Best Media & Entertainment Companies in San Francisco, United States
The 1411 best Media & Entertainment companies in San Francisco, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Reddit.
Ranked: Best Media & Entertainment companies in San Francisco
| # | Company | App-install YoY | Disclosed funding | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Substack 🦄 Platform allowing writers to publish and monetize their content directly with readers. | +140% | $89M | 76 | Jairaj Sethi Co-Founder & CTO | SubstackSentryZendesk+21 | — | — |
| 2 | Strava 🦄 Provider of application for tracking, analyzing, and sharing fitness activities 89Customers top 14%Market top 19%Tech top 20%Funding top 24% All 12 signals ▾Customerstop 14% Markettop 19% Techtop 20% Fundingtop 24% Moattop 25% Producttop 27% Growthtop 31% Patentstop 35% Innovationtop 38% Talenttop 38% Globaltop 42% Newstop 45% Customers: Play-Store rating 4.60★ across 1,123,622 ratings (1 apps) · Review volume +4% in 6 mo Market: 290 employees (top 13% of HealthTech) · Top-5,000 web property rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 89/100 | +36% | $180M | 290 | Davis Kitchel Co-Founder | ContentfulApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+25 | 70 patents Sports activity analytics and geospatial mapping for fitness tracking and route optimization | 1 launch · 2 partnerships |
| 3 | GameTree Provider of a platform for gamers to find compatible teammates 48Innovation top 34%Tech top 44%Product top 45%Customers top 46% All 9 signals ▾Innovationtop 34% Techtop 44% Producttop 45% Customerstop 46% Growthtop 47% Fundingtop 50% Talentbottom 49% Marketbottom 38% Globalbottom 36% Innovation: 12 product lines Tech: 33 technologies across 4/8 capability areas · Cloud: Cloudflare rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 48/100 | +26% | $2M | 14 | John Uke Co-Founder & CEO | WordPressBetterDocsMySQL+26 | — | — |
| 4 | Pinterest 🦄 Visual discovery and planning website | +23% | $1.5B | 4,014 | Paul Sciarra Co-Founder | DrupalApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+22 | 308 patents Visual recommendation and ML-accelerated e‑commerce shopping, content ranking, and spam detection | — |
| 5 | Next Door 🦄 Social networking and e-commerce platform for neighborhoods | +15% | $470M | 594 594 → 974 (+64%) | Nirav Tolia Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer | WordPressMySQLPHP+29 | — | 1 launch · 1 partnership |
| 6 | ClassDojo 🦄 Classroom behaviour feedback platform used by teachers and students 76Customers top 13%Tech top 21%Funding top 22%Moat top 26% All 11 signals ▾Customerstop 13% Techtop 21% Fundingtop 22% Moattop 26% Markettop 28% Producttop 29% Innovationtop 33% Talenttop 38% Globalbottom 39% Growthbottom 37% Newsbottom 22% Customers: Play-Store rating 4.82★ across 1,292,047 ratings (1 apps) · Review volume +11% in 6 mo Tech: 66 technologies across 6/8 capability areas · Cloud: Amazon Cloudfront, Amazon S3 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 76/100 | +13% | $221M | 198 | Liam Don Co-founder & President | Apple iCloud MailGoogle WorkspaceZoho+21 | — | 1 award |
| 7 | Discord 🦄 Provider of a platform for group chats, video, and text communication 80Market top 19%Moat top 20%Patents top 24%Funding top 25% All 12 signals ▾Markettop 19% Moattop 20% Patentstop 24% Fundingtop 25% Techtop 29% Producttop 29% Customerstop 32% Innovationtop 41% Growthtop 42% Talenttop 45% Newstop 49% Globalbottom 42% Market: 614 employees (top 10% of Mobile) · Top-1,000 web property Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 10/10 · IP moat: 38 patents rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 80/100 | +10% | $922M | 614 | Gadiel Figueroa Co-Founder | WebflowApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+21 | 38 patents AI‑enhanced real‑time messaging, moderation, notifications, and UI for live communication platforms | 3 partnerships |
| 8 | Atmosfy Provider of a video licensing platform, AI training data, and a data infrastructure company | +8% | $12M | 91 | Michael Ebel Founder & CEO | SquarespaceCart FunctionalitySquarespace Commerce+27 | — | — |
