The news: Semafor raised $30 million in funding at a $330 million valuation, the news publication founded in 2022 by BuzzFeed and Bloomberg alumni announced Wednesday. The funding came largely from existing investors like Carlyle Group.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Semafor generated approximately $40 million in profits in 2025—its first profitable year—with half coming from advertising and half from events.

Why it matters: Semafor’s rise comes at an inflection point for the news publishing business. Advertising moving toward other channels has led to a steady drip of layoffs and publication closures over the last decade.

We forecast that US digital newspaper ad spending growth, already anemic, will slow even further from 2.8% this year to 1.3% by 2029. Changes in news consumption habits are driving that decline: A growing number of consumers, particularly in younger demographics like Gen Z, are getting news secondhand from social media, podcasts, and influencers. Ad spend is following them.

AI search has thrown up another hurdle for publishers. Google’s AI Overviews, which summarize information from news articles, have torpedoed referral traffic. Clickthrough rates are down even on Google searches for “informational and educational queries” that didn’t prompt an AI Overview, suggesting a pointed shift in browsing behavior.

The new revenue stream: Semafor’s profits represent a broader shift toward live events as a revenue engine for news publishers.

• Semafor hosted at least 26 events in 2025, per the company’s events page, though not all are ticketed. The publisher also courts sponsors for its live events.
• Other publishers are reinforcing the change. Following a wave of layoffs in May 2025, Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng wrote that the publication would fold its ecommerce business “given its reliance on search” and expand its live events business. (EMARKETER and Business Insider are both owned by Axel Springer.)

But advertising isn’t off the table entirely. Though Semafor hosts limited ad space for formats like banners, much of its advertising takes the form of newsletter sponsorships. The result is a reader experience without many ad interruptions—though this strategy has courted controversy, like when its climate newsletter launched with a sponsorship from Chevron, prompting its climate editor to resign.

What this means for advertisers: For brands that want to partner with news publishers, options through longstanding channels like programmatic may be on the decline. Instead, they will have to seek more in-depth partnerships or sponsorship opportunities, which means competing for more limited inventory.