The podcast industry isn't dead, it's just consolidated. Spotify acquired most of the independents, and the VCs who bet big on audio in 2019 learned expensive lessons. But there's still money flowing into podcast infrastructure, recording tools, and AI powered editing platforms.
Most podcast investors won't touch content production anymore. They've watched Gimlet get acquired for $200M by Spotify, only to see similar valuations crater when advertising dried up. The money's in picks and shovels recording software, hosting platforms, and analytics tools that serve the creator economy.
These 10 investors closed deals from 2021 to November 2025.
Quick list
Zeev Ventures: Led Riverside’s $30M Series C in December 2024, strengthening its position in the professional audio and creator economy sector.
Seven Seven Six (Alexis Ohanian): Backed Riverside since Series A with multiple follow-on investments, emphasizing long-term support for creator and podcasting tools.
OpenAI Startup Fund: Led Descript’s $50M Series C at a $550M valuation in 2022, focusing on AI-driven audio and video editing innovation.
Andreessen Horowitz: Early backer of Descript and other audio ecosystem companies, continuing to invest in creator-focused and AI-powered media tools.
Redpoint Ventures: Multi-round investor fueling Descript’s growth, contributing to its evolution into a leading media creation platform.
Spark Capital: Participated in Descript’s funding rounds alongside OpenAI, expanding its presence in the AI and audio-tech landscape.
Sequoia Capital: Backed Callin, David Sacks’ podcasting startup, with a $12M investment in 2021, marking its continued interest in audio-based social platforms.
General Catalyst: Active investor in media technology and creator economy tools, supporting companies at the intersection of content and AI.
Benchmark: Historical investor in audio infrastructure and distribution platforms, shaping the early foundation of digital sound ecosystems.
Accel: Backed early podcast infrastructure companies, maintaining a strong focus on media, collaboration, and content technology.
Picking the right podcast investor
Most VCs say they invest in audio but actually mean music streaming. Find investors who've funded companies with podcast specific revenue models subscription tools, hosting platforms, or creator monetization. Check if they understand the difference between podcast advertising and programmatic audio. Those are fundamentally different businesses.
Experience matters more than brand names. Look for investors who backed companies through the 2019-2021 podcast bubble and didn't panic sell. They've seen what works when advertising budgets contract. Ask their portfolio companies about help during pivot decisions did the VC push for B2B when consumer wasn't working?
Network value is concrete, not abstract. Can they intro you to Spotify's partnerships team? Do they know the heads of podcast at major platforms? That matters more than "we have a great network" claims. Check if they can connect you to other podcast tool companies for distribution partnerships.
Track record needs nuance. Some investors backed Anchor early (Spotify acquisition) but also backed Breaker (shut down). Look at their recent audio deals, not just exits from 2019. The market changed completely. If they haven't done a podcast deal since 2021, they're probably not actively looking.
Stage alignment is critical. Seed investors in audio tools won't have the capital for your Series B recording platform. Most audio deals post-2022 have been sub-$10M rounds. The hundred-million-dollar rounds died with Clubhouse. Use Ellty pitch deck tracking software to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your market size slides versus who skips straight to unit economics.
Value-add should be specific. Generic promises about "helping you scale" are useless. Do they have relationships with podcast ad networks? Can they help negotiate hosting platform integrations? Those specific capabilities matter. Upload your deck to Ellty and monitor which sections investors actually read.
How to approach podcast investors
Research recent audio deals on Crunchbase and Pitchbook. Don't waste time on investors whose last audio investment was pre-pandemic. The market's different now. Investors who backed consumer podcast apps in 2019 probably aren't funding enterprise recording tools in 2025. Look for recent deals in infrastructure, not content.
Show actual usage metrics, not vanity downloads. Podcast investors are tired of "millions of downloads" without retention data. Show DAU/MAU ratios, average session length, and monetization per user. If you're B2B, show logo retention and expansion revenue. The bar for metrics is higher now than it was in 2020.
