Media Start-up Semafor Plans to Buy Out Sam Bankman-Fried’s Investment

Since the company struck those initial advertising agreements, it has signed ad deals between $100,000 and upward of $2 million, one of the people said. The company plans to generate at least $15 million in revenue this year through a mix of advertising and events, according to another person with knowledge of the company’s finances. Mr. Smith said the company had exceeded its targets for audience and ad revenue growth, but it declined to provide specific numbers.

Steven Brill, a media entrepreneur who is the co-founder of the news ratings company NewsGuard, said that there was no shame in having raised money from Mr. Bankman-Fried before he was accused of fraud. But because Mr. Bankman-Fried was arrested, even a privately held media company has an obligation to be transparent about the deal terms, he said.

“It’s awkward,” Mr. Brill said. “But it would be hard to argue that this was predictable.”

Katie Robertson contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/business/semafor-sam-bankman-fried-investment.html