Top 89 Content Startups to Watch in 2026
The content industry is seeing major investment, with companies like sports streamer DAZN raising over $5.1 billion. Established platforms such as Hulu and Automattic continue to be major players in the space. At the same time, a new wave of AI-focused companies is emerging. Startups like ElevenLabs and Writer are attracting significant funding for their generative AI tools.
Below is our list of 89 Content startups worth keeping an eye on.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
ElevenLabs builds generative AI models and tools for creating lifelike speech synthesis and voice cloning. Their platform enables content creators and developers to produce high-quality audio, from voiceovers to multilingual dubbing.
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Year Founded | 2022 |
| Founders | Mati Staniszewski, Piotr Dabkowski |
| Funding Amount | $281M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | Andreessen Horowitz, NVIDIA, Sequoia Capital, Valor Equity Partners, New Enterprise Associates |
Writer builds a full-stack generative AI platform that helps enterprises scale their content creation. Their tools integrate across various business functions, from marketing to support, to ensure consistent and on-brand communication.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2020 |
| Founders | May Habib, Waseem AlShikh |
| Funding Amount | $326M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Insight Partners, B Capital, Radical Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Workday Ventures |
Hulu offers a subscription-based streaming service that provides a vast library of TV shows, movies, and documentaries. The platform allows viewers to watch episodes from current television seasons just one day after they air.
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2007 |
| Founders | Elizabeth Comstock, Jason Kilar |
| Funding Amount | $683M |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Undisclosed |
| Top Investors | Providence Equity Partners, The Walt Disney Company, WarnerMedia |
Contentstack builds a composable digital experience platform that helps large enterprises deliver content to any digital channel. The company's headless CMS is known for giving marketing and development teams the power to create unique customer experiences.
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States |
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Matthew Baier, Neha Sampat, Nishant Patel |
| Funding Amount | $169M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Insight Partners, Illuminate Ventures, Georgian, GingerBread Capital |
DAZN built a global sports streaming platform that provides fans with live and on-demand access to events. The service consolidates a wide range of sports, from major boxing fights to international soccer leagues, under a single subscription.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | James Rushton, Leonard Blavatnik |
| Funding Amount | $5.1B |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Private Equity |
| Top Investors | Access Industries, SURJ Sports Investment, Len Blavatnik |
Optimizely develops a digital experience platform (DXP) that equips teams with tools for content creation, commerce, and experimentation. Companies use its software to test and optimize every aspect of the customer journey, from marketing campaigns to product features.
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | Dan Siroker, Pete Koomen |
| Funding Amount | $1.4B |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Y Combinator, Salesforce Ventures, Founder Collective |
Substack built a platform that makes it simple for writers to start a newsletter and get paid directly by their readers. Their tools handle payments, distribution, and community features, empowering writers to focus on their work and build a loyal following.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Christopher Best, Hamish McKenzie, Jairaj Sethi |
| Funding Amount | $200.2M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, Bond, Quiet Capital, VentureSouq |
Jasper builds an AI content platform that enables marketing teams to produce high-quality, original material at scale. Their system is designed to help users generate everything from blog articles to AI images, ensuring brand consistency across all content.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | Chris Hull, Dave Rogenmoser, John Philip Morgan |
| Funding Amount | $131M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Bessemer Venture Partners, Insight Partners, Y Combinator, IVP, STV |
Prorata.AI builds AI-powered search and advertising solutions that prioritize content attribution for the original creators. Their technology addresses the challenge of uncredited content use in generative AI, ensuring creators receive proper recognition for their contributions.
| Headquarters | Pasadena, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2024 |
| Founders | William T Gross |
| Funding Amount | $65M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | SBI Investment, Mayfield Fund, Revolution Ventures, Touring Capital, Prime Movers Lab |
Automattic builds the foundational tools that help people create and manage their presence online, including the widely used WordPress platform. Their portfolio of products, which includes WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Tumblr, focuses on democratizing publishing and commerce on the open web.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2005 |
| Founders | Matt Mullenweg |
| Funding Amount | $985.9M |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series E |
| Top Investors | Insight Partners, BlackRock, ICONIQ Growth, Salesforce Ventures, ICONIQ Capital |
79 Additional Content Startups Worth Following
The top 10 are a small sample of what’s happening in content right now. Founders everywhere are launching new products and finding new ways to connect with audiences.
Much of the growth is happening in AI and media, and these companies have raised billions to bring their ideas to life. Here’s a look at the rest of the startups catching our attention.
