The Top 50 AI Startups Powering Content Publishers — Ranked by Funding
These 50 startups are rewiring how content gets made, moved, and monetized
I’m a content guy — it’s been my whole career.
AI rewires how content gets made, moved, and monetized.
If you’re a publisher, creator, or investor, you need to know who’s leading the charge.
So I ranked the 50 most-funded AI startups reshaping content and media.
First up: a look at how $5.1 billion in AI funding is flowing across product categories serving content publishers.
10-Second Summary of this Post
New Money: Publishers are monetizing AI traffic (TollBit, ScalePost).
Smarter Creation: Save time & costs w/video, voice production (Runway, HeyGen).
Personalized Growth: Analytics boost audience engagement (Qloo, Particle).
Content Protection: AI guards brand trust (ActiveFence, Hive AI).
Global Reach: Fast translation and dubbing open new markets (Papercup, Camb.ai).
The Full List of 50 Most Funded AI Startups
These are the AI players reshaping the future of publishing — and where the smart money is betting.
Want the full list? Click "Full Top 50 List" to see all companies, including two Honorable Mentions.
The Top 50 AI Startups Powering Content Publishers (Categorized)
I broke out the top 50 AI/Media companies into ten categories below.
The aim is to make it easier for Content CEOs like me to quickly find potential partners.
Licensing, Monetization & Ad Intelligence
Note: Many of the monetization platforms below are alternatives to doing the types of deals I mention in “5 Takeaways from the AI Content Licensing Deals I'm Tracking (size of avg. deal , market, etc.)”
TollBit
(New York, USA – Founded 2023 – Series A, $31M funding)
Co-founders: Olivia Joslin & Toshit Panigrahi
Website: tollbit.com
Problem they Solve: Marketplace monetizing publisher content from AI traffic.
Media Customers: Penske Media, TIME, Mumsnet, Trusted Media Brands, and Adweek (TollBit).
ProRata.ai
(Pasadena, USA – Founded 2024 – Series A, $25M funding)
CEO: Bill Gross
Website: prorata.ai
Problem they Solve: AI-powered search platform using exclusively licensed content, compensating publishers/creators for AI-generated results.
Media Customers: The Atlantic, Financial Times, Axel Springer, Fortune.
Protege
(New York City, USA – Founded 2024 – Seed Stage, $10M funding)
CEO: Bobby Samuels
Website: Protege
Problem they Solve: Connects data owners with AI developers for ethical data licensing and monetization.
Media Customers: Acquired Calliope Networks for video data licensing (PR Newswire).
Special Note: CRV’s Saar Gur invested in Protege. Saar’s an amazing judge of talent and startups (he was in the seed round of Doordash, Ring and Patreon).
Nexad
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2024 – Seed Stage, $6M funding)
CEO: Jason Hu
Website: nexad.ai
Problem they Solve: Native advertising within AI chat apps, monetizing AI interactions.
Media Customers: Partnered with marketing tech firm Intellibright (Business Insider).
Human Native AI
(London, UK – Founded 2024 – Seed Stage, $3.57M funding)
CEO: James Smith
Website: humannative.ai
Problem they Solve: Marketplace for ethically sourced datasets for AI training, ensuring content creators get fairly compensated.
Media Customers: Working with major brands across multiple sectors (Human Native AI blog).
Dappier
(Austin, USA – Founded 2023 – Seed Stage, $2M in funding)
CEO: Dan Goikhman
Website: dappier.com
Problem they Solve: Real-time data retrieval APIs supporting AI applications, monetizing proprietary media data.
Media Customers: Partnered with Morgan Murphy Media for local media AI integration (TVNewsCheck).
ScalePost
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2023 – $1.08 million in funding))
CEO: Ahmed Malik
Website: scalepost.ai
Problem they Solve: Marketplace connecting publishers and AI companies for licensing content.
