About Watchup
Watchup is a Media & Entertainment company based in Menlo Park (United States) founded in 2012, and was acquired by Plex in January 2017. Personalized video newsreels are built from trusted media sources. Watchup has raised $4.25 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Microsoft, Plex and Tribune Media. Its focus areas include Internet First Media, News Portals, Aggregators and Video. Its competitors include Haystack TV, The Recount and Blip; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Watchup lets users build their very own newsreel from trusted news and information channels. Helps people find out whats up in video news. Available on the Apple iPad, the service aggregates video content from several media outlets and YouTube channels to broadcast news on a centralized hub. Users tailor personalized newscasts with video from various news outlets such as CNN or ABC. The app pulls up the latest videos from each source. A one-touch feature adds selected videos to a queue. The app keeps tracks of the total playlist duration as well. Once users finish creating the playlist, they simply sit back and watch their video reel. Accelerated at Stanfords StartX and Turners MediaCamp.
- Headquarters Menlo Park, United States
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Website watchup.com
- Social LinkedIn X
- Acquired by Plex (Jan 2017)
Funding Insights of Watchup
Watchup has successfully raised a total of $4.25M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $2.75 million completed in November 2014. 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 $4.25M
- Total Rounds 3
- Last Round Series A — $2.75M
- First Round $500,000
(Dec 2012)
- Investors Count 12
All 3 funding rounds of Watchup 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2014 | $2.75M | Series A | – | – | |
| Feb 2014 | $1M | Seed | – | StartX, Knight Foundation | |
| Dec 2012 | $500,000 | Seed | – | – |
13 investors in total: 10 institutional and 3 angel.
Investors in Watchup
Watchup has secured backing from 13 investors, including institutional, venture fund, and angel investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Microsoft, Plex and Tribune Media.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Startups are accelerated by Stanford-backed program in Palo Alto. | startx.com | Palo Alto, United States | ||
Independent media ventures are financed and advised by MDIF. | 1995 | mdif.org | New York, United States | |
Stanford alumni association and angel investors group | stanfordaande.com | Stanford, United States | ||
Chinese venture fund in Silicon Valley | tsvcap.com | Los Altos, United States | ||
Startups are accelerated and incubated across sectors by InnoSpring. | innospringus.com | Palo Alto, United States | ||
Provider of local news and information services | 1857 | mcclatchy.com | Sacramento, United States | |
TV programs are distributed and broadcast by Tribune Media. | 1847 | tribunemedia.com | Chicago, United States | |
Funding is directed toward journalism and arts initiatives. | 1950 | knightfoundation.org | Miami, United States | |
Microsoft is recognized for software, hardware, and gaming solutions. | 1975 | microsoft.com | Redmond, United States | |
NL Ned Lamont | unknown_30cea7719b404d54a |
Investor details for Watchup
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
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Timeline of Watchup
4 dated milestones of Watchup across 5 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Watchup is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $500K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series A, of $2.8M.
- Exit Acquired by Plex.
Competitors of Watchup
Watchup has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Haystack TV, The Recount and Blip.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| haystack.tv | 2013 | Redwood, United States | $3.7M | 9 | Personalized video news is aggregated across phones, tablets, and TVs. | |
| therecount.com | 2019 | New York, United States | $31M | Political news is provided through an app-based platform. | ||
| blip.com | 2005 | New York, United States | $43.97M | Onine video sharing service |
Detailed competitors of Watchup
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
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Web traffic of Watchup
Websites that share an audience with Watchup (watchup.com).
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Watchup. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| itunes.apple.com | 100% | 25.4M | View details | ||
| inthemoment.io | 72% | View details | |||
| watchapp.com | 71% | View details | |||
| facebook.com | 71% | 12.1B | #3 | View details | |
| twitter.com | 63% | View details | |||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 7 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Watchup
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- 7 similar websites
- Audience overlap
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Top companies in DTC Media Innovators
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Watchup (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 Watchup
Complete news archive for Watchup
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Frequently Asked Questions about Watchup
Watchup was founded in 2012.
Watchup is headquartered in Menlo Park, United States. It is registered at Menlo Park, California, United States.
Watchup is a funded company, having raised a total of $4.25M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $500K, raised on Dec 2012.
Watchup lets users build their very own newsreel from trusted news and information channels. Helps people find out whats up in video news. Available on the Apple iPad, the service aggregates video content from several media outlets and YouTube channels to broadcast news on a centralized hub. Users tailor personalized newscasts with video from various news outlets such as CNN or ABC. The app pulls up the latest videos from each source. A one-touch feature adds selected videos to a queue. The app keeps tracks of the total playlist duration as well. Once users finish creating the playlist, they simply sit back and watch their video reel. Accelerated at Stanfords StartX and Turners MediaCamp.
Watchup's top competitors include Haystack TV, The Recount and Blip.
Watchup has 13 investors. Key investors include Microsoft, Plex, Tribune Media, Media Development Investment Fund, and McClatchy.
Yes. Watchup was acquired by Plex in January 2017.