DRIVE beta

What DRIVE beta does

DRIVE beta GmbH is a Berlin-based Digital Studio that develops, produces, and distributes moving image content for streaming, TV, and social media platforms. The company operates as a B2B content production house serving two principal client groups: German public broadcasters — including ZDF, the ARD network (NDR, SWR, WDR, HR, rbb, MDR), and the funk youth digital network — and major brand clients such as Spotify and health insurer DAK. Its service portfolio spans content development and production (research, conception, and full video production), strategy and consulting (digital advisory, workshops, presentations), and distribution (placement across broadcaster platforms and social channels). A flagship co-produced product is "Doktorsex," a youth-targeted sexual health education format developed with DAK and distributed across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

The company runs approximately 40-50 professionals across editorial, production, design, and distribution functions, operating from a single headquarters in Berlin's Wedding district (Lindower Str. 18, 13347 Berlin). Revenue is generated through project-based B2B professional services engagements; no public pricing, contract values, or revenue figures are disclosed. The firm is founder-led, with Hannes Jakobsen as Founder and CEO and Florian Schumann as COO, supported by a broader management team.

DRIVE beta's strategic positioning is reinforced by two corporate relationships: a 2026 strategic partnership with Rosebank Entertainment AG, an entertainment production and distribution group, and the co-founding of Chapter41, an AI Studio operating under the Beta Film Group alongside Beta Film, focused on AIFX, AI Tools, and AI Originals for production companies and broadcasters. These alliances extend the company's reach into entertainment IP and emerging AI production tooling without altering its core professional-services model.

Name

DRIVE beta

Legal name

DRIVE beta GmbH

Website

https://drivebeta.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

DRIVE beta GmbH is a Berlin-based Digital Studio that develops, produces, and distributes moving image content for German public broadcasters (ZDF, ARD affiliates, funk) and brand clients (Spotify, DAK) across streaming, TV, and social media platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Content Production Services: Professional content development and production services for public broadcasters and brands, including research, conception, and full video production for streaming, TV, and social media distribution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DRIVE beta develops, produces, and distributes moving image content for streaming, TV, and social media platforms. The studio operates across three core service areas: content development and production (research, conception, and full video production), strategy and consulting (digital strategy through advisory projects, workshops, and presentations), and distribution (identifying optimal content distribution pathways) for public broadcasters and major brands.

Product overview

DRIVE beta is a Digital Studio from Berlin that develops, produces, and distributes moving/image video content for streaming, TV, and Social Media platforms. The company operates across three main service areas: Content Development & Production (research, conception, and production for various platforms), Strategy & Consulting (digital strategy development through advisory projects, workshops, and presentations), and Distribution (identifying optimal content distribution pathways). Their primary identified product is the 'Doktorsex' educational format created for DAK, which represents their health communication content production capability targeting youth audiences across social platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Doktorsex An innovative sexual health education format developed in partnership with DAK (German health insurance company), targeting young people on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube with medically accurate, inclusive content about sex, relationships, and bodies presented in an approachable, authentic manner.
• Content Development & Production Full-service content development and production including research, conception, and full video production for streaming, TV, and social media platforms, tailored for public broadcasters and major brands.
• Strategy & Consulting Digital strategy development through advisory projects, workshops, and presentations, helping broadcasters and brands define content approaches across streaming, TV, and social media platforms.
• Content Distribution Identifying and executing optimal distribution pathways for produced content across streaming services, TV channels, broadcaster mediatheks, funk network, and social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Rosebank Entertainment AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Since 2026, Rosebank Entertainment AG has been a strategic partner of DRIVE beta. Rosebank Entertainment is involved in entertainment production and distribution.
• Chapter41coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChapter41 is the AI Studio sister company of DRIVE beta, founded by Hannes Jakobsen, Lars Stark, Dominik Böhm together with Beta Film and DRIVE beta. Chapter41 operates in areas of AIFX and generation, AI Tools, and AI Originals for production companies and broadcasters. It is part of the Beta Film Group.
• Beta FilmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBeta Film is the parent company of Chapter41 (AI Studio), which was co-founded by DRIVE beta along with Hannes Jakobsen, Lars Stark, and Dominik Böhm. Beta Film operates in the film and TV distribution industry.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UFA (Bertelsmann): UFA is one of Germany's largest production groups, producing scripted and non-scripted content for RTL and other broadcasters. It overlaps with DRIVE beta on production services for major German broadcasters and represents the broader incumbent competitive set rather than a like-for-like digital-native studio.
• Beta Film: Beta Film is a major German TV distribution and production group and parent of Chapter41, DRIVE beta's AI sister company. It overlaps with DRIVE beta through production and now co-ownership in AI tooling, functioning partly as a strategic partner and partly as a larger industry incumbent.
• Bavaria Film: Bavaria Film is a long-established Munich-based production and studio-services group producing TV and film for German broadcasters. It serves the same public-broadcaster client base as DRIVE beta but operates at much larger scale and with traditional production infrastructure.
• Nordisk Film (Germany): Nordisk Film produces scripted and entertainment content across the Nordics and Germany for public broadcasters and streamers. It overlaps with DRIVE beta on broadcaster-facing production but operates as a multi-territory incumbent rather than a Berlin digital-native studio.
• Studio Hamburg: Studio Hamburg is a major Hamburg-based production and post-production group serving NDR and other public broadcasters. It overlaps with DRIVE beta on public-broadcaster production work but operates at a larger, more traditional scale with extensive studio facilities.

Direct peers

• Letterbox Filmproduktion: Letterbox is a Cologne-based production company producing scripted and non-scripted content for German public broadcasters. It competes for broadcaster commissions and increasingly digital-native formats comparable to DRIVE beta's offering.
• Wiedemann & Berg Film: Wiedemann & Berg is a Munich-based production company producing premium scripted and non-scripted content for German broadcasters and streaming platforms. It competes for high-end German broadcaster commissions alongside DRIVE beta and represents a similarly positioned independent production peer.
• Endor Productions: Endor Productions is a Berlin-based production company producing scripted and digital content for German broadcasters and streamers. It competes with DRIVE beta in the same Berlin market and serves many of the same broadcaster clients with comparable genre breadth.
• Polyphon Film- und Fernsehgesellschaft: Polyphon produces entertainment, factual, and digital content for German broadcasters including ARD affiliates. It is a comparable German production house competing for the same broadcaster commissioning slots and increasingly investing in cross-platform digital content similar to DRIVE beta.
• Studio Funk: Studio Funk is a Berlin-based digital studio producing social-media and YouTube content specifically for the funk network (ARD/ZDF's youth platform). It is the closest direct peer to DRIVE beta, competing for the same funk commissioning briefs and youth-targeted digital formats with overlapping public-broadcaster clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/hamojak

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about DRIVE beta