Vice Media has raised $450 million in funding from private-equity firm TPG, and will look to spend the infusion on scripted shows, over-the-top content and a direct-to-consumer subscription service.
The funding swells Vice’s valuation to $5.7 billion. It also gives the millennial media darling the ability to develop more shows for its Viceland cable channel, launched last year.
“This will allow us to: build up the largest millennial video library in the world — enabling Vice to widen our offering to include; news, food, music, fashion, art, travel, gaming, lifestyle, scripted and feature films,” said Vice co-founder and CEO Shane Smith in a statement. “Building out this wide ranging and rich library of gold standard content will be an essential component of our future Direct to Consumer tech stacks and our innovations in transactional relationships – all of which represent the future of media.”
At the same time, the investment will help Vice scale its mobile subscription service, which it’s already rolled out in Japan.
Disney — which poured $400 million into Vice in 2015 — did not participate in the funding and will have its shares diluted.
Beyond Vice, TPG has invested in CAA, Spotify, and Airbnb, among others.
Details on talent and runtime for the shows were not shared.