Our Investment in DRIVETRIBE: backing the Top Gear team to disrupt online media

Media disruption is a huge opportunity for global brands and niche groups to build successful platforms for global audiences hungry for compelling content — the volume of content generated is growing 50% year on year, and two thirds of this is being produced by end users.

Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are working with established technology entrepreneur and former Atomico executive-in-residence, Ernesto Schmitt, and their former producer Andy Wilman to launch a new digital motoring platform, DRIVETRIBE. More than 400 million people have declared themselves motoring fans on Facebook, and motoring is bigger than gaming, football, or fashion on social media. It’s also the only major interest category without representation in the world’s top 500 websites.

Content on DRIVETRIBE will be generated by a community of bloggers, writers, videographers, users and celebrities, on topics ranging from Tokyo car culture to street racing in the UAE. Visitors can choose to belong to different “Tribes”, each with their own unique characteristics and personality. DRIVETRIBE has already attracted bids from over 2,000 of the world’s biggest motoring names, commentators and content creators, who between them command over 150 million followers.

We’re excited to announce we are participating in DRIVETRIBE’s $5.5 million Series A round, together with Breyer Capital and a number of individual investors. The Top Gear triumvirate have built a strong team including the former CTO of the Financial Times online and the Managing Editor of Buzzfeed UK. Having scaled Top Gear into 214 countries, the founders of DRIVETRIBE understand what motoring fans look for. We look forward to watching them collaborate with tech experts to replicate their success online.