London (CNN) -- Pierre Omidyar, founder of online auction site eBay, said Wednesday he is teaming up with journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has led reporting on secret U.S. surveillance programs, to create a new online mass media venture. 

Greenwald announced late Tuesday that he was quitting The Guardian for "a once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity" but said he was not ready to give more details. 

Now Omidyar has confirmed to CNN's Christiane Amanpour that he is behind the new media venture, which includes Greenwald and others -- and that he will personally fund it. 

Greenwald has been at the forefront of a series of high-profile reports based on leaks from former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. 

Journalist Jeremy Scahill and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras will also be joining the venture, Omidyar said. 

Greenwald has been working with Poitras, based in Berlin, on NSA-related stories. Scahill is the author of the New York Times best-seller "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army." 

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Greenwald, who lives in Brazil, said Tuesday that it had not been easy to leave The Guardian, but that he could not turn down the "momentous new venture." 

"My partnership with the Guardian has been extremely fruitful and fulfilling: I have high regard for the editors and journalists with whom I worked and am incredibly proud of what we achieved," he said. 

"The decision to leave was not an easy one, but I was presented with a once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity that no journalist could possibly decline. " 
Which journalist is also involved in the project?
Journalist Jeremy Scahill and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras will also be joining the venture