HowStuffWorks, the largest for-profit podcasting company in the world in terms of streams and downloads, today announced it has raised a $15 million Series A growth equity round led by global merchant bank The Raine Group.

As part of the financing, HowStuffWorks is spinning out from current parent company System1 and becoming a private entity. The transaction solidifies HowStuffWorks independent future and ensures that the company has the capital resources needed to build upon its proven ability to create premium, evergreen content across podcasting and other mediums. Additionally, the company announced that Conal Byrne, who was formerly General Manager of HowStuffWorks, will be rejoining the team as president.

Headquartered in Atlanta with offices in Los Angeles, HowStuffWorks will build upon the success of the company's 14 existing podcast brands, including the popular Stuff You Should Know and Stuff You Missed in History Class, both consistently ranked in the top 20 global podcasts. This past year marked a significant milestone for HowStuffWorks as the platform amassed 375 million show downloads across its deep library of podcasting content and recently surpassed 1 billion total downloads by their deeply loyal fans. Overall, the company more than doubled year-over-year revenue growth as well.

During the next year, HowStuffWorks will invest heavily into the podcasting medium, with a sharp focus on bringing in fresh global talent, adding new genres with deep IP potential, and pioneering new technology to further develop the podcast industry. As HowStuffWorks expands its podcasting slate across History, Science, Lifestyle, Comedy, and new verticals, the platform will retain loyal to its core as an authentic storyteller for the curious.

"We're seeing an inflection point in podcasting as accelerating consumer adoption and performance for advertisers continues to drive the industry's overall market potential. Podcasting has finally proven itself as a viable space for investment, and we feel that HowStuffWorks' expertise in creating authentic audio content will prove to be a solid foundation to drive future growth. We're excited about this strategic investment and are confident that HowStuffWorks will continue to be the top destination for podcasting," said Pete Amaro, Vice President at The Raine Group.

"HowStuffWorks has always been a leader in the podcasting industry and has amassed a fiercely loyal and engaged fan base," said Michael Blend, President & Co-Founder of System1. "We've seen first-hand their rapid growth since our acquisition of the company and are excited to have Raine onboard to help accelerate the next stage of growth."

About HowStuffWorks
Founded in 1998, HowStuffWorks is the leading for-profit publisher of entertaining and informative podcast content. The parent company of 14 leading brands including Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff Mom Never Told You, the HowStuffWorks team reaches a highly engaged fan base across multiple platforms and distribution partners and has amassed a library of more than 6,000 podcasts and 1 billion downloads. With this expansive and award winning collection of audio podcasts, HowStuffWorks is ranked #2 in global downloads and streams. The company is headquartered in Atlanta and also operates studios out of Los Angeles. For more information, visit http://www.howstuffworks.com.