Piracy data firm raises £3.5m for sales growth in Series A extension

Digital piracy data firm MUSO has raised £3.5m in a Series A round to fund ongoing expansion.

In an extension of its £2.5m 2017 Series A investment round, the firm has raised £3.5m with venture capital specialist Harwell Capital.

Specialising in removing unlicensed content and providing data and insights on piracy audiences, MUSO recently announced that the first Game of Thrones Season 8 episode had been pirated nearly 55 million times in the 24 hours following its release.

The firm’s technology tracked 190 billion visits to piracy sites throughout 2018, with clients including Sony Interactive, IMG, Entertainment One, Vertical Entertainment and EUIPO.

Speaking about the investment, CEO and co-founder of MUSO Andy Chatterley said: “Harwell has been a hugely supportive investment partner, who provide far more than cash alone to the company.

“They understand our vision and objectives and bring significant advice and acumen to ensure we can execute on our continued growth plans in a most exciting market.”

The investment will be used to expand MUSO’s sales and marketing activities, as well as increasing the company’s foothold in the digital media, gaming and live broadcast sectors.

Daniel O’Brien, managing director at Harwell Capital, added: “Andy and the team have delivered significant value to existing and new clients, transformed the Board to include high-profile growth stage veterans, and expanded the product range and application to significantly ratchet their addressable market. We remain supportive backers.”