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After scaling BuzzFeed News from startup vertical to Pulitzer Prize-winner, Smith co-founded Semafor in 2022 with $50 million in backing, building a global news brand around a story format that structurally separates reporting from analysis.
Ben Smith co-founded Semafor in 2022 with Justin Smith, former CEO of Bloomberg Media, and serves as Editor-in-Chief.
The global news startup has raised over $50 million from investors including Jessica Lessin, Peter Orszag, and David Bradley, and uses its 'Semaform' format to separate reporting from analysis. Smith previously led BuzzFeed News from 2012 to 2020, where it broke the Steele dossier and won a Pulitzer, and was Media Columnist at The New York Times.
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