Movie-focused social media site LetterBoxd has a new owner. Co-Founder Matthew Buchanan Announced It was announced on Friday that Tiny, a venture capital firm, bought a 60 percent stake in the platform. The New York Times reported that the deal values Letterboxd at more than $50 million. Buchanan and his fellow founder Karl von Randow will retain minority shareholder positions and continue to lead the company, insisting that “very little else will change.”
Founded in 2011, Letterboxd was a rare independently owned social network. He grew significantly during pandemic lockdowns, when homebound users were looking for new movies to stream (and communities to chat with). Lacking the clutter of Amazon-owned IMDb, the website and app provided a haven for moviegoers who wanted to write and read reviews, rate movies, create watchlists, and socialize with other enthusiasts.
Letterboxd’s co-founders frame the move less as a big-money sale and more as a growth opportunity. “Teaming up with Tiny represents a huge step forward for us,” Buchanan and von Randow wrote in a statement. “We see this as a huge win for our community, allowing us to build Letterboxd’s future with additional resources without sacrificing the DNA that makes it special.”
The site does not currently support TV series, but the founders say they are working on a way to offer them. They insist that they want to incorporate television programs “only when we know we can do it well.” mailbox associated with netflix earlier this year, bringing recommendations from the streaming service to the social platform.
“We’ve been big fans and users of Letterboxd for a long time and couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Matthew, Karl and the rest of the team for the long term,” said Andrew Wilkinson, co-founder of Diminuto. “If you’re running out of things to watch, it’s because you haven’t used Letterboxd yet, and we think the potential for superior discovery is a huge opportunity.”
