AwesomenessTV & Verizon Among mitú Investors

SANTA MONICA: Latino media brand mitú has raised $27 million in a recent round of Series C funding through investors such as AwesomenessTV, WPP Digital and Verizon, bringing its total funding to $43 million.

Existing investors such as Upfront Ventures, which was the largest Maker Studios backer, also contributed to the round. Following the funding, mitú announced plans to ramp-up its investment in product and technology to expand its content-publishing platform and audience-data tools, launch its influencer-marketing platform and expand its ecosystem of apps.

The company counts on 2 billion global monthly views and a community of more than 6,000 Latino creators.

“Latinos represent 24 percent of Millennials in the U.S.,” said Roy Burstin, mitú’s CEO. “That’s why we think of this demo not as a niche but as a part of the mainstream. mitú’s content brings a distinct point of view that appeals broadly to young, mobile audiences. Brands want to reach these young consumers, but accessing them through traditional channels has proved elusive. mitú has reach where others have struggled.”

“This investment fits perfectly with WPP’s strategy of investing in digital, content and fast-growth markets, such as countries in Latin America, and demographics, such as U.S. Hispanic youth,” said Scott Spirit, WPP’s chief digital officer. “Clients are trying to reach audiences where they organically spend their time. With young audiences, you need to reach them online and this investment in mitú is a great vehicle for clients of WPP companies to accomplish that.”

“Mitú’s connection into Latino youth culture and creators is impressive,” added Brian Robbins, the founder and CEO of AwesomenessTV. “They have been very successful creating content and a brand for this rapidly growing audience. Through this investment, we can work with them to accelerate their programming and distribution even further as demand for branded, premium digital first content continues to increase.”

“With billions of global monthly views, mitú has built a compelling media brand that attracts a large Millennial audience,” said Ed Ruth, the director at Verizon Ventures. “We’re thrilled to support mitú’s growth in reshaping the Latino media landscape.”