Sequoia Backs Mubi With $100M To Fuel Global Expansion

This investment values the 18-year-old company at $1 billion, marking a rare crossover between venture capital and the media industry.

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Mubi has recently gained mainstream attention thanks to "The Substance," a horror film starring Demi Moore. The film, acquired by Mubi for release, went on to win an Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA.

Sequoia, known for early investments in Nvidia, Google, and Apple, has recently also backed AI companies like OpenAI, ElevenLabs, and Harvey.

Andrew Reed, a partner at Sequoia, said the firm believes that global interest in art house films is growing, which is why they chose to invest in Mubi.

“We’re a Silicon Valley investor, so the question is, how many people around the world will projects like this resonate with?” he told the Financial Times. “Our opinion is that this is going to resonate with a lot more people than anybody thinks.”

Mubi has around 20 million users worldwide and charges £11.99 per month in the UK. It distributes films in countries like the UK, US, Canada, Latin America, Germany, and Italy, and has over 400 employees across 15 countries.

The company is profitable and plans to release its first original film, a crime drama called "The Mastermind," later this year.

So far, Mubi has raised over $180 million, according to Dealroom.

Sequoia isn’t the first tech investor to step into Hollywood. Christian Angermayer, a German entrepreneur, has also been involved in the film industry as an executive producer on 28 films, including Filth (starring James McAvoy) and Netflix’s Army of Thieves.

About MUBI

MUBI is a global streaming service, film production company, and distributor. It works with both new and well-known filmmakers to produce and release movies, which are then shown only on its platform.