Medium, Evan Williams’ clean and beautiful attempt at revamping the way people write and read online, is considering raising a venture round according to the rumor mill. We’re hearing that the company, which has been subsisting on angel money apparently, is thinking about finally taking money from VCs.
One number we’ve heard tossed out is a $20 million raise, and one venerable firm name that’s also been tossed around is Greylock Partners, though it’s unclear whether Williams, who became a billionaire in the Twitter IPO, needs to raise money to support his fledgling company.
Nothing is set in stone quite yet.
Newly anointed Greylock general partner Josh Elman was a Williams loyalist amid the executive tumult between Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and current CEO Dick Costolo. So it wouldn’t be that surprising to see Elman reel in a deal like this. I have reached out to Elman, Williams and others at Greylock for comment, and have not heard back from anyone.
Like Blogger and Twitter, Medium has ambitious goals. And it might be Williams’ third home run in a row, aiming to be the place on the web where thought leadership and high quality content thrives. It’s getting there, despite quite a few ill-advised posts from a couple of tech founders.
Raising a venture round would make sense for the company, which has grand plans and may need to make even bolder acquisitions to succeed. The company acquired Matter in April, and continues to iterate on its product, with its latest redesign coming right before the holidays.
It would also mean a continuation of the fat-content movement, where innovative new media companies like Vox and Buzzfeed require hefty amounts of venture capital in order to support more in depth, curated content.
Yahoo’s Tumblr buy has made Medium a tempting bet for VCs — if Medium will have them.