Wattpad Raises $51 Million As It Continues To Eye TV, Film, Web Video

Wattpad just picked up a big chunk of change as it continues to explore its ambitions across multiple platforms. The storytelling app, which hosts written works authored by a community of up-and-coming scribes, has raised $51 million from a group of investors that includes Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings.

As Wattpad’s users upload stories, the best submissions garner more attention from readers and rise to the top of genre-sorted lists. As much of Wattpad’s audience is global — the platform counts more than 65 million visitors around the world — some of its most-industrious users translate popular works into new languages.

With its newfound capital, Wattpad plans to continue pushing an initiative it has prioritized over the past few years. It plans to make overtures with Hollywood big shots in order to adapt its stories into TV shows, films, and web series. So far, it has already landed

“We empower diverse storytellers all over the world, helping them build a community of passionate readers; at the same time, we also connect Hollywood with stories that have massive built-in audiences,” said Wattpad co-founder and CEO Allen Lau (pictured above) in a statement. “This new funding from Tencent and our other investors shows that confidence in our vision is growing alongside our revenue, our success and our community.”

Wattpad’s previous fundraising efforts include a $46 million round it landed in 2014. The investment from Tencent was first revealed last October; other entities that have pitched into the latest round include BDC, Kickstart Ventures, Peterson Group, and Raine Group.