A Washington, D.C.-based new media startup by the name of The Cipher has raised a $1.35 million seed round from a $1.5 million offering, according to an SEC filing. The stealthy company is led by former CNN Executive Producer and Intelligence Correspondent Suzanne Kelly. Venture capitalist Stewart Alsop of Alsop Louie Partners is listed as a Director. Prior to founding his current firm, Alsop worked as a business editor in the role of executive editor at Inc. Magazine.
Though thecipheronline.com has yet to launch, profile information available via Kelly’s Linkedin Profile and the publication’s static home page suggested that it will be an “online news service for national and global security developed for the business audience.” The news site will publish both original content and aggregated clips in a format that may “help companies accurately anticipate and safely navigate the complex, unstable, global environment.”
Kelly spent spent nine years working as a news anchor for CNN International, working in both Atlanta and Berlin for a series of news programs. In addition to founding The Cipher, Kelly is currently the CEO of AragornCo, a media and marketing consulting firm that guides enterprises involved in the national security and business security sectors. In 2011, she was honored with the Peabody Award for her coverage of the Arab Spring — it was her 3rd Peabody in 6 years.
If Stewart Alsop's firm Alsop Louie Partners are indeed leading the round as the evidence suggests, this seems like an investor-CEO match made in heaven. In 1996, Alsop shifted gears from an editorial foundation to become a venture capitalist, joining local VC powerhouse New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The accomplished VC brings a stoic investment and mentorship legacy, which combined with his experience in media, fits the business-centric model that The Cipher looks to follow.
While at NEA, Alsop led investments in companies including TiVo, Portola Communications (sold to Netscape), Netcentives, Glu Mobile and Xfire. This sort of new-media news investment by Alsop Louie Partners illustrates an anomaly for the firm, as it symbolizes its first entrance into the sector — its closest resemblance may be in the form of Sportgenic, an online media and tech company which connects sport enthusiasts with products and information, and an early venture into Twitch, the popular real-time video game streaming service.
We'll update as further information is made available
