Voices.com, a London Ontario based global voice over online marketplace, has raised $18 million in growth capital from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, the growth-focused private investment platform within Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
This represents Voices.com’s first institutional investment since its founding in 2005 by Stephanie and David Ciccarelli.
Voices.com intends to use proceeds to scale global operations, expand client and subscriber product offerings and further enhance Voices.com’s leading proprietary technology and systems.
Voices.com is an online platform connecting global buyers of audio and voice over products and services with the largest online selection of over 200,000 voice actors representing over 100 languages and dialects. Its flagship website, www.voices.com, records approximately two million unique visitors annually and has enabled over 250,000 transactions to date. Users leverage the site to complete animation, documentary, corporate content, film, radio, video game and other projects. Voices.com clients include Fortune 500 companies, leading production, advertising, and creative firms, and small to medium-sized businesses.
“Voices.com has broken the traditional barriers of time, geography and access to bring the best voice over actors to our clients without sacrificing product quality, thanks to rapid and ongoing technological advances. This investment marks the beginning of a new era for the Company and will enable us to even better serve our diverse set of constituents,” said Voices.com CEO and co-founder David Ciccarelli. “Content creators, whether video producers or brand managers at companies large and small, expect voice over work to move at the speed of thought and Voices.com makes that possible. As we embark on our next phase of growth, we will stay laser focused on delivering increased value to both our business clients and voice over talent.”
“We are excited to enter into this partnership with Voices.com,” added Robert Bassman, Managing Principal at Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital. “Through its leading online platform, the Company serves a large and diverse client base with evolving needs – from traditional broadcast and radio advertisements to audiobooks and podcasts to digital media formats. The Company’s technology-enabled self and full-service product offerings, combined with its broad access to talent, provide a compelling value proposition. We look forward to working with the Voices.com team as it continues to grow its business.”
“Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital’s involvement and investment experience closely aligns with the vision we’ve had for Voices.com’s continued growth. The team’s passion for and support of our shared vision promises to open up a whole new world of opportunities for our business, employees, talent and customers,” said Stephanie Ciccarelli, Voices.com co-founder and Chief Brand Officer.
Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital targets growth equity and credit investments within technology, healthcare, consumer, digital media and other high growth sectors. For over three decades, Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital has successfully pursued growth investment opportunities and has completed investments in over 190 companies leveraging the global brand and network of Morgan Stanley.
photo credit: Voices.com