There are a lot of claims and theories floating around about who owns and controls Substack right now. Is it the founders, one or more tech bros, some combination thereof?
Up until a couple days ago, I thought I knew the answer based on what seemed like reliable intel. Then I came across some conflicting information — from an equally reliable source.
So I decided to stop relying on second hand info and do the digging myself. Sometimes having decades of experience working with various registry systems (including corporate) comes in handy.
Granted, I’ve mostly worked with Canadian registries, but there are enough parallels with U.S. that it gave me a decent head start on knowing what to look for, where to find it, and how to interpret it.
Updated Feb. 2026: This article continues to circulate as questions about Substack ownership and governance resurface. The information here is current up to February 2026.
The detailed findings are below, for anyone interested in seeing the thought process and full breakdown.
If you’re more the TL;DR type, here you go:
Substack Inc. is registered as a private corporation in multiple jurisdictions including Delaware, California, and Ontario.
Ownership is distributed among its founders, employees (through equity), and private investors.
We can’t know for sure who owns what percentage without asking Substack directly. As a private corporation, they are not obligated to share those details publicly.
What we do know are the details of Series A, B and C investment rounds, as well as Substack’s value at the time of Series C (July 2025).
Based on that, given the typical path for a tech startup like Substack, we can reasonably assume the following ownership distribution:
Founders (Best, McKenzie, Smith): 15-25% combined
Employees: 15-20% combined
Andreessen Horowitz: 15-20%
BOND: 10-15%
The Chermin Group: 10-15%
Other early investors and community investors: 5-10%
Andreessen Horowitz were lead investors in A and B — but not C. It’s unlikely they have more than 20% ownership, which makes them a major but not majority shareholder.
With private corporations, shares are usually only transferred if all owners approve.
Substack is likely on a 3–5 year track (i.e. 2028–2030) to sell or go public, unless it raises another large Series D in the meantime.
Details up next. Deep breath before we dive in. Here we go…
Obligatory Disclaimer: The following details on Substack Inc. reflect the most recent publicly available data at the time of publishing.
Entity Details
For the sake of thoroughness, we start with the basics and work our way up from there. So the first step was to confirm company type, status, and jurisdiction.
Registered Name: SUBSTACK INC.
Duh, right? But the “Inc.” tells us right away that it’s registered as a corporation, which is important.
Registered In Delaware
Substack Inc. is incorporated in Delaware, which is common among U.S. startups due to Delaware’s favourable corporate law.
From the Delaware Division of Corporations:
Branches in Multiple Jurisdictions
Substack has branches registered in California, Louisiana, New York, and Ontario (Canada). A corporate branch is exactly what it sounds like — same entity, separate location from the head office.
This is common. In many U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions, a corporation based in another jurisdiction must formally register as “out of state” or “extra-provincial” before it’s allowed to do business there.
California, for example, lists Substack Inc. as a registered corporation with “Out of State” company type and “Branch of…” indicator.
From California Business Services:
In reality, we know the California “branch” actually functions as Substack’s base of operations. But on paper, their head office is in Delaware. Again, this is fairly common.
I didn’t pull details from the other jurisdictions since these two are the most relevant ones for our purposes. But don’t think I won’t be looking further into that Ontario one later. 👀
Ownership Structure
The fact that Substack Inc. is a corporation tells us the company’s legal structure, but not its ownership structure. A corporation can be public or private.
Key public vs. private characteristics:
Substack is Privately Owned
Proving that Substack is privately owned is as easy as looking at public stock exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. It’s not listed for public trading, therefore it’s private.
Substack also doesn’t file public financial reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which all public companies are required to do.
So… Who Actually Owns Substack?
Substack Inc. ownership is distributed among its founders, employees (through equity), and private investors.
Ownership Breakdown Is Not Public
Many jurisdictions, including Delaware and California, don’t provide (or even store) information on ownership structure or owner names. Private corporations aren’t obligated to share or report those details.
Unfortunately for those of us who would really really like to know, that means there’s no official way to know for sure who the owners are — or who owns what percentage — without finding out directly from the company itself, if they’re willing to share.
While I am tempted to reach out and ask Substack if they would pretty please disclose that info, I’m not sure how well the request would be received or whose radar it would land me on. Maybe later. Or not.
If anyone tells you they know with 100% certainty who the owners are AND how much of the company they own, please ask for receipts. Not to doubt them, but to share with the rest of the class. Or just share with me. Pretty please?
What is publicly available, however, are the details of Substack’s investment rounds, which is amazing news for us. We can make reasonable assumptions about how those have impacted ownership to date, based on typical behaviour seen with similar companies, i.e. Silicon Valley startups.
Substack Investment Rounds
Seed and early rounds involved investors like Y Combinator, Zhen Fund, Garage Capital, early angels (e.g. Emmett Shear, Justin Waldron).
Series A - July 2019. US$15.3M raised. Led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Series B - March 2021. US$65M raised. Led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Community Round - April 2023. US$7.8M raised by 50% writers and 50% readers.
Series C - July 2025. US$100 million raised. Led by Bond Capital and The Chernin Group. Other participants included Andreessen Horowitz, Rich Paul (Klutch Sports), and Jens Grede (co-founder of SKIMS).
At the time of Series C in July 2025, Substack was valued at about US$1.1 Billion.
Assumption #1 - Ownership Dilution Pattern
Typical dilution pattern in Silicon Valley startups:
This assumes each round sells ~15–25% of the company, which is standard.
