Advanced Television

C4 Ventures and more invest in Airtasker

November 27, 2024

Airtasker, the online and mobile marketplace for outsourcing tasks, has announced that its US operating company, Airtasker USA, has secured a combined $12 million (€11.4m) in media capital through partnerships with Sinclair Broadcast Group and Mercurius Media Capital. Additionally, Airtasker’s UK operating company has announced that Channel 4 has completed a follow-on investment of £4 million (€4.7m) in media capital. This latest round of investment follows Channel 4’s initial media capital investment of £3.5 million in June 2023, for a total investment to date of £7.5 million.

These combined announcements mean Airtasker globally now holds a further A$26.2 million (€16.4m) of media capital in addition to the A$25.4 million raised since June 2024, for a total of A$51.6 million raised in 2024.

Airtasker USA’s partnership with Sinclair provides $6 million in advertising inventory, unlocking new opportunities to potentially promote the Airtasker brand within Sinclair’s 185 owned and/or operated television stations in 86 US markets and digital multicast networks including Comet, Charge! and The Nest.

Andrew Schnell, VP Corporate Strategy and Development at Sinclair said: “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Airtasker through this media-for-equity collaboration. At Sinclair, we are always looking for innovative ways to accelerate growth and provide value to dynamic companies that are shaping the future. This deal is just one example of how we are expanding our strategy to include creative partnerships that drive mutual success. We look forward to working with Airtasker to help expand their footprint and mission of creating a community marketplace for tasks across the US”.

The strategic multi-year partnership with Mercurius provides Airtasker USA with $6 million in premium advertising inventory, enabling access to a variety of media platforms including TelevisaUnivision, Sinclair and Willow TV. This collaboration allows Airtasker to leverage premium advertising inventory across broadcast, streaming, and digital networks through Mercurius partners.

Piyush Puri, Founding Partner of Mercurius, said: “At Mercurius Media Capital, we’re proud to partner with Airtasker as it continues its incredible journey. We’ve been inspired by how Airtasker has transformed the way people connect with local service providers, building a platform that is not only scalable but deeply impactful for users and communities. The US represents an exciting new chapter, and under Tim Fung’s leadership, Airtasker is set to redefine the local services economy. We’re thrilled to support this expansion by leveraging our media capital model to help amplify their growth and bring this innovative approach to even more people. This partnership is a perfect alignment of shared values and ambition, and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.”

Building on the expansion of Airtasker in the UK, Channel 4 has completed a follow-on media capital investment of £4 million to further accelerate growth.

Vinay Solanki, Head of 4 Ventures, said: “It’s been great to see Airtasker’s marketplace spread rapidly across the UK from London to Birmingham and more recently Manchester, using the power of our Channel 4 platform. Channel 4 growing its stake in Airtasker UK is a testament to the success of the media for equity model. As we enter the festive period, Brits are spending more time at home in front of the TV. This creates an opportunity to engage with the right audiences at the right time, making this additional investment timely and significant for both businesses.”

Commenting on the announcement, Airtasker Founder and CEO Tim Fung, added: “Today I am super pumped to say that we’ve now completed over $51 million in media partnerships in 2024 alongside leading partners including Sinclair Broadcast Group and Mercurius Media Capital in the US as well as a follow-on investment from Channel 4 in the UK. We’re seeing rapid growth in the UK where revenue is up over 100 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2025 since we launched our first media partnership with Channel 4 and these new partnerships – in addition to our alliances with market leading brands such as oOh!media, ARN Media, TelevisaUnivision and iHeartMedia – will let us really step on the gas pedal and take Airtasker’s mission – to empower people to realise the full value of their skills – across the world.”

Categories: Articles, Business, Funding

Tags: , ,