Video Marketplace Platform Newsflare Scores Funding from Edge

LONDON: Edge Investments has backed the British video start-up Newsflare, investing £2.4 million ($3 million) for a minority shareholding and a seat on the board.

Newsflare is a video marketplace platform for video creators, licensing UGC video to global media players. In just three years since its launch, the Newsflare team has built an extensive network encompassing clients in some 40 countries, including ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, FOX News, NHK, SKY News and Yahoo.

Edge Investment Director David Fisher commented: “This is an exciting moment for both Edge and Newsflare. We believe the Newsflare founders Jon Cornwell and Bevan Thomas, and their dedicated team, have identified one of the key ways in which media consumption and engagement is changing and we are thrilled to back Newsflare at this crucial stage of the company’s development.

“The growth potential for the sector is enormous and we are particularly keen to support Newsflare’s expansion into the lucrative U.S. and Japan markets. Edge has a very strong track record of identifying, nurturing and developing early-stage, leading creative enterprises. In Newsflare we have selected another talented management team and an energizing digital media platform that has only begun to show its potential.”

Jon Cornwell, co-founder and CEO of Newsflare, added: “Having secured this investment from Edge, we are delighted to be working with one of the most respected names in the creative industries sector. Edge shares our vision for the huge potential of our business model in the burgeoning user-generated video market. This investment will allow us to execute our plans for growth and to achieve our ambition for Newsflare. We selected Edge over other prospective investors due to their track record of effectively supporting management teams combined with their unrivaled network in the sector.”

“In the current era, we are living through the democratization of video—nowadays anyone can capture startling footage that can be shared in an instant: Dash-cams, GoPro’s, smartphones—devices capable of recording high-resolution video are everywhere. The Newsflare platform quickly connects the right video with the right buyer in order to meet the exploding demand for eyewitness video from a growing array of media clients from all around the world.”