MediaTech Ventures

What MediaTech Ventures does

MediaTech Ventures is a privately-held venture development organization founded in 2014 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, that operates as both a startup incubator and an educational platform focused on the convergence of media, entertainment, and technology. The company runs 12-week incubator cohorts for media-oriented startup founders, accepting applications globally, and delivers live online interactive courses through its created.mediatech.ventures sub-brand (MediaTech EDU) covering visual marketing, post-production, music production, film scoring, video game sound, and game audio with Wwise and Unreal Engine 5. Instruction is delivered by industry practitioners such as Eduardo Pesole, JB Thiebaut, and contributors from partners including Music Hackspace, Garnish Music Production, and Creat-Ed.

Revenue is generated primarily through tuition from incubator cohorts and per-course fees for educational programs, with promotional discount codes (e.g., MTV10) suggesting consumer/SMB price sensitivity. Distribution is self-serve via the website and supplemented by referral partnerships with universities (Texas State University, Founder Institute) and ecosystem organizations (DivInc, Galvanize). Marketing is content-led via a high-engagement blog and social channels, with event presence at SXSW, BIME Bogotá, Vivatech, Balkan Tech Summit, and IFA Berlin through its Funded House initiative that matches portfolio startups with investors.

Beyond services, MediaTech Ventures has evolved into an active ecosystem participant: it co-led a $5.4 million seed round in Tesoro XP in January 2026, supports portfolio companies such as FinalFind (winner at the Resilience & Innovation Summit in Sarajevo, 2024), MDDAO, ArtCentrica, and TALK2RAMI, and maintains advisory relationships (e.g., Ted Cohen joining the advisory board). Leadership is founder-centric, with Paul O'Brien serving as CEO and Founder alongside a small named leadership team (John Zozzaro, Ted Cohen, Sabrina Zahn, Kevin Chin, Chris Turnley). The organization has 11-50 employees and operates without disclosed institutional funding or parent company ownership.

Name

MediaTech Ventures

Legal name

MediaTech Ventures

Website

https://mediatech.ventures

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MediaTech Ventures is an Austin-based venture development organization founded in 2014 that runs 12-week global startup incubator cohorts for media-tech founders and delivers live online courses in music production, film scoring, and game audio through its MediaTech EDU platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubation and Education

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures) (FSANAHAC), Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)

Keywords

• Startup incubation programs
• Media venture development
• Creative industry education
• Founder training courses
• Media entrepreneurship coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Incubator Programs: Revenue generated from 12-week incubator cohort programs that teach startup founders how to launch and scale media ventures. Enrollment is open to founders globally.
2. Educational Courses: Live online interactive short courses for aspiring filmmakers, digital artists, game developers, and entrepreneurs. Courses include Visual Marketing for Creatives, Post Production, Music Production, and Video Game Sound & Music.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MediaTech Ventures operates as a venture development organization running a 12-week media-focused startup incubator cohort for founders globally, alongside a catalog of live online interactive courses for creative professionals covering visual marketing, post-production, music production, film scoring, and video game audio. The company also develops startup ecosystems through partnerships with universities and accelerators, and runs investor-matching initiatives such as Funded House at major industry conferences.

Product overview

MediaTech Ventures operates as a Venture Development organization offering a portfolio of educational products and incubator programs. The primary offerings include the MediaTech Incubator (12-week startup launch program) and a suite of live online interactive courses available through created.mediatech.ventures. Course offerings span media production skills including Visual Marketing for Creatives, Post Production (Sound and Music for Film & TV), Intro to Music Production using Ableton Live, Intro to Film and Media Scoring, Video Game Sound & Music, and Master Game Audio with Wwise and Unreal Engine 5. These educational products serve aspiring filmmakers, digital artists, game developers, and budding entrepreneurs through live online instruction taught by industry practitioners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MediaTech EDU: Educational institute offering live online interactive courses for creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and the digital economy

