# Hearst Communications

> Hearst Communications is a VC fund in New York backing Internet and Software. See 22 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: New York, United States
- Total investments: 22
- Last investment: Jun 2026
- Lead investor: 27%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hearst
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/Hearst/
- Website: http://www.hearst.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HearstCorp

Hearst Communications is a VC fund in New York focused on Internet and Software. The Hearst Corporation is an American multinational diversified media and information company group that publishes daily and weekly newspapers, and magazines. The company also operates television stations and radio stations, and cable networks; and provides information, insights, analytics, and workflow solutions to finance, healthcare, andtransportation markets.Some of its major ownership interests include 15 daily and 36 weekly newspapers and more than 300 magazines worldwide, including Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Elle, and O, The Oprah Magazine; 30 television stations through Hearst Television, Inc., which reach a combined 19% of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including A+E Networks, and ESPN Inc.; as well as business publishing, digital distribution, television production, newspaper features distribution, and real estate ventures.The Hearst Corporation was founded in 1887 and is based in New York City.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Hearst Communications. Shizune tracks 12 team members at Hearst Communications. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/hearstcorporation?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Internet | 5 | 23% |
| Software | 4 | 18% |
| Lifestyle | 4 | 18% |
| Fashion | 3 | 14% |
| E-Commerce | 3 | 14% |

55 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Funding Round | 7 | 32% |
| Seed | 4 | 18% |
| Series A | 3 | 14% |
| Series B | 2 | 9% |
| Corporate Round | 2 | 9% |

