Pluto TV Rakes in $13 Million

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Pluto TV, an online video curating platform, has raised $13 million in a Series A round led by USVP.

The funding will go toward growing the West Hollywood company’s platform, broadening its programming and expanding across different platforms.

Since launching in March, Pluto TV has grown to host more than 100 free TV-like channels that range from music to sports, comedy and entertainment. It uses a combination of technology, data and human curation to select its content so viewers don’t have sludge through countless videos online. Co-founder and Chief Executive Tom Ryan declined to share the number of viewers or minutes watched through the platform.

Pluto TV is currently available for Web, smartphones, tablets and connected TVs. It has also launched on Amazon Fire TV and Google’s Nexus Player.

It’s easy to see how Pluto TV could venture into producing its own content. But the early-stage startup with a 30-person team wants to focus on delivering the best of the Web for now, according to Ryan. There also are no current plans to expand into cable TV.

“We’re providing users with something that’s absent from the marketplace,” he said.

Other participants in the financing include United Talent Agency and existing investors Sky Plc, Chicago Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital and Luminari Capital.

USVP General Partner Rick Lewis will join the company’s board. Ross Levinsohn, former Yahoo! chief executive; Ken Parks, Spotify’s chief content officer; and Stephanie Kurgan, chief operating officer at King Digital Entertainment, have jumped on as advisers.

Staff reporter Melissah Yang can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @MelissahYang for the latest in L.A. tech news.

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