Media Customers: Partners include Forbes, Texas Tribune, and Perplexity.ai (ScalePost).
Honorable Mention: AskNews.App
(Arvada, USA – Founded 2023 – Pre-Seed Stage)
CEO: Robert Caulk
Website: asknews.app
Problem they Solve: AskNews uses synthetic data to simultaneously protect publisher content while also collecting royalties from high-stakes decision making applications.
I added AskNews beause I am super-impressed with CEO Robert’s grasp take on the AI Content Licensing space and progress they’ve made.
Data Labeling Platforms (In-House/ DIY)
Labelbox
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2018 – Series D, $189M funding)
CEO: Manu Sharma
Website: labelbox.com
Problem they Solve: Provides a collaborative training data platform for machine learning teams to efficiently label, manage, and iterate on datasets.
Media Customers: Utilized by Fortune 500 companies and leading AI teams to accelerate AI product development (Labelbox Funding).
SuperAnnotate
(Palo Alto, USA – Founded 2018 – Series B, $62.1M funding)
CEO: Vahan Petrosyan
Website: superannotate.com
Problem they Solve: Offers an end-to-end platform combining AI-powered annotation tools with human-in-the-loop workflows for image, video, and text data.
Media Customers: Collaborates with enterprises to build high-quality datasets for AI applications (SuperAnnotate Funding).
Dataloop
(Tel Aviv, Israel – Founded 2017 – Series B, $50M funding)
CEO: Avi Yashar
Website: dataloop.ai
Problem they Solve: Offers a data management and annotation platform to streamline the process of preparing data for AI models.
Media Customers: Assists companies in building data engines for AI with scalable annotation solutions (Dataloop Funding).
V7
(London, UK – Founded 2018 – Series A, $36M funding)
CEO: Alberto Rizzoli
Website: v7labs.com
Problem they Solve: Provides an AI-powered data engine for automating annotation workflows, particularly in computer vision tasks.
Media Customers: Serves Fortune 500 companies and startups in building robust AI models (V7 Funding).
Kili Technology
(Paris, France – Founded 2018 – Series A, $25M funding)
CEO: FX (Francois-Xavier) L.
Website: kili-technology.com
Problem they Solve: Provides a platform for creating and managing high-quality datasets for AI training, supporting various data types.
Media Customers: Enables organizations to build and manage datasets efficiently for machine learning projects (Kili Technology Funding).
Data Labeling Services (Outsourced)
Scale AI
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2016 – Series F, $1.6B funding)
CEO: Alexandr Wang
Website: scale.com
Problem they Solve: Provides data labeling services to accelerate AI development, specializing in annotating images, text, and video at scale.
Media Customers: Partners with companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Microsoft to supply high-quality labeled data (Scale AI Funding).
Snorkel AI
(Palo Alto, USA – Founded 2019 – Series C, $135M funding)
CEO: Alex Ratner
Website: snorkel.ai
Problem they Solve: Offers a data-centric AI platform that enables programmatic data labeling and curation to accelerate AI development.
Media Customers: Assists enterprises in building production AI applications using programmatic data labeling (Snorkel AI Funding).
Sama
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2008 – Series B, $70M funding)
CEO: Wendy Gonzalez
Website: sama.com
Problem they Solve: Provides data annotation services with a focus on ethical AI, employing a global workforce to label data for machine learning models.
Media Customers: Works with companies to deliver accurate data labeling while promoting economic opportunity (Sama Funding).
AI Avatars & Characters
Synthesia
(London, UK – Founded 2017 – Series D, $330M funding)
CEO: Victor Riparbelli
Website: synthesia.io
Problem they Solve: Enables users to create professional AI-generated videos using avatars, eliminating the need for cameras or studios.
Media Customers: Clients include Zoom, Xerox, Microsoft, Lloyds Bank, British Gas, the NHS, the European Commission, and the United Nations.
Funding & Valuation: Raised $180M in Series D funding, bringing total funding to $330M and achieving a valuation of $2.1B.
