Dive Brief: 

• Contently, a content-marketing startup, has raised $9 million in Series B funding. 
• The 30-person startup licenses software that gives brands, publishers, and agencies access to its network of freelance writers. 
• Contently software is often used by brands to produce content, but has recently seen an uptick from publishers looking to create sponsored content sold to advertisers. 

Dive Insight: 

Contently has an in-demand product as native advertising and sponsored content continue to grow. Potentially, the startup may also have a solution to one of the biggest problems facing native advertising — scale. With access to so many freelancers, advertisers and publishers could create a much bigger pool of content.