Entertainment Technology Company StoryFit Closes $5.5 Million in Series A Funding
StoryFit expands industry-first AI offering for studios and streamers powering content development
AUSTIN, Texas, October 20, 2022 — StoryFit, a rapid-growth AI technology company providing machine learning and audience insights for the entertainment industry, today announced $5.5 million in Series A funding, led by Refinery Ventures. StoryFit will utilize the financing to expand client solutions and execute on an aggressive hiring strategy focused on machine learning, marketing and sales.
Monica Landers StoryFit Founder & CEO
“At StoryFit, we’ve transformed the development process for some of the industry’s leading creators through industry-first AI solutions,” said StoryFit founder and CEO Monica Landers. “Tim Schigel and Refinery have a history of transforming industries. We’re excited to have them on board as partners in this mission.”
StoryFit uses groundbreaking natural language processing and machine learning to deliver audience and content insights pre-production, so that entertainment companies are able to deliver better content faster, identify and position stories for audiences, and harness the overall power of a story throughout the content lifecycle.
Andy R. Terrel, PhD. StoryFit CTO
The company also announced the expansion of its leadership team with the addition of Andy Terrel, PhD., as CTO. Terrel has successfully built and scaled data science and engineering teams from the seed stage to initial public offering, including Anaconda, a platform used by millions of users globally. He joins the existing executive team which includes Founder and CEO Monica Landers, Chief Operating Officer Marc Evans, and Head of Growth and Revenue Kymn Goldstein.
Refinery’s managing partner, Schigel, will join StoryFit’s board. Schigel created ShareThis, a social media pioneer that nearly a billion people use to share online content every month. He also launched and managed Cintrifuse, one of the best performing fund of funds in the country, investing in 15 top-tier early stage funds across the U.S Prior successes include Advertising.com (AOL), Get2Chip (Cadence) and DotLoop (Zillow).
Tim Schigel Managing Partner, Refinery Ventures
“I’m very impressed with what StoryFit has built and already achieved,” said Schigel. “We believe their technology and approach offers an entirely new opportunity for the entertainment industry to gather insights and better ROI, from development through distribution.”
Additional existing and new investors in this round include Techstars, European-based Elkstone Partners, Collective Capital Ventures, Alumni Ventures and others.
About StoryFit:
StoryFit delivers AI-powered Story Science for the entertainment and publishing industries, throughout a story’s lifecycle, from acquisition and creative development through production greenlight and marketing and distribution. StoryFit uses artificial intelligence to measure over 100,000 key features and compare to thousands of other scripts or books to generate actionable insights.
Combining rich NLP and machine-learning expertise with a deep understanding of narrative content, StoryFit is revolutionizing the dataset provided to storytellers — helping them to acquire the best content, identify the most effective story elements for audience engagement, track key development changes, and determine the appropriate audience. For more information visit: www.storyfit.com.
About Refinery Ventures:
Established in 2017 by Tim Schigel, Refinery Ventures is an investment firm focused on disruptive, Early Scale companies. Drawing from his extensive experience in founding and serving as CEO of ShareThis, the most recognizable icon on the Internet, to creating the Cintrifuse Syndicate Fund, raising over $120 million, Schigel built Refinery Ventures to bridge the gap between the midwest and the coasts. Refinery Ventures is located in Cincinnati Ohio. Learn more at www.refinery.com.