new owners. 

Some of the newer media start-ups are buying older media institutions. The “slow news” website Tortoise, run by James Harding, the former Times editor and BBC news boss, is acquiring The Observer, the UK Sunday newspaper, while Marshall’s online media platform UnHerd bought The Spectator, the world’s oldest magazine, this month for £100mn. UnHerd also styles itself as a champion of classic liberal ideals and free speech.

Meanwhile, the News Movement, the digital Gen Z-focused start-up founded by Washington Post publisher Will Lewis, has been in talks with Antenna Group about selling a controlling stake to the Greece-based media group, according to two people familiar with the situation. 

Graydon Carter’s digital media group Air Mail is working with bankers at Raine Group that could lead to a potential sale, according to two people close to the process.