Key Takeaways
- • RedBird Capital Partners and Sound Ventures have struck a $1 billion investment partnership to back businesses spanning technology, media and culture, according to TheWrap.
- • RedBird's AI operation, RedBird X, led by Hamid Biglari, will work alongside Sound Ventures to evaluate investments and support portfolio companies after funding.
- • The deal follows RedBird's $4 billion investment in David Ellison's Skydance, bringing its total commitment to the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery business to $6 billion.
- • The announcement did not identify initial investments or specify how the $1 billion will be divided between the two firms.
Summary
RedBird Capital Partners, the investment firm founded by Gerry Cardinale, has struck a $1 billion investment partnership with Sound Ventures, the firm led by Guy Oseary, as it expands further into artificial intelligence and emerging technology alongside its media and entertainment holdings. According to TheWrap, which cited The Hollywood Reporter as the first to report the news, the two firms will invest in businesses across technology, media and culture. RedBird will contribute its investment platform and experience scaling companies, while Sound Ventures brings its relationships with technology founders and its experience investing in AI startups.
Cardinale described the partnership in a statement as putting "the power of RedBird's institutional investment platform and strategic network firmly behind this next generation of business builders." The agreement arrives weeks after RedBird invested another $4 billion in David Ellison's Skydance, bringing its total commitment to the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery business to $6 billion.
Sound Ventures, co-founded by Oseary and Ashton Kutcher in 2015, has made several notable AI and technology investments, including early backing of OpenAI and Anthropic, the developers of ChatGPT and Claude, respectively. The firm has also invested in Spotify and Uber. Kutcher stepped away from Sound Ventures earlier this year to launch a separate venture capital firm but remains a senior adviser.
RedBird's AI operation, RedBird X, will participate in the partnership under Hamid Biglari. The agreement also builds on RedBird's recent push into digital publishing: in September, the firm agreed to acquire a majority stake in Puck, a subscription-focused media company, at a valuation of approximately $250 million. RedBird's other entertainment investments include Artists Equity, the production company co-founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
The announcement did not identify any initial investments under the partnership or specify how the $1 billion would be allocated between the two firms.
Cardinale described the partnership in a statement as putting "the power of RedBird's institutional investment platform and strategic network firmly behind this next generation of business builders." The agreement arrives weeks after RedBird invested another $4 billion in David Ellison's Skydance, bringing its total commitment to the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery business to $6 billion.
Sound Ventures, co-founded by Oseary and Ashton Kutcher in 2015, has made several notable AI and technology investments, including early backing of OpenAI and Anthropic, the developers of ChatGPT and Claude, respectively. The firm has also invested in Spotify and Uber. Kutcher stepped away from Sound Ventures earlier this year to launch a separate venture capital firm but remains a senior adviser.
RedBird's AI operation, RedBird X, will participate in the partnership under Hamid Biglari. The agreement also builds on RedBird's recent push into digital publishing: in September, the firm agreed to acquire a majority stake in Puck, a subscription-focused media company, at a valuation of approximately $250 million. RedBird's other entertainment investments include Artists Equity, the production company co-founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
The announcement did not identify any initial investments under the partnership or specify how the $1 billion would be allocated between the two firms.
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