Moviepilot Raises $7 Million in Series B Funding Round

Moviepilot, a company based in Germany that targets fans who wish to track film projects from as early as the rumor stage, said Thursday that it has raised $7 million in a Series B funding round that it will use for its expansion into the U.S.

The company, which employs 50 people and is recruiting more for a presence in Los Angeles later this year, launched in October and opened a London office in January that is headed by former IMDb sales executive Claire Holland.

Its U.S. website, Moviepilot.com, is a gathering spot for moviegoers to learn about and discuss upcoming films, and the company sells data it collects to customers that have so far included Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Disney and Universal.

"The campaigns we have already run on behalf of the world's biggest studios have given us a fantastic base to further develop our brand of social marketing services for movies," said CEO Tobi Bauckhage, who co-founded Moviepilot with Jon Handschin and Benjamin Krause.

The funding round was led by DFJ Esprit and includes participation from existing investors Grazia Equity, C Fund Creative Industries Berlin and T-Venture. An early investor and adviser to the company is Peter Read, who previously ran Nielsen Entertainment.

Moviepilot, said DFJ Esprit's Krishna Visvanathan, "leverages the social graph to build film fans' anticipation and to target film studios' promotional activities at the right fans ahead of, and around, box office weekend."