About HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks is a Media & Entertainment company based in Atlanta (United States) founded in 1998, and was acquired by Blucora in April 2014. Multi-category topics are explained via podcasts, videos, and illustrations. HowStuffWorks has raised $90 million across 6 funding rounds from investors including Discovery Communications, The Raine Group and Chilton Investment Company. Its website howstuffworks.com draws about 5.7 million monthly visits. HowStuffWorks offers products and services including Educational Articles and Quizzes and Puzzles. Its focus areas include Internet First Media, News Portals, Publishers and Global. Its competitors include Yahoo, HuffPost and Mic; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Atlanta, United States, HowStuffWorks functions as an online educational platform in the digital media sector. Thousands of topics across various categories are covered through podcasts, videos, and illustrations produced by in-house writers, editors, podcasters, and hosts. The website receives around 30 million monthly visitors, with content accessible via Android and iOS mobile apps.
- Headquarters Atlanta, United States
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Website category Science and Education
- Website howstuffworks.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram
- Acquired by Blucora (Apr 2014)
- Total Equity Funding$90M (USD)
in 6 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$15M (USD), Series A
Aug 2017
- InvestorsDiscovery Communications
& 6 more
- Acquired by
Products & Services of HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Educational Articles and Quizzes and Puzzles.
Informative pieces explaining science and tech concepts
Engaging riddles and crosswords for learning and entertainment
Funding Insights of HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks has successfully raised a total of $90M across 6 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $15 million completed in August 2017. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $90M
- Total Rounds 6
- Last Round Series A — $15M
- First Round $500,000
(Aug 2002)
- Investors Count 4
All 6 funding rounds of HowStuffWorks with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2017 | $15M | Series A | – | Raine | – |
| Apr 2007 | $75M | Series A | – | Chilton Investment Company, Carl Icahn | – |
| Jun 2006 | $10.77M | Unspecified | – | – | – |
| Oct 2005 | $29.75M | Debt – Conventional | – | – | – |
| Oct 2005 | $250,000 | Unspecified | – | – | – |
| Aug 2002 | $500,000 | Unspecified | – | – | – |
7 investors in total: 7 institutional.
Investors in HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks has secured backing from 7 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Discovery Communications, The Raine Group and Chilton Investment Company.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Multiple sectors are targeted through private equity by Raine. | raine.com | New York, United States | ||
Chilton Investment Company is focused on long-term investment returns. | 1992 | chiltonfunds.com | Stamford, United States | |
Private equity investments are offered to entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses. | chartwellinvestments.com | New York, United States | ||
Investment strategies and shareholder activism are focused on by Carl Icahn. | carlicahn.com | Sunny Isles Beach, United States | ||
Non-fictional TV programs are produced by the entertainment group. | 1985 | discovery.com | Silver Spring, United States | |
| blucora.com | ||||
| convexgroup.com |
Investor details for HowStuffWorks
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
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People of HowStuffWorks
5 people are tracked at HowStuffWorks (5 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Noel Brown | Supervising Producer | Team |
Andrew Howard | Supervising Audio Producer | Team |
Holly Frey | Podcaster/editor | Team |
Tyler Klang | Producer/editor/videographer | Team |
Ben Kuebrich | Producer For Monster | Team |
Complete people profiles for HowStuffWorks
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of HowStuffWorks
6 dated milestones of HowStuffWorks across 19 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded HowStuffWorks is founded.
- Exit Acquired by Convex Group.
- Funding First funding round of $500K.
- Exit Acquired by Discovery Communications.
- Exit Acquired by Blucora.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series A, of $15.0M.
Competitors of HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Yahoo, HuffPost and Mic.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yahoo.com | 1994 | New York, United States | $6.8M | 4,480 | News, insights, and services are delivered via an online platform. | |
| huffpost.com | 2005 | New York, United States | $37M | Digital news and opinion content are published online by HuffPost. | ||
| mic.com | 2011 | New York, United States | $59.53M | 524 | Mic is operated as a digital media platform for news and culture. |
Detailed competitors of HowStuffWorks
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
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Web traffic of HowStuffWorks
The website of HowStuffWorks (howstuffworks.com) receives about 5.7M visits a month and ranks #11,949 among all websites worldwide, #594 in Science and Education.
- Monthly visits5.7M
▼ 10.4% vs previous month
- Unique visitors4.5M
per month
- Global rank#11,949
among all websites
- Category rank#594
Science and Education · Science and Education
- Bounce rate65%
- Pages per visit1.7
- Average visit1 min 13 sec
- DevicesDesktop 23% · Mobile 77%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with HowStuffWorks. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| explainthatstuff.com | 100% | #186,163 | View details | ||
| livescience.com | 98% | #7,111 | View details | ||
| madehow.com | 93% | #460,891 | View details | ||
phys.org | phys.org | 87% | #9,482 | – | |
| scientificamerican.com | 82% | #20,685 | View details | ||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for HowStuffWorks
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in DTC Media Innovators
3 companies that operate in the same segment as HowStuffWorks (DTC Media Innovators) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Multi-category news is delivered through an app-based platform. | 2016 | Arlington, Virginia, United States | USD 30 M | 356 | ||
Online platform publishing content focusing on investment | 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 60.4 M | |||
Subscription-based sports media is delivered to local premium audiences. | 2016 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 134.42 M |
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Related news about Howstuffworks
Complete news archive for HowStuffWorks
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- Brand-specific news history
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Frequently Asked Questions about HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks was founded in 1998 and raised its 1st funding round 4 years after it was founded.
HowStuffWorks is headquartered in Atlanta, United States. It is registered at Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
HowStuffWorks is a funded company, having raised a total of $90M across 6 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Unspecified of $500K, raised on Aug 2002.
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Atlanta, United States, HowStuffWorks functions as an online educational platform in the digital media sector. Thousands of topics across various categories are covered through podcasts, videos, and illustrations produced by in-house writers, editors, podcasters, and hosts. The website receives around 30 million monthly visitors, with content accessible via Android and iOS mobile apps.
HowStuffWorks offers Educational Articles and Quizzes and Puzzles.
HowStuffWorks has 7 investors. Key investors include Discovery Communications, The Raine Group, Chilton Investment Company, Carl Icahn, and Chartwell Investments.
Yes. HowStuffWorks was acquired by Blucora in April 2014.
The website of HowStuffWorks receives about 5.7 million visits a month and ranks #11,949 among all websites worldwide.