Assumption # 2: Current Ownership Breakdown
Estimated Substack ownership breakdown, following Series C:
These are informed estimates only. Actual percentages could vary, for example if the owners decided to shuffle shares amongst themselves and not tell anyone outside the company. But this pattern aligns with typical structures for startups at Substack’s stage and funding scale.
The “Billionaire Owner” Rumor
There are many variations of “a billionaire tech bro owns Substack now” going around, especially recently. If an actual name does come up, it tends to be Andreessen Horowitz, so let’s dive into that.
Andreessen Horowitz, for those who don’t know, is an American venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
The breakdown estimate shows Andreessen Horowitz having 15-20% ownership of Substack. Lead investors in multiple rounds can sometimes push beyond 20%, but by Series C, Substack was worth $1.1B. Even if Andreessen Horowitz had contributed the entire $100M for Series C (which we know they didn’t), that wouldn’t have bought a massive % chunk anymore. Series C was led by new investors, which further diluted ownership.
Therefore, unless anyone is getting different information directly from someone at Substack Inc., at this point we can assume Andreessen Horowitz is a major but not majority shareholder.
What’s Next for Substack?
With tech startups, generally speaking, the intention is to build it up and sell it off. It’s safe to assume there will be changes in ownership as the platform grows. The only questions are what happens next, and what is the timeline?
Next Steps
For a venture-backed tech company at Series C (~$1.1B valuation in Substack’s case), the path forward usually includes one of three options:
Series D (and beyond)
If growth is strong but the company still needs capital to scale/expand globally/invest in new products, it may raise another round of investments (Series D, E, etc.).
These are often “pre-IPO” rounds with late-stage investors, hedge funds, or sovereign wealth funds.
Ownership dilution continues, but at higher valuations, so earlier investors/founders give up smaller relative chunks.
IPO (Initial Public Offering)
Within ~2–5 years after Series C, many companies consider going public.
IPO allows:
Access to much larger capital pools
Liquidity for investors/employees
A path to eventual exits for VC funds
Ownership shifts from private to public shareholders.
Acquisition / Strategic Exit
Some companies, especially if facing competition or regulatory pressure, may sell to a larger tech/media company instead of going the IPO route.
Example: Medium-sized SaaS firms getting acquired by Salesforce or Adobe.
Evolution Timeline
Based on Substack’s stage, the typical timeline after Series C looks like this:
+1 to 2 years:
Potential Series D if cash burn is high or growth opportunities emerge.
More institutional/late-stage capital joins (hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity).
+2 to 4 years:
IPO prep (hire CFO with public company experience, tighten governance, start reporting as if public).
Media chatter about potential IPO windows.
+3 to 5 years:
IPO or acquisition likely decision point.
If IPO → founders’ stake may reduce further (~10–15% combined at listing), VCs may partially cash out.
If acquisition → valuation could be higher or lower than IPO potential, depending on market.
Ownership Evolution
Assuming Substack stays independent, we can use the same ownership dilution assumptions that gave us ~15–25% for founders after Series C as a jumping off point.
Breakdown of ownership % at each stage listed above:
Key Takeaways
After Series C, liquidity pressure builds. VCs need exits, employees want cashable equity.
Series D/E are possible but usually signal IPO in the next 2–3 years.
Founders typically end up with 8–15% at IPO, depending on dilution and secondary sales.
Early investors like Andreessen Horowitz often remain among the largest single stakeholders, even if <15%.
Based on this, Substack is likely on a 3–5 year IPO/acquisition clock (i.e. 2028–2030), unless it raises another large Series D in the meantime.
Wrap Up
Taking a step back, this exercise serves as a reminder of how easily a rumor can become solidified as fact in our minds, especially when we hear it from multiple sources independent of each other. We’ve all been there; heck, that’s the reason this post even exists. (It’s also the reason I’m now the proud owner of registered accounts with several U.S. business registries. Yay?)
It’s important to be aware that your audience may consider you a source of truth, so if you haven’t fact checked, try and call that out. Or if you’re on the receiving end, remember that repetition and propagation don’t necessarily equal fact.
I’m not advocating for adding a disclaimer to every single chat message, or breaking out the tin foil hats and questioning every single piece of information flying at us (that way lies madness). I’m just saying it doesn’t hurt to question the veracity or ask for a source, especially when the stakes are high. These days, it’s easy to assume the worst. Better to manage our collective stress levels as much as possible.
Having said that, intention matters, and there’s nothing wrong with sharing theories and rumors (about Substack ownership or anything else). In fact, that’s what we should be doing here — because we’re doing it for the right reasons. We’re all just trying to keep each other aware and informed as best we can and that is a GREAT thing.
I, for one, am happy to venture down the occasional rabbit hole if it means keeping the spirit of open communication and collaboration alive. I love that so many people are engaged and invested in protecting this amazing community. ❤️
If you’ve made it this far, thanks! You’re a trooper. You should treat yourself. Or take a nap.
This is a great read! Well done, Courtney! Thanks for doing the deep dive into this rabbit hole to clarify things for the rest of us. Loads of information, capped with a lovely message and intention. Hope you're having a long nap! ❤️
the world is filled with narrative merchants, unless they show us a map their narratives are just wishful thinking. Well done. Thanks for confirming what some of us had already concluded. This is just another platform filled with narrative merchants and those are the ones who get famous.