Share your pitch deck. Create trackable links and monitor engagement. If investors spend 5+ minutes on your go-to-market slide but skip your vision slides, that tells you something. Most founders are surprised which pages investors actually care about.
Get intros from portfolio founders, not cold emails. Message founders on LinkedIn whose companies raised from your target investors. Most will tell you if their VC actually helps or just shows up for board meetings. Cold emails to podcast investors rarely work unless you have exceptional traction.
Attend Podcast Movement or Pod Summit if you're consumer-facing. For enterprise podcast tools, focus on SaaStr or creator economy events. The big podcast conferences are mostly content creators now, not infrastructure founders. Your time matters.
Use LinkedIn strategically after warm intros. Connect with partners after someone makes the introduction. Engaging with their posts helps, but don't expect it to replace actual warm intros. Cold DMs get ignored.
Set up a secure data room before investors ask. Include your financial model, cap table, and customer contracts in one place with password protection and screenshot security. Use Ellty data room feature so you can see which documents investors actually open. Most spend time on your customer retention data and competitive landscape.
Lead with your differentiation and actual traction. Don't spend 20 minutes on market size slides about "the podcast industry." Investors know audio is big. Show why your recording tool has better audio quality or why your hosting platform has lower churn. Lead with the thing that's working.
Why podcast investors matter now
The podcast industry raised over $900M from 2019-2021. Most of that capital went into content networks and consumer apps. Spotify acquired Anchor, Gimlet, Megaphone, and The Ringer. Amazon bought Wondery and ART19. The independent podcast ecosystem consolidated fast.
What's left is infrastructure and tools. Riverside raised $80M total through December 2024. Descript raised $100M, including a $50M round from OpenAI in 2022. These companies serve creators and enterprises, not consumer listeners. That's where smart money is going now.
The other shift is AI-powered editing and production. Descript's text-based editing changed how podcasts get made. New companies are using AI for show notes, transcription, and clip generation. If you're building AI tools for podcast creators, there's capital available. Just not at 2020 valuations.
10 podcast investors
1. Zeev Ventures
Zeev led Riverside's $30M Series C and clearly believes in infrastructure over content.
- Recent Deals: Riverside $30M Series C (December 2024), previous investment in Riverside Series A ($9.5M, April 2021)
- LinkedIn: Zeev Ventures
- Sector Focus: SaaS, infrastructure, B2B tools, creator economy
- Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
- Location: Palo Alto, United States
- Website: zeev-ventures.com
2. Seven Seven Six
Alexis Ohanian's fund backed Riverside from the beginning and doubled down multiple times.
- Recent Deals: Riverside $30M Series C (December 2024), Riverside $35M Series B (April 2022), Riverside $9.5M Series A (April 2021)
- LinkedIn: Seven Seven Six
- Sector Focus: Creator economy, social platforms, media tools, community
- Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
- Location: Austin, United States
- Website: sevensevensix.com
3. OpenAI Startup Fund
Led Descript's $50M round when everyone else was pulling back on audio.
- Recent Deals: Descript $50M Series C at $550M valuation (November 2022), multiple AI-powered companies
- LinkedIn: OpenAI Startup Fund
- Sector Focus: AI applications, creative tools, productivity software
- Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
- Location: San Francisco, United States
- Website: openai.com/fund
4. Andreessen Horowitz
Early investor in Descript and published detailed market maps on the podcast ecosystem.
- Recent Deals: Descript Series C (2022), Knowable seed round (2019), multiple media tech companies
- LinkedIn: Andreessen Horowitz
- Sector Focus: Consumer tech, media, creator economy, AI
- Stage Focus: Seed, Series A through growth
- Location: Menlo Park, United States
- Website: a16z.com
5. Redpoint Ventures
Multiple rounds in Descript and a track record in media infrastructure.
