Video-sharing website BitChute seeks to raise $10 million in new funding round

Video-sharing website BitChute is raising $10 million in Series A funding at a valuation of $750 million to $1 billion, according to one of its investors and a presentation seen by Reuters, as it seeks to add new features that allow live-streaming and the payment of content creators by users.

BitChute, which bills itself as a free-speech alternative to Alphabet Inc-owned YouTube and other platforms, has had “negligible” revenue to date, shareholder Jeffrey Wernick, told Reuters, even though it has attracted a significant user base, particularly among young men.

“I’m not really raising the money just because we need the money,” Wernick said in an interview. “I want to raise the money because I want to get allies in this business. I want people who are committed to a path of decentralization and censorship resistance and privacy and data sovereignty.”

An August 2022 Reuters Special report found that BitChute’s users post racist videos and comments inciting violence.

BitChute said in response at the time that it complies with the law and has rules banning racist content or incitement of violence.

Wernick, when asked for comment, said: “Bitchute is proud to be a free speech platform acknowledging the First Amendment and all that applies.”

“The way to deal with offensive speech is engage or ignore. We also welcome and challenge all of those who want to build a better internet to join BitChute by contributing to the ecosystem we will build of competitive content moderation so we collectively can empower users and not authoritarians,” he said. (https://thereader.com/) “We also respect the laws of all jurisdictions we operate in.” Market Screener