Mubi Responds to Backlash Over New Investor's Ties to Israeli Defense-Tech Startup
Mubi, the upstart distributor, streaming platform and production company that was recently valued at $1 billion and guided 'The Substance' to box office success and into the Oscars, has responded to backlash over its latest source of investment.
At the end of May, it was announced that the company — which went on a buying spree at the recent Cannes Film Festival, snapping up rights to eight films in competition (including a $24 million splurge on the Jennifer Lawrence-Robert Pattinson starring 'Die My Love') — had secured a $100 million investment from Sequoia Capital.
More from Variety
Jim Jarmusch's 'Father Mother Sister Brother' Starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver Confirmed for Venice Competition, Says Mubi Boss
Mubi Expands Theatrical Operations to Italy With Former Lucky Red Exec Gabriele D'Andrea in Charge
Mubi Acquires Oliver Laxe's Cannes Competition Entry 'Sirât' for Italy, Turkey and India
The Silicon Valley-based Sequoia has invested in a wide range of companies, including the likes of Apple, Google, ByteDance, Cisco, and Nvidia. Mubi marks a rare foray into entertainment. But Sequoia is also closely tied to Israelo defence-tech startup Kela, founded in July 2024 by four veterans of Israeli intelligence units in response to the terror attacks of Oct. 7 and more than six months into the invasion of Gaza. Kela is currently developing a battlefield operating system enabling militaries to integrate AI and commercial tech.
According to Sequoia's website, it led Kela's $10 million seed funding round last year. In May of this year, Kela secured an additional $60 million in investment in a funding round also backed by Sequoia (alongside Lux Capital and In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA). Kela's total investment now stands at $100 million.
'The vision is two-fold: in the short term, to upgrade Israel's internal defense capabilities,' wrote Sequoia in a lengthy article about its business with Kela posted in March of this year. 'The company's initial focus is border protection, an urgent priority post-October 7th. In the long term, the ambition is to convert Israel into a defense tech hub for Western militaries—a source of strategic advantage for NATO and the U.S. as they seek to deter their adversaries.'
Mubi receiving investment from a company with ties to the Israeli defense sector in the midst of Israel's deadly war in Gaza has fallen foul of some online critics. Several on social media have called for Mubi to be boycotted and have claimed that they've already canceled their subscriptions.
A widely shared post on X said it was 'time to add @mubi to the BDS list,' referring to the Palestinian-led Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement that looks to boycott Israeli products and encourage investors to divest from companies implicated in Israeli policies. A group called Film Workers for Palestine later said it was 'horrified' by Mubi's decision. 'This is unacceptable, and we demand that Mubi return the investment,' it wrote in a well-circulated Instagram post.
In a statement posted to its social media channels on Saturday, Mubi said the rationale to seek investment from Seqouia was to 'accelerate our mission of delivering bold and visionary films to global audiences,' adding that the venture firm had a '50-plus year history of partnering with founders to help turn their ideas into world-changing businesses.'
'Over the last several days, some members of our community have commented on the decision to work with Sequoia given their investment in Israeli companies and the personal opinions expressed by one of their partners,' it said. 'The beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of MUBI.'
First founded 18 years ago by CEO Efe Carakal, Mubi has evolved from a niche streaming service to a full-fledged studio, cultivating a major following in the art-house crowd along the way. While it has largely remained politically muted, last year it cancelled an entire festival it had planned in Turkey after local authorities banned a screening of Luca Guadagnino's 'Queer' over what they described as 'provocative content.' As has been pointed out online, Mubi has numerous Palestinian films and features by Palestinian filmmakers about Gaza in its library.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Amazon's Heartbreaking Romance Movie 'Love Of Your Life' Casts Patrick Schwarzenegger & Margaret Qualley
Patrick Schwarzenegger is still riding high off his season 3 success, while Margaret Qualley continues to receive critical acclaim for her haunting performance in The Substance. While both rising stars were initially chucked with 'nepo baby' accusations by naysayers, the celebs quickly grew on fans, who were moved by their nuanced performances on the big screen and small screen alike. Now, fans can't wait to see which projects Schwarzenegger and Qualley have in store for us next. Fortunately, the two are set to star in a female-directed romance, poetically called Love of Your Life. Maybe it's just me, but I, for one, am dying to see a good old-fashioned, female-directed and female-written romance film, especially with Schwarzenegger and Qualley as the starring roles. I'll have a sequel, a spin-off series, and a prequel, thank you very much (grabs popcorn bucket). Although there isn't much information yet on this romantic drama, since it's still in pre-production, what we do know is that it's one of the hottest scripts in Hollywood. According to Deadline, everyone in the industry was stepping on one another's toes to snag a leading role in this romance film. And, because of course she was, Sydney Sweeney was heavily eyed to portray the leading lady role. Yet ultimately, following Schwarzenegger's gut-wrenching performance as Saxon Ratliff on The White Lotus, and Qualley's horrifying charm in Oscar darling The Substance, it was practically a given that these two would snag the leading parts. What we know so far is that reports say Love of Your Life will center around Margaret Qualley's character as she reels from the recent death of her husband. While dealing with these complex and harrowing emotions, her former lover and dear friend, portrayed by Patrick Schwarzenegger, sweeps in to help her pick up the pieces. Another tidbit of info we've gathered is that the film will take place heavily in Europe. Très romantique! We don't know the specifics yet, but it looks like Love of Your Life could release in theaters. We're hoping for a 2026 release date, but stay tuned! Because the film industry is unfortunately so parched of female-written scripts and directorial roles, I, for one, cannot wait to see a romance movie through the female gaze. So far the Love of Your Life cast is amazing, and it's sure to continue to be! The cast includes: Margaret Qualley Patrick Schwarzenegger Aaron Pierre If you're not already in love, get ready. Because not only is the critically acclaimed Julia Cox behind the screenplay, but Rachel Morrison will direct. And the king of romance films himself, the one and only I-wrote-to-you-every-day-for-a-year , will produce Love of Your Life. Are you swooning? Because I'm swooning. Alexa, play 'loml' by Taylor Swift while I wait impatiently for Love of Your Life! Stay tuned for more updates on and check out our for exclusives and news!
