YouTube Star MrBeast, who lost millions on Amazon ‘Beast Games’, is raising money at $5 billion valuation: Report

YouTube star MrBeast, who lost 'tens of millions' on Amazon Reality Show, is seeking to raise several hundred million dollars in a new funding round that would value his company at approximately $5 billion, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

On this, the online star, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has reportedly spoken with several financial firms and wealthy individuals about investing, said the people who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the talks, as reported by Bloomberg.

It added that talks are still in their early stages and it’s not yet clear who will invest or if they will do so at the target price.

According to the report, MrBeast is raising funds to support a holding company that owns or partly owns several ventures, including the chocolate brand Feastables, the snack company Lunchly, and his video production business. The company is profitable, generating over $400 million in sales last year, according to two sources. He aims to expand both his packaged goods and media businesses.

‘Lost tens of millions of dollars on Amazon's Beast Games’

Me Beast also had also created and starred in a show for Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Video, which the company said was its most-watched unscripted series ever. While Amazon committed $100 million to produce the first season, MrBeast said that he lost money on production of the show by spending too much on it. “I lost tens of millions of dollars on Beast Games,” he said on the Diary of a CEO podcast. “But it’s about making Season 1 as good as possible.” Despite the losses, Amazon agreed to produce more seasons of the show, though the budget is still being finalised. The original agreement required Amazon to invest over $250 million for two more seasons.

About Beast Games

In Beast Games, 1,000 contestants in tracksuits compete in wild games for a ₹42.5 crore ($5 million) prize. The 10 episodes show is available on Prime Video for viewers to watch.

Will Mr Beast also be potential TikTok buyer?

Earlier in January, it was also reproted that MrBeast joined the race of potential buyers for the social media platform TikTok. MrBeast has held discussions with several groups interested in buying TikTok before a potential ban in the US, Bloomberg reported citing a spokesperson.