7 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 17 | 77% |
| Malaysia | 1 | 5% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bridget Williams | Chief Commercial Officer and SVP Digital Publishing | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bridget-williams |
| David J. Barrett | SVP & Director | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/david-j-barrett |
| David Woodruff | Advertising Director | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/david-woodruff |
| James Asher | Senior Vice President, Chief Legal & Development Officer | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/james-m-asher |
| Lincoln Millstein | SVP & Special Assistant to the CEO | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lincoln-millstein |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chptr | Chptr is a mobile-first platform for memorialization that collects, shares, and preserves memories of a loved one's life for future generations. is a collection of recollections brought together to describe a loved one's entire life narrative. | $5.5M | Series A | Jun 11, 2026 |  |
| Napster (Formerly Infinite Reality) | Infinite Reality (iR) helps clients with audiences develop immersive experiences that maximize the value between audiences, creators, and brands. iR powered virtual experiences enable brands and creators to fully control the ways in which they distribute content, engage audiences, commercialize their creations, and communicate with theircommunities. With deep expertise in Hollywood production, iR develops world-class Metaverse experiences that redefine the possibilities in connected digital environments. Services and Advisory teams manage, design, and oversee custom builds, leveraging the Technology team’s platform development excellence. Entertainment and Content Creation divisions produce breathtaking original content and live events from iR's 150,000 sq. ft. Los Angeles studio. iR’s Agency attracts, cultivates, and builds client audiences while iR’s digitally native brands, including championship esports organizations Rogue and the London Royal Ravens and premier influencer management agency TalentX Entertainment, increase awareness and adoption of Web3 opportunities. | $350M | Venture - Series Unknown | Jul 09, 2024 |  |
| Inrupt | Inrupt is delivering Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s original vision of a web of shared benefit, for everyone.We are a worldwide team of inventors, investors, entrepreneurs, developers and academics who believe in Sir Tim’s vision for the web.Inrupt’s technology puts individuals in control of their data, gives organizations new opportunities to createvalue for customers, and allows developers to thrive in an open marketplace of innovation. |  | Series A | Jan 01, 2021 |  |
| iflix | iflix is the world’s leading entertainment service for emerging markets, offering users unlimited access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more. With a vast selection everyone’s favourite comedies, drama, K-drama, Turkish drama, Bollywood, Nollywood, cartoons, movies and more from Hollywood, The UK, Asia, The Middle East and Africa, iflix placesthe entertainment people want at their fingertips to either stream or download.For one low monthly fee, iflix subscribers can watch on their mobile phone, laptop, tablet, TV… wherever, whenever. | $50M | Corporate Round | Jul 22, 2019 |  |
| TRENCH | TRENCH is a fashion-sharing community based on digital currency. It allows women to enjoy new fashion products without spending more money and get products delivered to their doorstep.While facilitating the trade of fashion items, TRENCH also connects similar-minded girls with one another, provides a management tool for swap parties, and allowsits members to get to know new people.TRENCH was launched in 2015 and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. | $1M | Seed | Jan 01, 2018 |  |
| M2Gen | M2Gen® is a health informatics solutions company focused on accelerating the discovery, development and delivery of personalized medicine. Our Company was founded in 2006 at the Moffitt Cancer Center to operationalize the Total Cancer Care® Protocol, a unique approach to studying patients throughout their lifetime. In this effort, we partner withthe nation’s leading cancer centers via the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN). | $75M |  | Sep 20, 2017 |  |
| iflix | iflix is the world’s leading entertainment service for emerging markets, offering users unlimited access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more. With a vast selection everyone’s favourite comedies, drama, K-drama, Turkish drama, Bollywood, Nollywood, cartoons, movies and more from Hollywood, The UK, Asia, The Middle East and Africa, iflix placesthe entertainment people want at their fingertips to either stream or download.For one low monthly fee, iflix subscribers can watch on their mobile phone, laptop, tablet, TV… wherever, whenever. | $133M | Series C | Aug 07, 2017 |  |
| BeautyCon | Beautycon Media is THE global community for content creators, celebrities, fans, and brands for fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Their mission is to challenge traditional beauty standards and redefine what beauty means. They embrace "imperfections" and the nontraditional—both inside and out, with a focus on featuring innovators of allages, races, and identities. They’re a diverse global community of content creators, celebrities, fans, and brands that come together to celebrate using make-up as a tool for self-expression and sharing your enthusiasm with the world. They create meaningful connections for these communities through our Beautycon Festivals, Beautycon Box, and Beautycon Digital platforms. | $9M | Series A | Mar 20, 2017 |  |
| StrongDM | StrongDM helps organizations manage and secure access to critical infrastructure by using a zero-trust approach. The platform provides users with controlled access to databases, servers, and applications, while also giving administrators clear visibility and audit trails. | $250K | Seed | Jun 22, 2016 |  |
| Complex | Complex is an online magazine that features articles about music, styles, pop culture, sports, and sneakers. It is the premier multi-media platform for the most influential young male consumers. This discerning audience is driven by style, music, sneakers, sports, games, gear, and girls. Complex initially reaches these ahead-of-trend influencersthrough its uniquely credible, authentic viewpoint and is further amplified by its unparalleled social influence. In April 2016, Complex was jointly acquired by Verizon Communications and Hearst Corporation. At the center of the Complex platform, their flagship site, Complex.com, thrives as the online incarnation of the influential Complex Magazine. Proven the voice of the people that matter — Complex has become the go-to resource for the people that matter in an ever-evolving lifestyle. Complex.com is a consumer portal into a complex lifestyle and gives users access to the most definitive and unique content by allowing them to deep dive into their passion points and obsessions.Complex was launched in 2000 in New York, United States. | $21M |  | Sep 22, 2015 |  |

10 of 22 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Lerer Hippeau](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lerer-ventures) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [BBG Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bbg-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Cox Media Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/cox-media-group) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Digital First Media](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/digital-first-media) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Gannett](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gannett) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Intel Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/intel-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

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- [HTGF (High-Tech Gruenderfonds)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/high-tech-gr%C3%BCnderfonds) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Hearst Communications invest in?

Hearst Communications invests primarily in Internet, Software and Lifestyle startups, most often at Funding Round and Seed stage. Most of the 22 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Hearst Communications?

Public channels for Hearst Communications include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Hearst Communications?

The team at Hearst Communications includes Bridget Williams (Chief Commercial Officer and SVP Digital Publishing), David J. Barrett (SVP & Director) and David Woodruff (Advertising Director), among 12 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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