Products and services

• MediaTech Incubator A 12-week program designed to launch media and technology startups, providing mentorship and guidance for founders across pitching, fundraising, and venture development. Open to founders globally.
• Visual Marketing for Creatives A 6-week live online course consisting of 12 classes covering essentials in branding and marketing tailored for creative professionals.
• Post Production (Sound and Music for Film & TV) Course focused on sound and music post-production techniques for film and television productions.
• Intro to Music Production Course teaching music production fundamentals using Ableton Live software.
• Intro to Film and Media Scoring Course focused on composing music for television and film media.
• Video Game Sound & Music Course mastering composition skills for video game audio design and implementation.
• Master Game Audio with Wwise and Unreal Engine 5 Live online interactive course taught twice weekly over 6 weeks by sound designer Eduardo Pesole, covering game audio design using Audiokinetic Wwise and Unreal Engine 5.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Creat-EdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2023Strategic partnership to develop and deliver innovative courses blending art, storytelling, and technology. CREAT-ED collaborates with MediaTech Ventures to offer courses at created.mediatech.ventures, providing unique educational content for creative entrepreneurs and professionals.
• Funded HouseminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 August 2023Funded House operates during SXSW and major conferences to match startups with investors. MediaTech Ventures runs this initiative to connect their portfolio companies with funding opportunities.
• Texas State University / The Experience FirmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 July 2023Partnership to launch the first Future Maker Accelerator program at Texas State University in San Marcos. The program focuses on media innovation and supports student entrepreneurs in developing ventures.
• Music HackspaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic Hackspace partners with MediaTech Ventures to bring live online music technology and creative coding classes to the education platform. JB Thiebaut, CEO of Music Hackspace, joins the collaborative education initiative.
• Garnish Music ProductionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGarnish Music Production partnered with MediaTech Ventures to support music education programs, providing industry-active instructors for live online music production courses.
• Founder InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul O'Brien serves as regional Director of the Founder Institute incubator, extending MediaTech Ventures' reach into the broader startup ecosystem through this partnership.
• DivInc, Galvanize, and various startup AcceleratorsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul O'Brien mentors with multiple accelerator programs including DivInc and Galvanize, extending MediaTech Ventures' ecosystem development activities.
• Karma StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Karma Studios on international songwriting camps and creative education programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: One of the largest global accelerator operators running 12-week cohort-based programs with mentor networks and demo-day investor matching. Comparable to MediaTech as a cohort-based, mentor-driven accelerator, but with materially larger scale, capital, and brand reach across multiple verticals.
• Y Combinator: Premier global accelerator running twice-yearly founder cohorts with standardized curriculum and demo-day investor introductions. Comparable cohort-driven accelerator model, though it operates at vastly greater scale and offers more standardized programming.
• 500 Global (500 Startups): Global venture firm and accelerator with cohort programs and a large international footprint. Comparable as a sector-agnostic accelerator/investor hybrid, though at significantly greater scale than MediaTech Ventures.

Direct peers

• Founder Institute: Global pre-seed accelerator and incubator operating cohort-based programs for early-stage founders. Founder Institute is directly comparable because MediaTech Ventures' CEO Paul O'Brien serves as its regional Director and the two organizations actively co-engage founders through overlapping programs.
• gener8tor: US-based accelerator running 12-week cohort programs with mentor networks and investor connections across multiple cities. Closely comparable structure, duration, and founder-development orientation to MediaTech Ventures' incubator program.
• Capital Factory: Austin-based accelerator, coworking, and venture development hub with cohort programs and investor matchmaking. Direct peer given shared Austin HQ market, overlapping founder/mentor community, and similar accelerator-plus-ecosystem model.
• DivInc: US-based accelerator focused on supporting underrepresented founders through cohort-based programs and mentorship. Directly comparable cohort/mentorship model, and MediaTech's CEO Paul O'Brien is a mentor at DivInc, indicating direct operational overlap.
• MassChallenge: Global non-equity and equity accelerator running cohort-based programs for early-stage startups with extensive mentor and investor networks. Comparable cohort structure and founder-development focus, though at a much larger global scale.
• Galvanize: Operator of venture and education programs that combine cohort-based learning with workspace and investor engagement. Comparable to MediaTech in its blend of structured education and venture support, and Paul O'Brien is listed as a Galvanize mentor.

Regional players

• Station Houston: Houston-based innovation hub and startup community builder. Comparable in its mission of developing regional startup ecosystems and communities, with overlapping creator/tech founder programming, but operates in a different Texas metro than MediaTech's Austin base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mediatechvent
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKOmZDAGMOufas2u4W-hF1Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/MediaTechVentures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mediatech-ventures
• Instagraminstagram.com/mediatechventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MediaTech Ventures