The founders of FameBit — an influencer marketing startup subsequently acquired by Google — are looking to bring their expertise to the podcast space with a new company called Podcorn.
Podcorn, a self-service marketplace that connects podcasters and brands for native advertising, has closed $2.2 in seed funding. The round was led by Global Founders Capital, with participation from Bessemer, 500 Startups, Alumni Ventures Group, Correlation Ventures, and creator-focused venture group Next 10 Ventures.
Podcorn says it will use the funds to develop its ad and distribution platform, which aims to merge influencer marketing with podcasting by facilitating native ad integrations into episodes and shows.
“Today’s podcast landscape is similar to that of the early YouTuber/brand partnerships space, in that only a small portion of podcast creators are able to monetize, and it’s a manual and tedious process for brands to find the right podcasters to collaborate with directly,” Podcorn co-founder Agnes Kozera said in a statement. “We see a huge opportunity to leverage our previous experience and expertise to streamline the process of podcast sponsorships and to provide a space to create ads that preserve the democratic and intimate nature of the medium.”
FameBit was founded in 2013 by high school friends and entrepreneurs Kozera and David Kierzkowski. Google acquired the company in 2016 for an undisclosed sum.
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