“An ex-Googler sold her home to fund her startup — and she just got $13 million to build the ‘Netflix of podcasting”

Apr. 25, 2018—When Renee Wang quit her job at Google to launch a new podcasting app, she knew zero investors, making it much harder to get the cash to get a startup off the ground. Her solution? Sell her home in Beijing. “At that time, I didn’t have an alternative solution,” Wang told Business Insider. Now, three years after its founding in 2015, her startup Castbox is on the rise…

“Ex-Googler Bet Her Own House on Podcasts and Raised $13 Million”

October 12, 2017—Wang Xiaoyu literally bet the house on making her startup work, quitting a lucrative job at Google in late 2015 and selling her home to build a podcast app. Two years on, she still sleeps in shifts on a communal bed at her Beijing office and has yet to take a day off. But her company, CastBox.FM, has completed a $12.8 million funding round backed by the likes of IDG Capital…

“Castbox Raises $13.5 Million Series B To Scale Its Cross-Platform Podcast App”

April 25, 2018—In the world of streaming media, video and music seem to get all the attention these days. But podcasting may be one of the fastest-moving categories in the streaming space. To capitalize on this momentum, podcast startups are devising innovative new features that facilitate a better listening experience. CastBox is one such podcast app maker. It’s a cross-platform podcast application is available iOS, Android, and Amazon Alexa…

“Podcast app Castbox raises $13.5 million, launches its own original programming”

“Castbox raises $13.5 million as podcast investment boom continues”

Apr 25, 2018—Podcasting startup Castbox has announced a fresh $13.5 million series B round led by SIG China, with participation from IDG Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and GSR Ventures. This latest cash injection comes some six months after the startup announced it had raised $16 million since its inception in 2016, and it follows a broader investment boom…

“Podcast Startup Castbox Raised $13.5 Million in Series B Funding”

“4 Surprising Ways AI Is Changing How We Work With Words”

October 13, 2017—Do you remember when Siri first spoke to you? It was impressive and a little bit scary. But mostly it was entertaining. We all figured out Siri’s limitations within a few minutes of messing around with her artificial intelligence (AI) functionality. But today, an update: We have AI like Alexa, which can deliver flowers to our spouses at work, or tell us how to say “pork belly” in Portuguese…

“Heard Well & Castbox Launch New Podcast Bringing Musicians and Online Creators Together”

Apr 4, 2018—Heard Well, the music label created by social media influencers to curate and highlight underrepresented and undiscovered musical artists, announced their new project with Castbox, Heard Well Now, a new podcast series aiming to bring visibility to new artists through the lenses of online creators. Each episode will consist of a musical artist sitting down with an online personality to discuss their music…

“IndyCar drivers Hinchcliffe and Rossi plan podcast”

March 8, 2018—IndyCar drivers James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi are reality-TV veterans with a new pop-culture pursuit. Hinchcliffe, a “Dancing with the Stars” runner-up in 2016, and Rossi, an “Amazing Race” competitor this year with fellow driver Conor Daly, will launch a podcast titled “Off Track with Hinch & Rossi” on March 22. Early guests on the podcast include author John Green, Colts-punter-turned-comedian Pat McAfee and retired NASCAR champion Tony Stewart…

“Castbox turns to blockchain to help podcasters get paid”

July 7, 2018—Late last month, Castbox introduced Contentbox, an attempt to help podcast hosts and producers make some actual money off their product. It’s been something of an on-going struggle since the dawn of the medium. Longtime listeners no doubt recognize all the trends after fast forwarding through their 10,000th Casper mattress read…

“Secrets To Success: What Landed This Entrepreneur $29M In Funding”

May 27, 2018—In 2016, Renee Wang sold her home in Bejing for $500,000 to fund her company, CastBox. Two months later, she landed her first investment. Just a half hour after hearing her pitch, she was offered one million dollars. By mid-2017, CastBox raised a total of $16 million in funding. CastBox’s user numbers at that point? Seven million. Fast forward to today. Renee Wang of CastBox announces a $13.5 million Series B round of financing, bringing her funding total to a tidy $29 million. Thank goodness, since CastBox is now serving more than 15 million users.…

“Is the “Netflix of podcasts” moment finally here?”

June 27, 2018—Your favorite free podcast probably won’t charge you anytime soon. But CastBox’s premium-content platform is among the new ways podcasters are getting paid. If you want to see where streaming audio is headed, the current state of streaming video is a good place to start. The business models, content trends, and user features on video platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are increasingly making their way to podcast platforms like CastBox and Stitcher.…

“These 50 founders and VCs suggest 2018 may be a tipping point for women: Part 1”

June 29, 2018—For the last several years, we’ve compiled profiles of women founders and investors at the end of each year because they’ve either raised substantial amounts of money or otherwise achieved notable milestones. This year, we don’t want to wait until December. We’re too excited about the progress we’re witnessing, with women-led startups getting seed, Series A or later-stage funding each week — all while top venture firms grow more serious about pulling women into their most senior ranks, female VCs band together to fund female founders and other women go about launching their own funds.…

“Studio71 has formed a podcast division producing shows with YouTube stars”

June 28, 2018—Digital video network Studio71 is getting into the podcasting business to diversify its revenue and extend its deals with advertisers beyond videos on YouTube. Studio71 is best known for operating a network of digital video creators, like YouTube star Lilly Singh, and producing original video shows starring that talent. Now, it’s formed a new division, Studio71 Podcasts, to also create podcasts with its creators. Overseen by Adam Boorstin, Studio71’s evp of global digital distribution, that five-person team has produced 11 podcasts since March that star Studio71 creators such as comedians Christine Sydelko and Harley Morenstein. By the end of this year, Studio71 expects to have nearly doubled its number of podcasts, with 80 to 100 episodes airing per month across its slate, said CEO Reza Izad.…