| 9 | SmartNews 🦄 Personalized news discovery platform | +7% | $410M | 566 | Ken Suzuki Co-Founder | SentryZendeskApple iCloud Mail+25 | — | 1 job opening · 2 launchs · 1 partnership |
| 10 | Patreon 🦄 Provider of a reward-based crowdfunding platform for musicians and content creators | +7% | $412M | 283 | — | Apple iCloud MailGoogle WorkspaceBootstrap+20 | 69 patents AI-powered recommendation and AR identification systems for creator subscription and benefit platforms | 1 internship |
| 11 | Reddit Community based discussion platform | +6% | $1.6B | 4 | Aaron Swartz Co-Founder | WebflowSentryProton Mail+37 | — | 1 launch |
| 12 | Grabr A social community marketplace for sending parcels through travelers | +6% | $25M | 28 | Daria Rebenok Co-Founder & CMO | WebflowMixpanelYandex.Metrika+23 | — | — |
| 13 | Smule Developer of social music creation and sharing apps | +2% | $211M | 77 | — | WordPressApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+34 | 253 patents Collaborative music creation and real-time audio‑visual processing with latency and pitch synchronization | — |
| 14 | World Labs 🦄 Developer of artificial intelligence models for research automation and analysis 82Funding top 14%AI top 26%Growth top 28%Talent top 28% All 8 signals ▾Fundingtop 14% AItop 26% Growthtop 28% Talenttop 28% Techtop 43% Markettop 46% Moattop 47% Globalbottom 37% Funding: Raised $230M across 2 rounds · 2 rounds over 2 yrs (1.0/yr) AI: Classified as an AI company · Product described with: artificial intelligence, machine learning rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 82/100 | — | $230M | — | Fei-Fei Li Co-Founder & CEO | Node.jsRadix UITailwind CSS+11 | — | — |
| 15 | Novig Platform for peer-to-peer sports prediction and trading, allowing users to make predictions against real… | — | $75M | — | Kelechi Ukah Co-Founder & CTO | Amazon Web ServicesTikTok PixelGoogle Analytics+11 | — | — |
| 16 | Unity 🦄 Developer of a real-time development platform for 2D and 3D content 76Market top 14%Funding top 18%Tech top 18%Product top 22% All 13 signals ▾Markettop 14% Fundingtop 18% Techtop 18% Producttop 22% Moattop 31% Globaltop 34% Fin. healthtop 42% Growthtop 47% Customerstop 49% Innovationbottom 46% Talentbottom 40% Patentsbottom 38% Newsbottom 26% Market: 7,703 employees (top 2% of Gaming) · Revenue ~$1.8B Funding: Raised $894M across 9 rounds · 9 rounds over 17 yrs (0.5/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 76/100 | — | $894M | 7,703 | David Helgason Founder & Board Member | Node.jsNextAuth.jsMUI+30 | 6 patents Real-time telecom media services: packetized audio switching, streaming, and unified messaging | — |
| 17 | Samba Provider of television viewership data and advertising and measurement solutions | — | $46M | 384 | Michael Zennadi Co-Founder & SVP of Technology | WebflowApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+32 | 15 patents Broadcast video analytics for channel/overlay detection and viewership prediction | — |
| 18 | Teamblind Online workplace discussion platform | — | $74M | 21 | — | Node.jsRadix UITailwind CSS+33 | 4 patents Secure authentication protocols for wireless and network communications | — |
| 19 | KREA Provider of AI-generated photos and prompt collections | — | $83M | 4 | Diego Rodriguez Co-Founder | SentryZendeskApple iCloud Mail+17 | — | 2 launchs |
| 20 | Linecook AI-powered social app for home cooks to share meals with friends | — | $2M | — | Nick K Co-Founder | Node.jsTailwind CSSReact+8 | — | — |
| 21 | Known Dating Privacy-focused AI matchmaking platform | — | $10M | — | Asher Allen Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 22 | Dashverse Provider of an AI engine and platform for digital storytelling | — | $18M | — | Lalith Gudipati Co-Founder | Node.jsRadix UITailwind CSS+10 | — | — |
| 23 | Gigi AI-powered professional networking platform that helps individuals connect with the right people based on… | — | $8M | — | Clara Gold Founder | TurbopackNode.jsTailwind CSS+8 | 15 patents Advanced fixation and sealing systems for minimally invasive surgical trocars and cannulas | — |
