Top 100 Media and Entertainment Startups to Watch in 2026
The media and entertainment sector is a mix of established content platforms and specialized new ventures. This list includes sports streaming service DAZN, which has raised $5.1 billion, and the new women's basketball league Unrivaled.
Artificial intelligence is also a major force, with newcomers like Black Forest Labs securing €28 million in its first year.
Below is our list of 100 Media and Entertainment startups worth keeping an eye on.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
CRED builds an intelligent hub for businesses that uses predictive intelligence to help them find and win new customers. Their platform integrates with existing sales and marketing systems, analyzing real-world signals to guide go-to-market teams.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2023 |
| Founders | Anthony Meir, Chaitanya Shah, Jon Carr-Harris |
| Funding Amount | $15M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Seed |
| Top Investors | Gaingels, Alumni Ventures, Defy.vc, HOF Capital, BAM Ventures |
Unrivaled is building a new women's basketball league to provide an offseason platform for elite athletes. The league is the first of its kind to be player-owned and will feature top talent competing in 3-on-3 and 1-on-1 games.
| Headquarters | Miami, Florida, United States |
| Year Founded | 2023 |
| Founders | Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier |
| Funding Amount | $43.7M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | Bessemer Venture Partners, Serena Ventures, Avenue Capital Group, Warner Bros., Next Legacy Partners |
Black Forest Labs develops advanced generative deep learning models for creating images and videos. They emphasize making this technology broadly accessible and transparent for users.
| Headquarters | Freiburg Im Breisgau, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany |
| Year Founded | 2024 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | €28M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Seed |
| Top Investors | General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, Mätch VC, Garry Tan, Michael Ovitz |
Epic created a popular digital library for kids, offering thousands of books, audiobooks, and learning videos in a single subscription. The platform provides a safe and engaging environment for children under 12 to explore their interests and foster a passion for reading.
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Kevin Donahue, Suren Markosian |
| Funding Amount | $51.5M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series D |
| Top Investors | Menlo Ventures, 500 Global, Reach Capital, Translink Capital, WI Harper Group |
DAZN operates a global sports streaming platform, offering subscribers live and on-demand access to a wide variety of events. The service is particularly known for its comprehensive boxing coverage and for broadcasting major international sports leagues.
| 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 |
Substack built a platform that allows independent writers to publish newsletters and earn a living through subscriptions. By handling payments, web hosting, and distribution, they empower writers to focus on their content and connect directly with readers.
| 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 |
Emerge builds a consumer device that uses ultrasound to generate tactile sensations, adding the sense of touch to virtual reality. Their platform works with popular VR headsets to help people feel more physically present and connected in social virtual experiences.
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Isaac Castro, Mauricio Teran, Sly Spencer- Lee |
| Funding Amount | $37.5M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Gaingels, Alumni Ventures, Golden Ventures, Alpaca VC, One Way Ventures |
Legendary Entertainment produces and finances major motion pictures, television series, and digital comics for a global audience. They are the production house behind blockbuster franchises like Dune and the MonsterVerse.
| Headquarters | Burbank, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2004 |
| Founders | Thomas Tull |
| Funding Amount | $3.6B |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | Accel, Apollo, Goldman Sachs, Founders Fund, Bank of America |
Minute Media built Voltax, a proprietary publishing platform that powers content creation, distribution, and monetization for digital media brands. The company also runs its own portfolio of popular publications centered on sports and culture, including FanSided, The Players' Tribune, and Mental Floss.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Asaf Peled, Gilad Beiman, Yuval Larom |
| Funding Amount | $260M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | BlackRock, HSBC, Battery Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Dawn Capital |
VideoVerse builds an AI-powered video platform designed to automate content creation and distribution for the media and entertainment industries. Their tools use generative AI to help sports leagues and broadcasters instantly produce and publish highlights and other short-form video.
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Alok Patil, Saket Dandotia, Vinayak Shrivastav |
| Funding Amount | $60.1M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Venture Catalysts, Inflection Point Ventures, Moneta Ventures, Alpha Wave Global, InnoVen Capital |
90 Additional Media and Entertainment Startups Worth Following
Our top ten picks offer just a glimpse of the activity across the media and entertainment landscape. Founders are building all kinds of new ventures, from young teams just getting started to established names trying fresh ideas.
Together, these companies have raised over $15 billion and are working in fields spanning from AI to sports and education. Here is a look at the other 90 companies shaping the future of the industry.
