Peter Thiel Invests In Free Speech Video Platform Rumble

Rumble received a big boost today in its effort to capitalize on the censorship of the political right by YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Well-known Paypal co-founder and libertarian Peter Thiel along with J.D. Vance have invested in the platform in an effort to support its growth.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome aboard investors that are aligned with our long-term vision. This investment is evidence that the market really desires competition and freedom of choice. These funds will help us launch our new cloud services, enhance our video platform, and help create the rails for a new economy that is desperately needed,” said Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski. 

According to the Wall Street Journal the investment is “being led by Narya Capital, a Cincinnati-based venture-capital fund co-founded by Mr. Vance and Colin Greenspon, and by Mr. Thiel, who is also a Narya investor, in a personal capacity. Colt Ventures, the family office of Dallas investor and former Trump adviser Darren Blanton, is also part of the investment group.”

The WSJ says that the investment was described as significant and that it values Rumble at around $500 million.

During the run-up to the election and afterward many conservative YouTubers have said that they have been blocked or banned on social media for simply espousing conservative views without much recourse. Censorship during the pandemic has been especially rampant where even medical doctors who have personal experience treating COVID patients have complained about being blocked or banned.

Big tech seemed to have decided that a big tent for thoughts is not a good idea. It’s as if they think there is only one viewpoint that should be allowed on social when it comes to certain subjects like COVID. For instance, some medical doctors posted videos positively discussing hydroxychloroquine as a potentially life-saving treatment for COVID, and their videos were deleted by the platforms. Their voice was silenced.

Since then studies have shown hydroxychloroquine to be a powerful treatment which simply goes to show how dumb and harmful it is to ban speech.

Not so coincidentally, Rumble’s monthly viewership has grown from 1.6 million users per month to an average of 31 million per month in the first quarter of 2021 – an increase of more than 1,800%. Rumble says that this growth reflects the increasingly strong market recognition by both users and creators of Rumble’s differentiated value proposition. 

Just possibly, users want to be able to freely express their own views without fear of social platform retribution. Hence Rumble, and other newer social platforms are starting to gain traction against YouTube, Facebook, Twitter.

“The investment will add considerable strength to Rumble’s ability to build upon this success,” states Rumble’s press release on the investment. 

More from the Release:

Rumble was built on the belief that small creators should be given equal opportunity to freely express themselves, reach their followers, and be provided the same access to tools that are available to larger creators. This investment will allow Rumble to continue to fulfill its mission while providing the platform with more opportunities to build out its infrastructure and launch new cloud services where businesses can feel safe and secure.

The investment is being led by Narya, a Cincinnati-based venture capital firm co-founded by J.D. Vance and Colin Greenspon that seeks to invest long-term capital in technology that solves significant challenges.

Narya is joined in this investment by Peter Thiel, famed entrepreneur and venture capitalist who has a long and storied track record of investing in frontier technology companies, including PayPal, Facebook, Palantir Technologies, Compass Pathways, and many other ventures.

Ethan Fallang of Narya will join Rumble’s board. “At Narya, we support founders who combine technical and business model innovation to address large and underserved markets. We believe Chris and the entire Rumble team have built an excellent platform and are thrilled to be part of their ongoing success as they continue to scale,” said Fallang.