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rihanna Puts a Chic Twist on Menswear in a Pistachio-Green Maternity Look at the Dior Show
THE RUNDOWN Rihanna and A$AP Rocky matched in cool tones at Jonathan Anderson's first Dior menswear show in Paris. Rihanna incorporated one of this season's trendiest colors, pistachio green, into her look. This marks the couple's first big appearance since they attended the Cannes Film Festival last month. Rihanna and A$AP Rocky brought their star power to Jonathan Anderson's first Dior menswear show in Paris today. The couple coordinated their looks, with Rihanna standing out in a white top, pistachio-green vest (one of the season's trendiest colors), gray slacks, and a long quilted jacket. The star and brand ambassador, who is expecting her third child with Rocky, wore her hair up and accessorized with sunglasses. Rocky, meanwhile, complemented her in a pastel-blue button-up top and a striped tie. This marks the couple's biggest joint appearance since they attended the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Rocky's film Highest 2 Lowest last month: Rihanna and Rocky announced they were expecting at the 2025 Met Gala, which Rocky co-chaired. Rihanna spoke to Entertainment Tonight about her pregnancy on the red carpet, saying, 'I'm good. I'm shockingly feeling okay and not too overwhelmed at the moment. I mean, at first, it was kind of like, 'Ahhh.'' The couple has two sons: 3-year-old RZA and 1-year-old Riot, who will turn two on August 1. Rihanna discussed her kids' personalities in a Harper's Bazaar interview earlier this year. 'RZA is just an empath,' she said. 'He's so magical. He loves music. He loves melody. He loves books. He loves water. Bath time, swimming, pool, beach, anything. And Riot, he's just hilarious. When he wakes up, he starts to squeal, scream. Not in a crying way. He just wants to sing. And I'm like, 'Okay, here we go!' He's my alarm in the morning! He's not taking no for an answer from anyone. I don't know where he came from, dude,' she joked. You Might Also Like The 15 Best Organic And Clean Shampoos For Any And All Hair Types 100 Gifts That Are $50 Or Under (And Look Way More Expensive Than They Actually Are)
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Will Smith throws shade, references controversial Chris Rock Oscars slap in new freestyle
Despite having apologized and addressed the controversial 2022 Oscars moment, Smith's latest freestyle takes a less contrite tone. In 2022, the biggest story in entertainment was Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in retaliation for jokes that Rock got off at the expense of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, as host of the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. Smith walked on stage, slapped Rock, and returned to his seat before telling him to keep his wife's name out of his mouth. Smith would later apologize to Rock and his family, and Rock would eventually speak about it as well, but nothing was ever the same for either man. At the time, Smith showed contrition for his act, but the Academy punished him with a 10-year ban from the Oscars. The Hollywood star was, though, allowed to stay at the ceremony that evening, eventually taking home the coveted 'Best Actor' award for his role as Venus and Serena Williams' father in the film 'King Richard.' In the years since, Rock has been mostly silent about it all (though his brother Tony Rock hasn't), addressing it in a Netflix special 'Selective Outrage,' and Smith has slowly but surely navigated his way back into mainstream appeal, including his enduring role as Mike Lowery in the blockbuster film, 'Bad Boys For Life,' part of the 'Bad Boys' franchise with Martin Lawrence. In March 2025, Smith even released a new album (his first in 20 years) titled 'Based on a True Story.' Smith just launched his first solo headline tour in support of the project, which mostly hits cities across Europe. While promoting the tour, he stopped by Charlie Sloth's show and dropped a freestyle in his 'Fire In The Booth' series. He had some…interesting things to say about the now, three-year-old incident. 'Now I'm not the type of man to move in malicious ways, and I am too grown to play childish games / If you talking crazy out your face up on the stage and disrespect me on the stage, expect me on the stage / Jokers dish it out, cry out when it's time to take it, City full of real ones wasn't raised to fake it.' Smith never says Rock's name over the course of his 'freestyle'– which should be a song called 'The Illest'– but the not-so-subliminal shots aimed at Chris Rock are noticeable. Even if they aren't directed toward Rock, they surely sound like they are, and in hip-hop (and ego), that's all that matters. Especially considering that Smith has, again, shown contrition publicly. Maybe things have changed in the world of Will Smith, and those early apologies have given way to new information and/or feelings about what's happened. Maybe he's just letting the world know that kind of kid comes from West Philadelphia, where he was born and raised. Or maybe he's just drumming up publicity. Who knows? What we do know is that this latest freestyle at the very least fanned whatever remaining flames were simmering of an incident that changed the trajectory of two of America's most famous men. Guess we'll have to see what happens from must-reads: Nelly refutes narrative that he's 'Pro-Trump' because he performed at President Trump's inauguration Zohran Mamdani's mom, Mira Nair, directed a Denzel Washington film—'Mississippi Masala' Brandy and Monica reveal what inspired hit song 'The Boy Is Mine'
