- Tech is disrupting all areas of media and entertainment, and investors are rushing to cash in.
- Startups are attracting millions in investments to change how content is made, distributed, and more.
Technology is upending all facets of media and entertainment. New startups are raising capital to jump on audiences' shift to streaming, change hidebound production practices, and more.
Business Insider talked with founders about the pitches they used to raise millions and innovate in content creation and distribution.
Investors have particularly chased AI startups like Runway, which promises to reduce the cost and time it takes to create special effects like de-aging and film restoration; and Papercup, an AI-based translation company.
"There's a lot of friction in making content," Peter Cioni previously said of his and his brother Michael's AI platform, Strada, which streamlines production processes. "We want to ease that."
There's Canela Media, which raised $32 million to build a streaming home for Latinos, believing the audience wasn't well served by mainstream streamers. "I kept reading about the streaming wars," cofounder Isabel Rafferty previously told BI. "But I'm a Latina and my options are very limited."
Legion M took an unconventional approach to fundraising. The production startup crowdsourced funding from ordinary people, who will then get a chance to help decide what projects the company pursues. The company called its app that lets users influence the development process a "fantasy football for film buffs."
Check out the 23 examples below to learn more about how these and other founders have sold their vision (arranged in alphabetical order):
- Allstar, a startup that helps gamers become creators: $12 million Series A
- Almost Friday Media, formerly Friday Beers, a digital media company: $6 million seed
- Amagi, a media tech firm for streaming channels: $95 million
- Canela Media, a Latino-focused streaming startup: $32 million Series A
- Earth Speed Media, a media company launched by "Entourage" star Adrian Grenier: $150,000 in pre-seed
- Estate Media, a media platform cofounded by "Million Dollar Listing" star Josh Flagg: $1.7 million
- FilmHedge, a fintech company that helps new movies and TV series get made: $5 million
- Legion M, a startup film production company: 15 slides
- Lost iN, a creator-focused travel media startup: $4 million
- Metaphysic, an AI startup behind the viral Tom Cruise deepfake: $7.5 million
- Neosapience, an AI startup: $21.5 million Series B
- Overtime, the sports-media startup for Gen Z: $80 million
- Paper, an edtech startup behind a kids' streaming service: $270 million Series D
- Papercup, an AI dubbing company: $20 million Series A
- Rebel Girls, an empowerment-focused media company: $8 million Series A
- Recess, a live events startup: $5 million Series A
- Sonoro, a Latino-focused media company: $12.5 million
- Stagetime, a LinkedIn for performing artists: $1.5 million Series A
- StoryCo, a blockchain-based platform that links Hollywood creatives to fans: $6 million seed
- Strada, an AI startup to streamline content creation: $2 million
- Telly, an ad-supported TV startup from Pluto's cofounder: Seed round
- Toonstar, an animation studio: $4 million
- "Ultimate Beastmaster," Netflix's first reality show: 37-page deck