Puck and Air Mail: A Media Match

Puck is acquiring Air Mail, bringing together Jon Kelly’s newsletter network and Graydon Carter’s digital weekly. The acquisition was reported in September 2025. Air Mail was launched in 2019 by Graydon Carter, the former editor of Vanity Fair, and it built a magazine-like weekly for a global readership.

Both companies have attracted private investment; Puck had raised over seventeen million dollars since its 2021 start, and Air Mail had raised about thirty-two million dollars in funding by 2021. Carter explored a potential sale in 2024 and hired advisers to review strategic options, while earlier investors including TPG and RedBird considered exits. The two outlets also share some backers tied to Standard Investments, which has invested in several small media startups.

Air Mail publishes long features, travel recommendations and cultural stories in a weekly email format. Puck expanded in 2024 when it bought the Substack newsletter Artelligence, showing a strategy of integrating existing newsletters. Although the exact subscriber counts differ across reports, the move fits a pattern of consolidation among niche, subscription-first publishers that seek scale and stable revenue. Industry commentators note that combining editorial teams and subscription platforms can cut costs and expand reach, even as editorial identities are preserved.

The transaction reunites mentor and mentee, and it highlights how investor networks influence small digital publishers. Readers should expect continuity in the short term, as both brands have loyal audiences and distinct voices. No financial terms were publicly disclosed at the time of reporting.