Startup studio Betaworks is putting out a call for audio-focused startups.Specifically, its announcing Audiocamp, the latest in its camp programs, where it backs a handful of early-stage startups, all working in a specific area.
(The last one was focused on synthetic media.)When we make these calls for a camp around a theme, what were trying to do is see everything thats out there in a short period of time, said Danika Laszuk, the head of Betaworks Camp.
We use that to help us understand what are the more innovative things, and where are 57 companies trying to build essentially the same thing?The startups, meanwhile, get a pre-seed investment from Betaworks, as well as three months to work out of the firms office in New York City, where they can learn from and collaborate with each other.Why focus on audio now? Laszuk said the firm has been interested in this area for a long time it was an early investor in podcasting startups Gimlet and Anchor, which Spotify acquired earlier this year.
The current interest in audio isnt just driven by the podcast boom, but also the opportunities around smart speakers and what Lazsuk said will be the next wave of innovation, building audio-first services for people who are wearing AirPods and other wireless headphones all the time.She acknowledged that this always-in behavior isnt necessarily a good thing, since it can lead people to become increasingly oblivious to the world around them, but she said thats been an ongoing worry since the first iPod (and maybe even before that).Im not sure we will single-handedly break people of that addiction, but theres so much more awareness around that, and maybe I could have this more thoughtful, context-aware, mobile-appropriate experience, she said.And thats just one of the categories that Betaworks said its looking at for Audiocamp.
The others are: Social audio experiences, synthetic/generative audio and music, audio utilities, natural language tools for audio, content discovery and monetization, augmented reality for audio and voice-first applications for smart speakers.As a podcaster myself, I was particularly interested in Laszuks thoughts on discovery and monetization.
On the discovery side, she predicted well see AI-powered tools that help us all find the gems in the long tail.As for monetization, she noted that some companies have already had success with subscriptions and listener-supported models.
So while she isnt sure what comes next, shes really interested in things that are not ad-based or if they are ad-based, theyre more innovative and thoughtful than just new ad networks.The first application deadline is October 15.
Interested startups can read more in Laszuks blog post and apply here.