Substack

Media · San Francisco, US · substack.com

Subscription publishing platform for independent writers and newsletters.

Founders

Chris Best (Canada · ♂) — The co-founder and CTO of Kik who, inspired by subscription newsletters like Stratechery, co-founded Substack in 2017 as CEO to let writers earn money directly from paid subscriptions.
Hamish McKenzie (New Zealand · ♂) — A former tech journalist who, frustrated by the ad-driven media economy, teamed up with the Kik founders to co-found Substack in 2017 as a home for independent paid writing.
Jairaj Sethi (Canada · ♂) — The top developer and head of platform at Kik who joined Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie to co-found Substack in 2017, building the technical platform.

Shares the most investors with (number = shared investors):

Date	Round	Amount
Jul 2025	Series C Substack raised a $100M Series C led by Bond and The Chernin Group at a $1.1B+ valuation, reaching unicorn status.	$100M
Mar 2021	Series B Newsletter platform Substack raised a $65m Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz at a roughly $650m valuation.	$65M

Tap an investor to see what else they have backed.

Data is community-curated and may be incomplete.