- Recent Deals: Descript $50M Series C (2022), previous Descript rounds, enterprise software
- LinkedIn: Redpoint Ventures
- Sector Focus: Enterprise software, infrastructure, developer tools
- Stage Focus: Seed through growth
- Location: Menlo Park, United States
- Website: redpoint.com
6. Spark Capital
Consistent backer of Descript across multiple rounds.
- Recent Deals: Descript $50M Series C (2022), Descript earlier rounds
- LinkedIn: Spark Capital
- Sector Focus: Consumer tech, media, platforms
- Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
- Location: San Francisco, United States
- Website: sparkcapital.com
7. Sequoia Capital
Backed Callin with $12M when David Sacks launched his podcast tool in 2021.
- Recent Deals: Callin $12M Series A (September 2021), numerous media and consumer companies
- LinkedIn: Sequoia Capital
- Sector Focus: Consumer, enterprise, technology platforms
- Stage Focus: Seed through late-stage growth
- Location: Menlo Park, United States
- Website: sequoiacap.com
8. Craft Ventures
David Sacks' fund backed his own Callin startup and understands podcast workflows.
- Recent Deals: Callin $12M (2021), B2B software companies
- LinkedIn: Craft Ventures
- Sector Focus: B2B software, infrastructure, productivity tools
- Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
- Location: San Francisco, United States
- Website: craftventures.com
9. General Catalyst
Active in creator economy tools and media technology platforms.
- Recent Deals: Multiple creator economy and media tech investments
- LinkedIn: General Catalyst
- Sector Focus: Consumer, enterprise, healthtech, fintech
- Stage Focus: Seed through growth
- Location: Cambridge, United States
- Website: generalcatalyst.com
10. Goldcrest Capital
Co-led Callin's $12M round with Sequoia and has media expertise.
- Recent Deals: Callin $12M (September 2021), media and entertainment companies
- LinkedIn: Goldcrest Capital
- Sector Focus: Media, entertainment, consumer
- Stage Focus: Early to growth stage
- Location: New York, United States
- Website: goldcrestcapital.com
Track your investor outreach
These 10 investors closed deals from 2021 to November 2025. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking using Ellty.
When investors ask for more materials, share an Ellty data room instead of messy email threads. Your cap table, financial model, and contracts in one place with view analytics. Set up secure file sharing so you control access and see who's actually reviewing your materials.
The podcast investor landscape is smaller than it was in 2020, but there's still capital for the right infrastructure companies. Focus on the investors who understand the difference between consumer audio and B2B tools for creators.
Common questions
How do I know if an investor is still active in podcasting? Check their recent deals on Crunchbase or Pitchbook. If their last audio investment was pre-2021, they're probably not actively looking. Recent activity matters more than historical portfolio companies. Many investors who backed podcast content networks in 2019 aren't funding infrastructure tools now.
Should I cold email podcast investors or get introductions? Get warm intros. Portfolio founders will tell you if the VC actually helps or just occupies a board seat. Message them on LinkedIn - most are honest about their investor's value-add. Cold emails work if you have exceptional traction, but warm intros convert 10x better.
What's the difference between seed and Series A podcast investors? Seed investors typically write $500K-$2M checks and want to see product-market fit signals. Series A investors write $5M-$15M checks and need strong revenue growth or user metrics. Don't pitch Series A investors when you're pre-revenue. They won't have patience for the iteration you need.
How many podcast investors should I reach out to? Target 15-20 investors who've done recent audio deals. Going too broad wastes time. Better to focus on investors who understand your business model. Use Ellty to track which investors actually engage with your deck versus who just clicks and closes.
When should I set up a data room for podcast investors? Set it up with your financial model, cap table, and key contracts. Most due diligence happens faster when materials are organized upfront. Investors appreciate founders who are prepared.
Do investors care about pitch deck analytics? Smart ones do. They want to know which founders actually study what investors look at. If you can tell them "I saw you spent 4 minutes on our competitive analysis, here's more detail on that," it shows you're paying attention.
