Sidemen firm Arcade seals seven-figure investment from Lumina

Arcade, the management company behind YouTube phenomenon The Sidemen, has landed a seven-figure investment from Thomas Benski’s Lumina Media.

The deal marks Arcade’s first external investment, which it plans to use to accelerate growth across EMEA.  

Arcade was founded in 2021 by Jordan Schwarzenberger, Sam Uwins and Aaron O’Neill, and has helped to grow The Sidemen to become one of the world’s most successful creator collectives with over 130m YouTube subscribers and a collective 40bn views. 

It has also supported the group’s expansion into food and beverage, venture capital and content production businesses.  

The investment from Lumina will be used to expand Arcade’s reach into new markets, formats and audiences, providing solutions for brands and audiences across content, community and consumer with a focus on Gen Z. 

“Arcade is building exactly the kind of creator-led platform the market needs – where talent expands IP, builds brands, and engages consumers at scale,” said Benski.  

“Jordan, Sam, and Aaron have already proved the power of their model with The Sidemen, and now we want to take it further: cementing The Sidemen as generational talent and IP with a truly global, multi-platform reach, while giving more creators the chance to become true entertainment powerhouses.”  

Schwarzenberger added that Arcade’s mission “has always been to unlock the true potential of creators, helping them grow from content makers into culture-shaping brands.”  

“The Sidemen have shown what’s possible when you combine authentic talent with ambition, and their journey remains central to the future we’re building. With Thomas, and his team at Lumina as active partners, we now have the strategic platform to take this model further, helping brands scale their IP, to become truly creator first, and at the heart of global culture.”