Sources: Synthesia Funding Announcement, The Guardian
Inworld AI
(Mountain View, USA – Founded 2021 – Series A, $117M funding)
CEO: Ilya Gelfenbeyn
Website: inworld.ai
Problem they Solve: Provides a platform for creating AI-driven virtual characters with personality and memory for games and interactive experiences.
Media Customers: Collaborated with Xbox to integrate generative AI into game development.
Funding & Valuation: Raised $117M over multiple funding rounds, with a valuation of $500M.
Sources: Inworld Funding Details, TechCrunch
HeyGen
(Los Angeles, USA – Founded 2020 – Series A, $60M funding)
CEO: Joshua Xu
Website: heygen.com
Problem They Solve: Provides a video creation platform eliminates the need for traditional filming equipment and crews (it produces studio-quality videos with lifelike avatars, multilingual voiceovers and real-time translation).
Media Customers: I’ve got a Creator friend who’s used HeyGen to replace his face for all videos he does (he no longer needs to be filmed!). Brands and agencies such as Trivago, Ogilvy (for Milka), Publicis Groupe, AB InBev (via Videoimagem) and Headway use it to create personalized, localized, and scalable marketing/comm video content.
Funding & Valuation: Raised $60M in Series A funding as of 2024, led by Benchmark Capital and other top investors.
Sources: TechCrunch, HeyGen Blog
D-ID
(Tel Aviv, Israel – Founded 2017 – Series B, $48M funding)
CEO: Gil Perry
Website: d-id.com
Problem they Solve: Specializes in AI-generated talking head videos, transforming images into lifelike video presentations.
Media Customers: Used by various enterprises for creating personalized video content.
Funding & Valuation: Raised $25M in Series B funding, totaling $48M in funding.
Sources: D-ID Funding Announcement, Tracxn Profile
Colossyan
(London, UK – Founded 2020 – Series A, $28.2M funding)
CEO: Dominik Kovacs
Website: colossyan.com
Problem they Solve: Offers an AI video platform for creating interactive learning and training videos with virtual presenters.
Media Customers: Utilized by corporate training teams to enhance workplace learning.
Funding & Valuation: Raised $22M in Series A funding, totaling $28.2M in funding.
Sources: Colossyan Funding Announcement, Tracxn Profile
Video Creation & Editing
Runway
(New York, USA – Founded 2018 – Series D, $544M funding)
CEO: Cristóbal Valenzuela
Website: runwayml.com
Problem they Solve: Offers AI-powered video editing tools, including text-to-video generation, enabling creators to produce high-quality content efficiently.
Media Customers: Partnered with Lionsgate to develop a customized video generation model for filmmakers.
Sources: Tracxn, Reuters
Descript
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2017 – Series C, $100M funding)
CEO: Andrew Mason
Website: descript.com
Problem they Solve: Provides an all-in-one audio and video editing platform with AI-powered transcription and editing features.
Media Customers: Widely used by podcasters and video creators for streamlined editing workflows.
Sources: Tracxn
Captions
(New York, USA – Founded 2021 – Series C, $100M funding)
CEO: Gaurav Misra
Website: captions.ai
Problem they Solve: Offers an AI-powered creative studio for video editing, including features like auto-captioning and AI avatars.
Media Customers: Utilized by content creators for producing engaging social media videos.
Sources: Captions Blog, PitchBook
VEED
(London, UK – Founded 2019 – Series C, $35M funding)
CEO: Sabba Keynejad
Website: veed.io
Problem they Solve: Provides an online video editing platform with tools for adding subtitles, effects, and more.
Media Customers: Serves a wide range of users from individual creators to businesses.
Sources: Tracxn
OpusClip
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2022 – Series A, $50M funding)
CEO: Young Zhao
Website: opus.pro
Problem they Solve: Utilizes AI to repurpose long videos into short, viral clips suitable for social media.
