Maker Studios raises $36 million from big-name investors

By Dawn C. Chmielewski

Dec. 20, 2012 12 AM PT

Maker Studios, the digital media company behind some of the most successful channels on YouTube, has raised $36 million in an investment round led by Time Warner Investments and joined by some of the best-known names in the entertainment industry.

Other participants include Greycroft Partners; actor Robert Downey Jr.’s investment company, Downey Ventures; British television executive Elisabeth Murdoch; M+C, the investment company of former News Corp. digital chief Jon Miller and Jimmy Yaffe; and “Avatar” producer Jon Landau.

“We are extremely excited and grateful to have the support of Time Warner and other investment partners who are some of the most respected names in media and entertainment,” Maker Studios co-founder and Chief Executive Danny Zappin said in a statement.

Maker was founded in 2009 to provide an environment for artists to create, distribute and make money on their original YouTube videos. Its network of 5,000 channels attracts more than two billion views a month, with some 140 million subscribers.

This year, the company completed building a 40,000-square-foot campus in Culver City that includes a modern production facility.

Maker is home to many of online video’s top stars, including KassemG, Nice Peter of “Epic Rap Battles of History,” the Shaytards, the Gregory Brothers, Mike Tompkins and LisaNova.

Investors have begun to place bets on some of most popular YouTube creators, with YouTube channels Machinima and AwesomenessTV receiving investments this year.

Rachel Lam, senior vice president and group managing director of Time Warner Investments, will join Maker Studios’ board.

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