| Startup | Main Industry | Year Founded | Amount Raised | Last Funding Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Beast Industries | Media | 2012 | $450M | Series C |
 Plex | Media | 2009 | $121M | Series C |
 Bungie | Media | 1991 | $100M | Corporate Round |
 Epidemic Sound | Media | 2009 | $508.9M | Private Equity |
 Cosm | Media | 2020 | $250M | Venture Round |
 Friend | AI | 2023 | $7.9M | Seed |
 Seekho | Education | 2020 | $36.5M | Series B |
 Pocket FM | Media | 2018 | $212.5M | Series D |
 DICE | Marketing | 2014 | $200M | Venture Round |
 BookMyShow | Media | 1999 | $224.5M | Series D |
 TelevisaUnivision | Media | 2021 | $1.7B | Debt Financing |
 Riverside | Media | 2019 | $77M | Series C |
 Roc Nation | Media | 2008 | — | — |
 CAMB.AI | AI | 2023 | $19.4M | Seed |
 Religion of Sports | Media | 2017 | $63M | Series B |
 Kaleidoscope | Media | 2022 | $8.6M | Series A |
 Fandom | Media | 2004 | $145.4M | Series E |
 Vox Media | Marketing | 2003 | $407.6M | Corporate Round |
 A24 | Media | 2012 | $300M | Private Equity |
 League One Volleyball | Media | 2019 | $160M | Venture Round |
 EVEN | Marketplace | 2022 | $4.2M | Seed |
 gamma | Media | 2023 | $1.1B | Private Equity |
 Ekkobar | AI | 2019 | $950k | Seed |
 Backpack | Data | 2022 | $17M | Series A |
 LimeWire | Media | 2000 | $28.2M | Initial Coin Offering |
 Emergent | AI | 2025 | $2M | Pre-Seed |
 Mundial Media | Marketing | 2022 | $3.5M | Pre-Seed |
 Splice | AI | 2013 | $159.7M | Series D |
 Infinite Reality | Media | 2019 | $3.4B | Venture Round |
 Dude Perfect | Marketing | 2009 | $100M | Private Equity |
 Hello Sunshine | Media | 2016 | $5M | Series A |
 Scope3 | Environment | 2022 | $45M | Series B |
 Subject | Education | 2020 | $47.8M | Series A |
 Doodles | Crypto | 2021 | $54M | Series A |
 Semafor | Media | 2022 | $44M | Seed |
 Luma | Marketing | 2020 | $3M | Seed |
 Omaha Productions | Media | 2020 | $90M | Series B |
 Twitch | Gaming | 2007 | $35M | Series C |
 Pluto TV | Media | 2013 | $51.8M | Venture Round |
 Cheddar | Media | 2016 | $54.5M | Series D |
 BeInCrypto | Crypto | 2018 | $1M | Pre-Seed |
 Primary Wave | Media | 2006 | $1.7B | Private Equity |
 Kidoodle.TV | Marketing | 2012 | $83.6M | Venture Round |
 National Football League | Sports | 1920 | $5.7M | Grant |
 FloSports | Marketing | 2006 | $79.4M | Series C |
 Muck Rack | Data | 2009 | $180M | Series A |
 Chuck E. Cheese | Media | 1977 | $725M | Debt Financing |
 Rypplzz | Media | 2016 | $6M | Seed |
 Hedra | AI | 2023 | $42M | Series A |
 Showrunner | Media | 1990 | $9.8M | Seed |
 SEI | Analytics | 1992 | $725.1k | Undisclosed |
 The Pinkfong Company | Media | 2010 | ₩43.5B | Series B |
 N4XT Experiences | Marketing | 2022 | $3.9M | Undisclosed |
 Just Women's Sports | Media | 2019 | $9.5M | Seed |
 SmartNews | Media | 2012 | $410.3M | Series F |
 Puck | Media | 2021 | $7M | Series A |
 Volley | AI | 2016 | $107.3M | Series C |
 Pepper Content | Media | 2017 | $18.7M | Series A |
 nVenue | AI | 2017 | $14.3M | Venture Round |
 VEED | Media | 2018 | $35M | Series A |
 deepdub | AI | 2019 | $20M | Series A |
 BBC | Media | 1922 | $5M | Grant |
 Animaj | Retail | 2022 | $175M | Series B |
 Game Science | Gaming | 2014 | CN¥3M | Angel |
 Box To Box Films | Media | 2016 | £30M | Private Equity |
 V-Nova | Data | 2011 | $42.8M | Series C |
 Largo.ai | Analytics | 2018 | $11.2M | Series A |
 Musixmatch | Media | 2010 | $13.1M | Private Equity |
 Recast | Media | 2018 | £18.3M | Seed |
 The News Movement | Media | 2021 | $1.3M | Venture Round |
 Kakao Entertainment | Media | 2021 | ₩1325B | Private Equity |
 Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment | Media | 1931 | CA$4.7B | Secondary Market |
 bemyfriends | Media | 2021 | ₩37.8B | Venture Round |
 Pocket Aces | Media | 2013 | $19.8M | Debt Financing |
 Beek | Media | 2015 | $13.1M | Series A |
 HashtEX | Retail | 2021 | $300k | Pre-Seed |
 Kuaikan Manhua | Media | 2014 | $594.3M | Series F |
 truefan.ai | Media | 2020 | $11.3M | Series A |
 LS Digital | Marketing | 2006 | $610.6M | Venture Round |
 Valencia CF | Media | 1919 | €322M | Debt Financing |
 Recess | Marketing | 2016 | $11.4M | Series A |
 Spiideo | Media | 2012 | $20M | Venture Round |
 Komo Technologies | Marketing | 2014 | $2M | Venture Round |
 T&B Media Global | Media | 2016 | $300M | Corporate Round |
 Novelpia | Media | 2021 | ₩12.5B | Series B |
 Replica Studios | AI | 2019 | $9.6M | Seed |
 Flagcat | Media | 2023 | €4.5M | Seed |
 Winnin | Media | 2014 | $8M | — |
 The Recursive | Marketing | 2021 | €450k | Seed |
 Jam | Media | 2015 | CN¥38M | Series A |