| 24 | Audioshake Developer of audio separation and stem creation software for various uses | — | $5M | 5 | Jessica Powell Co-Founder & CEO | WebflowStripeMicrosoft Clarity+13 | 9 patents AI-driven audio segmentation using magnitude spectrograms for speech/music analysis | 1 partnership |
| 25 | Playback Online platform offering social watching of sports content 53Funding top 27%Tech top 33%Talent top 38%Innovation top 45% All 9 signals ▾Fundingtop 27% Techtop 33% Talenttop 38% Innovationtop 45% Patentstop 46% Moatbottom 49% Growthbottom 48% Marketbottom 43% Globalbottom 31% Funding: Raised $22.0M across 1 rounds · 1 rounds over 1 yrs (1.0/yr) Tech: 25 technologies across 5/8 capability areas · Cloud: Vercel rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 53/100 | — | $22M | — | Ari Borensztein Cofounder & Chief Technology Officer | NotionSuper BuilderCanny+15 | 7 patents Enables DRM-based video streaming authorization and multi-device playback synchronization. | — |
| 26 | Recraft Platform offering AI-powered design tools | — | $12M | — | Anna Dorogush Founder & CEO | SentryInstatusZendesk+16 | — | 1 launch · 1 partnership · 1 award |
| 27 | Backflip.ai AI-based 3D design technology | — | $30M | — | David Benhaim Co-Founder & CTO | SentryZendeskApple iCloud Mail+15 | — | — |
| 28 | Intelliga Voice AI-powered phone calls | — | $22M | — | Sobhan Nejad Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 29 | Kero Sports Provider of white-labeled betting engine for sportsbook operators 35Growth top 35%Funding top 47%Tech bottom 48%Global bottom 38% All 5 signals ▾Growthtop 35% Fundingtop 47% Techbottom 48% Globalbottom 38% Marketbottom 30% Growth: Fresh capital in last 24 mo Funding: Raised $5.0M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 4 yrs (1.0/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 35/100 | — | $5M | 23 | — | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+18 | — | — |
| 30 | Genmo AI-powered platform to create videos, 3D models, images, and art using natural language prompts | — | $28M | — | Paras Jain Co-Founder & CEO | SanitySentryNode.js+16 | — | — |
| 31 | Legion M Fan-owned entertainment company | — | $17M | 181 | — | Shogun Page BuilderCart FunctionalityShopify+31 | — | 1 partnership |
| 32 | Action Streamer Enterprise live streaming software, wearables, and developer tools for critical operations 32Moat top 32%Growth top 35%AI top 45%Funding top 47% All 9 signals ▾Moattop 32% Growthtop 35% AItop 45% Fundingtop 47% Techtop 49% Patentsbottom 49% Innovationbottom 44% Globalbottom 33% Marketbottom 14% Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 5/10 · IP moat: 26 patents Growth: Fresh capital in last 24 mo rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 32/100 | — | $4M | 10 | — | Framer SitesReactCloudflare+16 | 26 patents Patents concentrated in electrical & electronics | 1 launch · 1 partnership |
| 33 | AssetHub Developer of an AI-native 3D editor for professional 3D modeling | — | $2M | — | Takuya Goto Co-Founder & CEO | TurbopackSentryNode.js+17 | — | — |
| 34 | Neon Provider of game development services | — | $14M | 12 | Chris Faught Founder & CEO | Cart FunctionalityNode.jsThree.js+15 | 3 patents Emotion-aware image selection for affective computing and visual content recommendation | — |
| 35 | Inkitt AI-based self-publishing platform for writers | — | $117M | 48 | Denis Stepanov Co-Founder | SentryRubyFacebook Login+19 | — | 1 launch · 1 award |
| 36 | Reddit Online platform for communities and human connection | — | $1.2B | 2,013 | Steve Huffman Co-Founder & CEO | HubSpot CMS HubSentryWistia+20 | — | — |
| 37 | Autograph Provider of AI-assisted service for recording and preserving personal stories | — | $3M | — | Cristian Bernardes Founder & CEO | Node.jsZohoClerk+15 | 32 patents Privacy‑preserving digital communication, data management, and beacon‑based networking solutions | — |
