Digital News Ventures

Digital News Ventures was an early-stage investment fund operated by MDIF (Media Development Investment Fund), a New York-based not-for-profit corporation founded in 1995 by Saša Vučinić and the late Washington Post editor Stuart Auerbach. Active from 2012 to 2015, the fund deployed $3.8 million in early-stage digital news and information businesses, with checks ranging from $30,000 to $300,000 at pre-seed and seed stages. MDIF overall managed $119.1 million in assets across 62 media businesses in 35 countries before winding down in June 2025. With 9 investments recorded, the portfolio includes Mic (US digital news platform with 20 million monthly users), Malaysiakini (leading Malaysian political news site), Katadata (Indonesian business news), Colab.re (Brazilian civic engagement platform), Gram Vaani (Indian voice-based social media), Rock Content (Brazilian content marketing), and Dataphyte (Nigerian data analytics). The fund was subsequently succeeded by MDIF Ventures, which continued the mission with approximately $2 million deployed across nine early-stage companies in seven countries. The fund's founding thesis was that independent journalism requires dedicated capital in markets where free press is under threat. CEO Harlan Mandel (since 2011) and Managing Director of Media Programs Bilal Randeree directed investments toward entrepreneurs building platforms, tools, and services that make digital-age news businesses commercially viable, with a geographic emphasis on Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and India. The fund is now permanently closed.