Media Customers: Clients include Univision, Billboard, iHeartMedia, Visa, and LinkedIn.
Sources: OpusClip Blog, Business Insider
Voice & Audio AI
ElevenLabs
(London, UK – Founded 2022 – Series C, $353M funding)
CEO: Piotr Dabkowski
Website: elevenlabs.io
Problem they Solve: Specializes in AI voice cloning and text-to-speech technologies, enabling realistic voice synthesis.
Media Customers: Adopted by employees at over 60% of Fortune 500 companies for various applications.
Sources: PitchBook, Reuters
Sounder
(New York, USA – Founded 2019 – Series A, $11.7M funding)
CEO: John Rosso (CEO of Triton Digital — they bought Sounder in July 2024); Kal Amin (founder of Sounder)
Website: sounder.fm
Problem they Solve: Audio intelligence platform helping podcasters monetize audio through AI-generated insights.
Media Customers: Collaboration with iHeartMedia to provide brand safety analytics (iHeartMedia).
Murf AI
(Salt Lake City, USA – Founded 2020 – Series A, $11.5M funding)
CEO: Ankur Edkie
Website: murf.ai
Problem they Solve: Provides AI-based text-to-speech solutions for creating lifelike voiceovers for various content.
Media Customers: Used by professionals for podcasts, videos, and presentations.
Sources: Tracxn
Papercup
(London, UK – Founded 2017 – Series A, $38M funding)
CEO: Jesse Shemen
Website: papercup.com
Problem they Solve: Offers AI-powered video translation and dubbing services, helping content creators reach global audiences with synthetic yet humanlike voiceovers.
Media Customers: Papercup is used by media brands like Bloomberg, Sky News, and Insider to localize video content into multiple languages (Papercup).
PlayAI (PlayHT)
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2021 – Seed Stage, $21M funding)
CEO: Mahmoud Felfel
Website: play.ht
Problem they Solve: Develops AI voice models for creating human-like conversational agents.
Media Customers: Enables businesses to build engaging conversational AI experiences.
Sources: SiliconANGLE, PitchBook
Camb.ai
(Dubai, UAE – Founded 2022 – Seed Stage, $4M $15+Mfunding
CEO: Avneesh Prakash
Website: camb.ai
Problem they Solve: Real-time AI voice translation and dubbing across 120+ languages, primarily serving the sports and entertainment sectors.
Media Customers: Technology used by major sports events including Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Australian Open to localize commentary (Sports Business Journal).
Linguana
(Tel Aviv, Israel – Founded 2023 – Seed Stage, $1M funding)
CEO: Yuval Tal
Website: linguana.io
Problem they Solve: AI-powered platform for automatic translation, transcription, and dubbing of audio and video content, designed especially for creators and podcasters.
Media Customers: Early-stage adoption by podcasters and independent media creators seeking multilingual expansion (Linguana).
Content Moderation & Integrity
ActiveFence
(Tel Aviv, Israel and New York– Founded 2018 – Series B, $100M funding)
CEO: Noam Schwartz
Website: activefence.com
Problem they Solve: Provides AI-driven solutions to detect and prevent online harm, including disinformation, fraud, and abuse, across various platforms.
Media Customers: Utilized by governments and tech companies to safeguard online communities.
Sources: TechCrunch, ActiveFence Blog
Hive AI
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2017 – Series D, $85M funding)
CEO: Kevin Guo
Website: thehive.ai
Problem they Solve: Offers AI-based APIs for content moderation, object detection, and more, leveraging a vast dataset annotated by a global workforce.
Media Customers: Powers moderation for platforms like Reddit, Yubo, and Chatroulette.
Sources: TechCrunch, The Hive Blog
Respondology
(Boulder, USA – Founded 2015 – Series A, $11M funding)
CEO: Erik Swain
Website: respondology.com
Problem they Solve: Offers a platform to remove toxic, spam, and bot comments from social media in real-time, helping brands protect their online presence.