| 38 | Narrative Developer of AI platform generating sports highlights for social media | — | $500K | — | Aryan Sawhney Co-Founder | — | 5 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 39 | Camb.ai Provider of AI-powered localization services for entertainment, sports, and content | — | $4M | — | Akshat Prakash Chief Technology Officer | Cofounder | WebflowVimeoAmazon Web Services+25 | — | 2 partnerships |
| 40 | All3D AI Provider of AI-based 3D scanning and animation solutions | — | $9M | 46 | Amra Tareen CEO Co-founder | SalesforceThree.jsAnimate.css+21 | — | — |
| 41 | AI or Not AI content verification and detection solution | — | $6M | — | Anatoly Kvitnitsky Founder & CEO | SentryNode.jsRadix UI+18 | — | — |
| 42 | Soulbound Online platform for web3 gaming community 45Talent top 25%Funding top 40%Global bottom 38%Market bottom 34% All 4 signals ▾Talenttop 25% Fundingtop 40% Globalbottom 38% Marketbottom 34% Talent: 5 named leaders on record Funding: Raised $7.6M · 2 rounds over 4 yrs (0.5/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 45/100 | — | $8M | 16 | Casey Grooms Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 43 | ELSA Speak AI-powered English pronunciation app for personalized learning and confident speaking 64Customers top 13%Tech top 19%AI top 26%Funding top 28% All 10 signals ▾Customerstop 13% Techtop 19% AItop 26% Fundingtop 28% Moattop 39% Producttop 40% Growthtop 45% Talentbottom 49% Globalbottom 39% Marketbottom 33% Customers: App rating 4.6★ (864,186 reviews) · Marquee-customer mentions: top 30% of tracked companies Tech: 100 technologies across 5/8 capability areas · Cloud: Amazon Cloudfront, Amazon S3 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 64/100 | — | $60M | 11 | Xavier Anguera co-founder | WordPressMySQLPHP+29 | — | 3 partnerships |
| 44 | alt Pioneering Personal AI and World Clone technologies for human augmentation | — | $54M | 70 | — | WordPressMySQLPHP+26 | — | — |
| 45 | Catch+Release User-generated content licensing platform for brands | — | $31M | 70 70 → 54 (-23%) | Analisa Goodin Founder & CEO | WebflowApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+31 | — | — |
| 46 | Emojis Developer of AI-powered emoji generation platform | — | $500K | — | Alexandru Turcanu Co-founder & CEO | SentryNode.jsRadix UI+12 | — | — |
| 47 | Eventbrite Provider of a platform for creating, sharing, finding, and attending events | — | $349M | 352 | — | Apple iCloud MailGoogle WorkspaceAlgolia+35 | 38 patents Event ticketing platforms with on-site management, fraud detection, and campaign analytics | — |
| 48 | Descript Provider of an AI-powered platform for video and podcast creation | — | $101M | 86 86 → 182 (+112%) | — | Cart FunctionalityBuilder.ioSentry+32 | 23 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 49 | Bitmovin Cloud-based unstructured video analytics solutions provider | — | $69M | 25 | Christian Timmerer CIO and Founder | WordPress Block EditorWordPressMySQL+33 | 43 patents Patents concentrated in electrical & electronics | 1 launch |
| 50 | Gumroad Marketplace for artists for selling digital content | — | $16M | 111 | — | Cart FunctionalityGumroadRuby+21 | — | — |
Top 12 Media & Entertainment companies in San Francisco
#1
Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2010 · 4014 employees$1.5Braised▾
Visual discovery and planning website. It provides a platform for users to discover and save ideas, products, and services across various categories, including fashion, home decor, and lifestyle. The company offers a range of features and tools for both individual and business users, including advertising solutions, analytics, and content sharing capabilities.
- Mar 2026Post IPO$1B
- Jul 2022Post IPO—
- 2018Series G—
- Jun 2017Series G$150M
#2
Series E · San Francisco, California · founded 2023$230Mraised▾
Developer of artificial intelligence models for research automation and analysis. Provides software systems that process datasets, generate insights, and support experimental workflows across scientific and technical domains. Offers tools for data ingestion, model training, evaluation, and deployment within research environments. Enables automation of literature review, hypothesis testing, and analytical reporting through machine learning methods.