| Startup | Main Industry | Year Founded | Amount Raised | Last Funding Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Legendary Entertainment | Marketing | 2004 | $3.6B | Debt Financing |
 WP Engine | Media | 2010 | $290.7M | Private Equity |
 Beast Industries | Media | 2012 | $450M | Series C |
 Sitecore | Analytics | 2001 | $1.2B | Private Equity |
 beehiiv | Media | 2021 | $50.7M | Equity Crowdfunding |
 Cosm | Media | 2020 | $250M | Venture Round |
 ShopMy | Marketing | 2020 | $97M | Series B |
 Pudgy Penguins | Crypto | 2021 | $9M | Seed |
 Artificial Societies | AI | 2024 | $4.5M | Seed |
 GigaStar | Crypto | 2022 | $21.1M | Series A |
 Passes | Media | 2022 | $49M | Series A |
 Duel | Marketing | 2015 | $21.3M | Series A |
 TollBit | AI | 2023 | $31M | Series A |
 Cloudsmith | Cloud | 2016 | $52M | Series B |
 Synthesia | AI | 2017 | $336.6M | Venture Round |
 CAMB.AI | AI | 2023 | $19.4M | Seed |
 ByteDance | Media | 2012 | $9.5B | Secondary Market |
 Religion of Sports | Media | 2017 | $63M | Series B |
 Contentful | Cloud | 2013 | $349.6M | Series F |
 Air | Cloud | 2017 | $63M | Series B |
 Sandbox VR | Media | 2016 | $63M | Series B |
 Spekit | AI | 2018 | $60.6M | Series B |
 Yotpo | Media | 2011 | $436M | Corporate Round |
 CreatorDB | Marketing | 2019 | $4.7M | Series A |
 Gcore | AI | 2014 | $60M | Series A |
 eSSENTL Creator | Fintech | 2024 | $1.9M | Pre-Seed |
 Conductor | Marketing | 2005 | $210.6M | Series A |
 League One Volleyball | Media | 2019 | $160M | Venture Round |
 Creator.co | Marketing | 2019 | $3.8M | Corporate Round |
 Showpad | Analytics | 2011 | $159.5M | Series D |
 LimeWire | Media | 2000 | $28.2M | Initial Coin Offering |
 AGII | AI | 2023 | $15M | Corporate Round |
 Later | Marketing | 2014 | $276.4M | Private Equity |
 Mediacom Communications | Media | 1995 | $18.9M | Grant |
 Vyrill | Analytics | 2015 | $4.8M | Seed |
 EdgeConneX | Media | 2009 | $4.1B | Secondary Market |
 Vyond | Marketing | 2007 | $50M | Venture Round |
 Sovrn | Marketing | 2006 | $121.5M | Series C |
 Team Cherry | Media | 2014 | — | — |
 Omaha Productions | Media | 2020 | $90M | Series B |
 Hipcamp | Media | 2013 | $97.5M | Series C |
 Vermillio | AI | 2021 | $16M | Series A |
 Evertune | Analytics | 2024 | $19M | Series A |
 BIGC | Marketing | 2021 | ₩32.5B | Series A |
 Midjourney | AI | 2022 | — | — |
 VerSe Innovation | Media | 2007 | $1.7B | Debt Financing |
 Literati | Media | 2017 | $56.9M | Venture Round |
 Flowbox | Marketing | 2016 | $7.5M | Venture Round |
 Tofu | Marketing | 2023 | $17M | Series A |
 Mozaic | Media | 2015 | $25.7M | Series A |
 Gander | Media | 2021 | $4.2M | Seed |
 Hedra | AI | 2023 | $42M | Series A |
 Dig | AI | 2021 | $22M | Series A |
 Just Women's Sports | Media | 2019 | $9.5M | Seed |
 Hype | SaaS | 2016 | $20M | Series A |
 Noctal | AI | 2024 | $1.8M | Seed |
 GlobalComix | Media | 2017 | $6.7M | Series A |
 The Brandtech Group | Marketing | 2015 | $725M | Series C |
 Wrtn Technologies | AI | 2021 | ₩152.3B | Series B |
 Typeface | AI | 2022 | $165M | Series B |
 Agentio | Marketing | 2023 | $16.3M | Series A |
 Pepper Content | Media | 2017 | $18.7M | Series A |
 Yoto | Media | 2016 | $58.5M | Debt Financing |
 Lightricks | Media | 2013 | $335M | Venture Round |
 WSC Sports | AI | 2011 | $136M | Series D |
 deepdub | AI | 2019 | $20M | Series A |
 IntelligenceBank | Marketing | 2009 | $42.3M | Venture Round |
 GB News | Media | 2020 | £120M | Series B |
 Artlist | Media | 2016 | $48M | Venture Round |
 Productsup | Cloud | 2010 | $90M | Series B |
 Amplience | AI | 2008 | $218.1M | Debt Financing |
 Podimo | Media | 2019 | $204.2M | Venture Round |
 Factiverse | AI | 2021 | $2.4M | Pre-Seed |
 Leonardo AI | AI | 2022 | $38.8M | Series A |
 Mys Tyler | Marketing | 2020 | A$2.5M | Pre-Seed |
 Onclusive | Analytics | 2022 | $21.4M | Private Equity |
 Elsevier | Media | 1880 | — | Private Equity |
 bemyfriends | Media | 2021 | ₩37.8B | Venture Round |
 TRIBE | Marketing | 2015 | $12.2M | Series A |
 Waveful | Media | 2022 | €1.8M | Seed |
 Flam | Media | 2021 | $22.1M | Series A |
 STAGE | Media | 2019 | $19.3M | Series B |
 HashtEX | Retail | 2021 | $300k | Pre-Seed |
 MPB | Retail | 2011 | £67.9M | Series D |
 Lokal | Media | 2018 | $29.8M | Series B |
 Revurge | Retail | 2022 | $1M | Seed |
 Contents | AI | 2021 | $26M | Venture Round |
 PromoRepublic | Marketing | 2014 | $4.1M | — |
 T&B Media Global | Media | 2016 | $300M | Corporate Round |
 Heltia | Media | 2022 | $5.5M | Seed |