Media Customers: Serves over 240 clients across sports, entertainment, and consumer brands.
Sources: Respondology Press Release, FinSMEs
Moments Lab (x Newsbridge)
(Paris, France – Founded 2016 – Series A, €7M funding)
CEO: Philippe Petitpont
Website: Moments Lab
Problem they Solve: Provides a cloud-based media hub using multimodal AI to index and manage live and archived video content for broadcasters and media companies.
Media Customers: Clients include Bayer Leverkusen, Olympique de Marseille, SWR, and Brut.
Sources: SVG Europe, Newsbridge Blog
Unitary
(London, UK – Founded 2019 – Series A, €14.3M funding)
CEO: Sasha Haco
Website: unitary.ai
Problem they Solve: Develops AI technology that understands video content contextually, enabling scalable and ethical content moderation.
Media Customers: Processes millions of videos daily to assist platforms in maintaining safe environments.
Sources: EU-Startups, Unitary Blog
Musubi
(Santa Barbara, USA – Founded 2024 – Seed Stage, $5M funding)
CEO: Tom Quisel
Website: musubi.ai
Problem they Solve: Utilizes adaptive AI for content moderation, aiming to enhance trust and safety across digital platforms.
Media Customers: Focuses on improving online safety for social media and community platforms.
Sources: PR Newswire, NBC Chicago
Attestiv
(Boston, USA – Founded 2018 – Seed Stage, $4.24M funding)
CEO: Nicos Vekiarides
Website: attestiv.com
Problem they Solve: Provides solutions to validate the authenticity of digital media, combating fraud and deepfakes in insurance, media, and other industries.
Media Customers: Works with enterprises to ensure the integrity of digital content.
Sources: Tracxn, PitchBook
Audience Analytics & Personalization
VidMob
(New York, USA – Founded 2014 – Series D, $231.6M funding)
CEO: Alex Collmer
Website: vidmob.com
Problem they Solve: Platform combining creative production with AI-powered analytics to optimize advertising content across digital platforms.
Media Customers: Partners with brands to enhance ad performance through data-driven creative insights.
Sources: AlleyWatch
Permutive
(London, UK – Founded 2014 – Series C, $105M funding)
CEO: Joe Root
Website: permutive.com
Problem they Solve: Provides a privacy-safe audience platform enabling publishers and advertisers to reach audiences without third-party cookies.
Media Customers: Trusted by publishers like The Guardian and Condé Nast for audience monetization.
Sources: Business Wire
Qloo
(New York, USA – Founded 2012 – Series C, $56M funding)
CEO: Alex Elias
Website: qloo.com
Problem they Solve: Provides AI-driven cultural insights by analyzing consumer preferences across various domains, enabling brands to personalize experiences without relying on personal data.
Media Customers: Utilized by companies like Netflix and Michelin to enhance personalization strategies.
Sources: PR Newswire
Particle
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2023 – Series A, $10.9M funding)
CEO: Sara Beykpour
Website: particle.news
Problem they Solve: Offers an AI-powered news aggregation app that summarizes multiple sources, giving readers a more complete view of current events.
Media Customers: Partners with news organizations like Reuters to promote publisher-friendly AI distribution models.
Sources: TechCrunch
Largo
(Lausanne, Switzerland – Founded 2018 – Seed Stage, $7.5 million)
CEO: Sami Arpa
Website: largo.ai
Problem they Solve: Offers AI-driven analytics to assist filmmakers in script development, casting, and audience targeting to enhance movie success rates.
Media Customers: Collaborates with production companies to optimize film development processes.
Sources: Largo
Publishing & Creative Production
Jasper
(Austin, USA – Founded 2021 – Series A, $125M funding)
CEO: Dave Rogenmoser
Website: jasper.ai
Problem they Solve: Provides an AI content platform to assist businesses in generating marketing copy, blog posts, and other written content efficiently.
