What Cheezburger does

Cheezburger is a private digital media company that operates a vertically-segmented network of humor and entertainment websites under the 'Big Cheezburger Network' brand, owned by parent entity Literally Media Ltd. The network comprises six core channels: I Can Has Cheezburger (cat memes), FAIL Blog (workplace drama, customer service fails, and entitled-people stories), Memebase (general meme compilations across animals, fandom, food, internet trends, and TikTok/Twitter discourse), Animal Comedy (dog and animal humor), Geek Universe (pop culture and fandom memes across Star Wars, Harry Potter, gaming, and D&D), and CheezCake (lifestyle, relationships, and DIY content). The company's underlying technology is a shared digital content management and curation platform serving these multiple vertical properties, with a team of human editors aggregating and curating user-generated content sourced from Reddit, TikTok, Twitter/X, and Instagram into themed article compilations.

The business model is straightforward display advertising on owned-and-operated websites. All content is free to consumers with no subscription tiers, paid products, or premium offerings disclosed, and the company does not operate mobile applications, APIs, or third-party distribution channels. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through cheezburger.com and the six channel subdomains, with traffic generated primarily through organic search, social media referrals, and a weekly newsletter. The target audience is general internet users seeking humor, memes, animal content, and relatable life-situation stories, organized horizontally across verticals rather than by B2B persona.

From a corporate development standpoint, Cheezburger was venture-backed with approximately $39.7M raised across rounds from 2007-2015, led by Foundry Group with participation from Avalon Ventures, Madrona, and SoftBank Group. The company acquired Know Your Meme in 2011 and Fail Dogs in 2009 to consolidate internet-culture IP. The most recent disclosed capital event was a ~$2.7M raise in 2015, and no subsequent funding, M&A, or material product launches appear in the data. Headcount has stabilized at 11-50 employees, with the visible team composed almost entirely of writer/editors and a single CFO (Pearl Chan) on the leadership disclosure, and operations are based in Brooklyn, United States.

Name

Cheezburger

Legal name

Literally Media Ltd.

Website

https://cheezburger.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cheezburger operates the Big Cheezburger Network, a private, ad-supported portfolio of six humor and meme websites (I Can Has Cheezburger, FAIL Blog, Memebase, Animal Comedy, Geek Universe, CheezCake) serving general internet consumers with editorially curated viral content sourced from social platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising: Cheezburger generates revenue through display advertising on its websites. The platform serves advertisements across its multiple content channels including I Can Has Cheezburger, FAIL Blog, Memebase, Animal Comedy, Geek Universe, and CheezCake. The ad-supported free content model is the primary monetization approach for the digital media properties.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cheezburger operates a network of free, ad-supported humor and entertainment websites organized into six vertical channels (I Can Has Cheezburger, FAIL Blog, Memebase, Animal Comedy, Geek Universe, CheezCake) plus a central Cheezburger.com hub that aggregates trending content. The company employs a team of editors who curate user-generated and social media content from platforms like Reddit, Instagram, and Twitter/X into themed article compilations. The product is delivered to general consumers seeking free entertainment and shareable viral content.

Product overview

Cheezburger operates a network of niche humor and entertainment content sites organized into distinct channels. The main Cheezburger.com platform serves as a central hub that aggregates and surfaces trending content across six primary channels: I Can Has Cheezburger (cat memes), FAIL Blog (workplace drama and fails), Memebase (general memes), Animal Comedy (animal humor), Geek Universe (pop culture/fandom memes), and CheezCake (lifestyle/relationships). The company is owned by Literally Media Ltd. and features a team of editors who curate user-generated content from social platforms like Reddit, Instagram, and Twitter/X into themed article compilations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• I Can Has Cheezburger? The flagship cat meme channel of the Cheezburger Network, featuring funny cat photos, videos, and memes; part of the animal comedy vertical and targeted at general internet consumers who enjoy cat humor.
• FAIL Blog A channel dedicated to workplace drama, customer service fails, entitled-people stories, and everyday failures, covering topics including employee issues, horrible bosses, neighborhood conflicts, and parenting drama; targeted at general consumers who enjoy relatable life-situation humor.
• Memebase A general meme content channel covering Animals, Cringe, Fandom, Food, Geek, Internet Trends, Parenting, Random Memes, Reddit, TikTok, Twitter Discourse, and Wholesome content; for general internet consumers looking for broadly trending memes.
• Animal Comedy An animal-focused comedy channel featuring Doggos N' Puppers, Animal Gifs, Daily Squee, I Has A Hotdog, and Pet Passports content; for general consumers seeking broader animal humor beyond cats.
• Geek Universe A geek and pop-culture themed channel covering Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Science, Design, Dungeons and Dragons, Nostalgia, Gaming, and Behind the Scenes content; for fandom and pop-culture audiences.
• CheezCake A lifestyle and relationships content channel featuring Bossy, The Single Society, Mock Diaries, To The Guys I've Dated, and content on hot topics, parenthood, love and relationships, life in style, and DIY; for consumers seeking lifestyle and relationship humor.
• Cheezburger Main Site The main Cheezburger.com hub that serves as the central entry point for the Big Cheezburger Network, featuring trending content aggregated from all channels including I Can Has Cheezburger, FAIL Blog, Memebase, Animal Comedy, Geek Universe, and CheezCake.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Cracked: Ad-supported humor and list-style editorial site covering comedy, pop culture, and relatable content - closely comparable GTM and monetization.
• 9GAG: Global meme and viral content aggregator operating a similar ad-supported, multi-vertical humor model serving general consumers seeking memes and entertainment.
• CollegeHumor: Comedy content brand and platform producing humor videos and editorial content aimed at young online audiences similar to Cheezburger's.
• eBaum's World: Long-running humor and viral video aggregator covering memes, fails, and internet culture in the same ad-supported model as Cheezburger.
• Digg: Viral content discovery and aggregator site historically competing with Cheezburger for meme/viral content traffic and shares similarities in topical curation.
• Bored Panda: Ad-supported viral content publisher covering listicles, animal stories, and internet culture - directly competes for similar audience attention with similar monetization.
• Know Your Meme: Cheezburger's own meme encyclopedia property, serving as the canonical reference site for meme origin and context - comparable as an entertainment/reference content property.

Emerging players

• The Daily Dot: Digital media outlet focused on internet culture, memes, and online communities - adjacent niche coverage of the same shared audience.

Broad incumbents

• BuzzFeed: Much larger digital publisher covering viral content, quizzes, and culture with overlapping cats/lol/animal vertical - bigger scale, broader monetization.
• Funny or Die: Established comedy content platform producing and aggregating humor/video content - shares audience and ad-supported model with broader production capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cheezburger
• Facebookfacebook.com/Cheezburger
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cheezburger-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cheezburger