- Feb 2026Series E$1B
- Nov 2025Series D—
- Sep 2024Series D$230M
#3
Series B · San Francisco, California · founded 2022$75Mraised▾
Platform for peer-to-peer sports prediction and trading, allowing users to make predictions against real people. It is a sports prediction market offering a peer-to-peer platform for users to make predictions on various sports events and win cash prizes. The company has developed a unique marketplace where users can compete against each other rather than traditional sportsbooks.
- Feb 2026Series B$75M
#4
Unity 🦄Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2004 · 7703 employees$893.5Mraised▾
Developer of a real-time development platform for 2D and 3D content. The platform provides tools and services for creating games and industry applications. It supports multiple platforms and offers features for monetization, user acquisition, and collaboration. The platform also provides learning resources, documentation, and community support.
- Feb 2025Post IPO$690M
- Jan 2025Post IPO—
- Nov 2021Post IPO$1.5B
- May 2019Series E$150M
#5
Series B · San Francisco, California · founded 2008 · 384 employees$46.3Mraised▾
Provider of television viewership data and advertising and measurement solutions. The company offers a technology stack that includes a television panel. It provides advertising and measurement solutions. The company states that it complies with privacy laws.
- Dec 2025Venture Debt$30M
- Apr 2018Series B$7.5M
- Jun 2017Series B$30M
- May 2012Series A$1M
#6
Strava 🦄Series G · San Francisco, California · founded 2009 · 290 employees$180Mraised▾
Provider of application for tracking, analyzing, and sharing fitness activities. The application allows users to record activities and view performance data. It also enables users to connect with friends and discover routes, maps, and challenges. The application is compatible with mobile phones and GPS devices.
- Jun 2025Conventional Debt—
- May 2025Series G—
- Nov 2020Series F$110M
- Feb 2017Series E—
#7
Substack 🦄Series C · San Francisco, California · founded 2017 · 76 employees$89.4Mraised▾
Substack is a publishing platform that enables independent writers to create and distribute their own newsletters to a global audience, offering a self-serve model for content creation and monetization.
- Jul 2025Series C$100M
- May 2023Series B$3.3M
- Mar 2021Series B$65M
- Jul 2019Series A$19.1M
#8
Series C · San Francisco, California · founded 2013 · 21 employees$74.2Mraised▾
Online workplace discussion platform. It allows the employees to join the network and discuss topics related to all-hands, promotions, salary comparisons, and more with other employees. It also allows the user to communicate anonymously with other industry employees to share advice, feedback, and career opportunities. The mobile application is available for Android and iOS users.
- Jul 2025Series C$709.4K
- Dec 2023Series C$12M
- May 2021Series C$37.1M
- Jan 2019Series B$15.3M
#9
Series B · San Francisco, California · founded 2022 · 4 employees$83Mraised▾
Provider of AI-generated photos and prompt collections. It is a platform for AI artists to produce generative graphics. It uses a semantic search engine on the website. It is designed to run on a CPU and is focused on working with data from open prompts.
- Apr 2025Series B$47M
- Series A$33M
- Seed$3M
#10
Seed · San Francisco, California · founded 2025$2.3Mraised▾
AI-powered social app for home cooks to share meals with friends. The application allows users to post creations and discover new ideas. It aims to strengthen bonds that form over food. The application provides a dedicated place to save cooking memories.
- Mar 2026Seed$2.3M
#11
Seed · San Francisco, California · founded 2025$9.7Mraised▾
Privacy-focused AI matchmaking platform. The platform facilitates connections between people seeking relationships. It provides a space for users to interact and potentially form connections. It is a dating platform that utilizes advanced artificial intelligence to facilitate meaningful matches and plan in-person dates for users. The company aims to revolutionize online dating by leveraging voice AI and personalized guidance to help individuals connect on a deeper level.
- Oct 2025Seed$9.7M
#12
Series A · San Francisco, California · founded 2022$18Mraised▾
Provider of an AI engine and platform for digital storytelling. It provides tools for creating and distributing short-form video and webcomics. It offers a studio enabling users to produce comics with integrated AI tools. The platform integrates AI-powered creation with applications for launching and monetizing stories.
- Aug 2025Series A$13M
- 2024Seed$5M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Media & Entertainment coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising