The Business Model of Fandom

Fandom is a corporation formed by Jimmy Wales and Angela Beesley in 2004 under the name Wikia that hosts collaborative wiki webpages on a wiki farm with the same name. Fandom (previously Wikia) is a hosting service for open-access wikis that is supported by advertising. As wiki software, we utilize the MediaWiki software, which was created exclusively for Wikipedia. Fandom, Inc. generates revenue through advertising and content sales, releasing the majority of user-generated text under copyleft licenses. Moreover, the company operates the Fandom editorial initiative, which provides pop-culture and gaming news. Fandom is supported by risky venture finance. Amazon.com and Bessemer Venture Partners are among the investors since the end of 2006. The company has raised $39.8 million in different rounds since its establishment. Its domain is managed by Fandom, Inc. (previously Wikia, Inc. until 2019), a for-profit Delaware corporation created by Jimmy Wales (co-founder of Wikipedia) and Angela Beesley in October 2004. Fandom claims to be profitable (http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/30/ugc-startup-wikia-raises-10-million-from-ivp-bessemer-ventures-and-amazon/), although it does not publish financial data. Fandom is a subsidiary of TPG, which reports its income.