ZEFR Lands A $30 Million Funding Round

ZEFR just got a lot richer. The brand management company that provides its clients social media marketing and rights management on YouTube has secured a $30 million funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP).

By scoring a large, eight-digit investment, ZEFR joins a growing list of multi-channel networks that have raised tens of millions of dollars in venture capital funding. While ZEFR is not a multi-channel network per se, it does provide brands with a lot of the same services that MCNs offer their creators: Channel management, proprietary software, and advice for building a bigger audience on YouTube.

As such, ZEFR is often grouped together with YouTube’s biggest MCNs, and it is starting to stack up quite well. Per the latest Comscore rankings, only VEVO can claim more unique viewers in the US; in January 2014, more than 31 million Americans watched content across ZEFR’s client channels.

“IVP and Dennis are well regarded for their support of entrepreneurs, the value they bring to their portfolio companies and their stellar portfolio. When we thought about our growth round, we knew we wanted to work with them,” said ZEFR co-founder Zach James in a press release. “This is an exciting time for ZEFR. Our software solution fills a huge need in the market, we have an incredible team and we have momentum. With the new capital, we are going to add fuel to the fire.”

ZEFR’s client list includes Adidas, Bravo, and several top film studios and record labels. With $30 million in its pocket, it now has the resources it needs to continue adding to that roster.