Media Customers: Utilized by marketing teams to streamline content creation processes.
Sources: TechCrunch
Suno
(Cambridge, USA – Founded 2022 – Series B, $125M funding)
CEO: Mikey Shulman
Website: suno.com
Problem they Solve: Offers an AI-powered music generation platform enabling users to create songs from text prompts without musical expertise.
Media Customers: Engages content creators and musicians seeking rapid music production tools.
Sources: VentureBeat
PhotoRoom
(Paris, France – Founded 2019 – Series B, $64M funding)
CEO: Matthieu Rouif
Website: photoroom.com
Problem they Solve: Provides AI-driven photo editing tools, enabling users to create professional-quality images quickly.
Media Customers: Widely used by e-commerce businesses for product photography.
Sources: TechCrunch
Spines
(Tel Aviv, Israel – Founded 2021 – Series A, $22.5M funding)
CEO: Yehuda Niv
Website: spines.com
Problem they Solve: Offers an AI-driven platform to streamline the book publishing process, assisting authors from manuscript to distribution.
Media Customers: Targets self-publishing authors seeking efficient publication solutions.
Sources: Calcalist Tech
Contents.com
(Milan, Italy – Founded 2021 – Series B, $25M funding)
CEO: Massimiliano Squillace
Website: contents.com
Problem they Solve: Provides a generative AI platform for multilingual content creation, helping brands and publishers scale content production efficiently.
Media Customers: Used by enterprises and media outlets looking to streamline global content creation.
Sources: Tech.eu
Honorable Mention: Midjourney
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2022 – Self-Funded with $300M in revenue & Likely Highly Profitable (just 111 employees)
CEO: David Holz
Website: midjourney.com
Problem they Solve: Platform that transforms text prompts into high-quality, artistic images.
Media Customers: Widely used by media companies, brands, and independent artists for marketing visuals, concept art, and creative projects.
Sources: The Verge, GetLaka.com
Creator Economy & Filmmaking
Wonder Dynamics
(Los Angeles, USA – Founded 2017 – Acquired, $12.5M funding)
CEO: Nikola Todorovic
Website: wonderdynamics.com
Problem they Solve: Provides AI-powered tools to automate visual effects and animation, streamlining post-production workflows.
Media Customers: Adopted by filmmakers and content creators to enhance visual storytelling.
Funding & Valuation: Raised $12.5M before being acquired by Autodesk in May 2024.
Sources: Wonder Dynamics Funding Details, TechCrunch
Catch+Release
(San Francisco, USA – Founded 2015 – Series A, $31M funding)
CEO: Analisa Goodin
Website: catchandrelease.com
Problem they Solve: Agencies and brands can license user-generated content from Creators on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.
Media Customers: Catch+Release contributed content to campaigns for Gatorade, Disney, Dove/Nike, Teleflora, and Pfizer (Catch+Release).
Methodology for the Top 50 List
I focused on privately-held AI startups for which content/media publishing customers represent a major (50%) of their business.
So I excluded both public companies and frontier models (OpenAI, Anthropic et al) ; as well as Hugging Face — even though they did translation work for Reuters and The Guardian — because my guess is that publishing is <5% of Hugging Face’s business).
Final Takeaways
For Media Execs: License smarter. Create faster. Protect better. Expand wider.
AI is reshaping every corner of content — creation, monetization, protection, and global growth.
These 50 startups aren't trends. They're action items. Move first, or risk falling behind.
For AI Execs: Lock up premium content. License ethically. Scale global reach.
The future of AI depends on trusted content access, safer platforms, and smart distribution.
Partner, integrate, and innovate now — before your rivals do.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Creator & Host of Media & the Machine
p.s.: How to reach me:
The best way to reach me is to subscribe below (it’s free). You can then reply to my emails (or comment). For now, I’m reading everything. :) Thx again.