New York City is a long-standing media capital of the world, as the largest newspapers, publishing houses and film studios have all made a home here over the past century. However, many of these historic institutions are shaking up their businesses as of late, responding to the upheaval of what is now known as ‘old media.’ Instead, major media players are adapting to the digital masses that crave accessible, interactive content in excess, as we’ve seen here, here and here.
In the background of the ‘new media’ revolution, Matter, an early stage venture capital firm and startup accelerator, has been quietly making plays over the past four years, operating at the intersection of media and technology in San Francisco. Today, the accelerator officially launched in New York City, partnering with The New York Times and Google News Lab to foster a new generation of media companies.
Matter hosts an intensive five-month accelerator program for media startups, creating a structured environment for companies to speed up their journey to product-market fit. The firm invests $50,000 in each startup in its cohort, providing the financial support to help entrepreneurs prototype products and build traction with audiences. The program begins with a week-long design thinking bootcamp, continues with month-long sprints followed by design reviews and concludes with two Demo Days in the firm’s San Francisco and New York locations.
Beginning yesterday, the accelerator welcomed 13 new media startups into its latest cohort, chosen out of 687 applications. Seven of these companies will be based in Matter’s brand new space in Union Square.
The New York Times is teaming up with Matter as it expands into the city's media ecosystem, joining Knight Foundation, PRX, KQED, The Associate Press, McClatchy, AH Belo, CNHI and Tribune Publishing as a media partner.
“When we first launched Matter three and a half years ago with the support of Knight Foundation, KQED, and PRX, I firmly believed that by creating a truly independent startup accelerator focused on helping early-stage media entrepreneurs experiment and fail their way to building the future of media that we would also be creating a place where important, mission-aligned media institutions could come to re-invent themselves,” wrote Corey Ford, Managing Partner at Matter, in a blog post.
Google News Lab is partnering with Matter as its first technology partner, helping to bridge the gap between Matter’s communities in San Francisco and New York. Google also intends to help mentor Matter startups in a 'News Lab Mentorship Lounge' at Matter’s new space.
With the bicoastal mission of shaking up media, Matter's new cohort runs the gamut from an AI-driven platform for scripts, to a social database for basketball, to a multidimensional news app. You can check out the full roster of startups in Matter’s latest class here.
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