Draft:AIR Media-Tech

Founded in 2010 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Serhiy Bielousov and Stepan Mykhailov, AIR Media-Tech has evolved from a local project in Kyiv to a YouTube-certified partner.

Today, AIR works with thousands of content creators across 44 countries, works with prominent YouTube creators across various categories, including popular channels for children and general entertainment: Kids Diana Show (127+ million subscribers), Boram Tube Vlog (30+ million subscribers), ToyPuddingTV (27+ million subscribers), HZHTube Kids Fun (24 million subscribers), MrGear (11+ million subscribers), The Q (13 million subscribers), Brave Wilderness (21+ million subscribers).

These channels contribute to AIR’s extensive reach, amassing 125 billion views annually.

Core Offerings: Over 30 Tools and Services for Creators

AIR Media-Tech combines an array of more than 30 tools and services specialized for creators. In addition to these resources, AIR provides support to creators in areas such as monetization, channel protection, financial management, and content optimization. These offerings are structured into key areas:

1. Safety

AIR Media-Tech provides a suite of services to protect creators’ channels and intellectual property. These offerings include solutions for YouTube strike management, demonetization recovery, copyright infringement detection, and hacking prevention.

2. MilX Financial Platform

MilX is a financial platform for creators, enabling them to access their YouTube earnings daily, receive up to six months of monetization in advance, and transfer funds easily to bank accounts, cards, or e-wallets in over 40 currencies.

3. Income Expansion

AIR offers a range of services for expanding and diversifying creator income. From translation and localization for reaching global audiences to managing brand partnerships and distributing content across platforms beyond YouTube.

4. Channel Growth

Creators can access an integrated toolkit for channel growth that includes advertising campaign management, design services, expert support, and specialized tools for content production and optimization.

5. AI Tools

AIR’s AI-driven tools assist creators in optimizing content performance on YouTube. These tools offer solutions for improving search rankings, increasing views, enhancing content visibility, and attracting a global audience, supporting creators in building a strong digital presence.

Business Model

Funding for AIR’s initial growth came directly from founders Bielousov and Mykhailov, who invested several hundred thousand dollars in 2010. Over the following decade, AIR reinvested tens of millions from its earnings back into the business. The ownership is split 51% to 49%, with Bielousov holding the controlling share.

AIR Media-Tech operates on a flexible business model, offering creators two distinct options for collaboration:

1. Individual tools as standalone solutions.
2. Partnership under a revenue-sharing model.

Creators using standalone tools can independently select specific services as needed, while those opting for the revenue-sharing partnership gain access to AIR’s complete suite of services and dedicated experts who assist in channel growth and revenue maximization, sharing a portion of their YouTube earnings in return.

The company’s commission structure starts at a base rate of 30%, with top-performing channels retaining a larger share as they grow in subscribers and views. Basic services—including access to Epidemic Sound music library, moderation, analytics, and content protection—are included in the standard commission, while some specialized services are funded as part of the partnership. For example, AIR invests up to $100,000 in the AIR Translation and Localization service for selected creators, recouping these costs through future revenue sharing from translated content.

Company Structure

AIR Media-Tech’s operational infrastructure includes a global team of 250 employees, with regional offices in Ukraine, Canada, the UAE, and the EU, ensuring its presence across multiple regions. The company’s structure is organized to support a range of specialized departments.

The largest unit within AIR is the Network Department, which consists of experts who work directly with creators, providing hands-on support to help them grow and optimize their channels. Alongside this primary unit, AIR has teams dedicated to developing and managing individual tools for creators.

AIR’s structure also includes distinct departments for Marketing & Sales, which focus on brand visibility and partnership acquisition, Global Business Development, responsible for expanding AIR’s reach and establishing partnerships worldwide, and AIR Brands division, dedicated to managing influencer marketing and brand partnerships. Supporting these core functions are departments such as HR, Operational Unit, Legal, Strategic Finances, and Admin.

Acquisitions & Partnerships

ScaleLab Acquisition

In January 2022, AIR Media-Tech announced the acquisition of ScaleLab, a Los Angeles-based media network known for its role in the early success of MrBeast. ScaleLab, headquartered in Hollywood, was ranked among the top 50 of Inc Magazine’s fastest-growing media companies, with a network of over 1,000 creators and a subscriber base exceeding 400 million. Together, ScaleLab creators generate approximately 4 billion views monthly.

ScaleLab has worked with creators like Mariale Marrero, Erika Costell, and Katie Angel. The acquisition, fully funded by AIR’s own capital, broadened AIR’s influence in North and Latin America, the U.K., and the Middle East. The acquisition was facilitated by BDO Corporate Finance Ukraine, known for its expertise in managing mergers and acquisitions in the media sector.

Vidby Partnership

In the fall of 2022, AIR Media-Tech announced a strategic partnership with Vidby, an AI-powered translation and localization service aimed at making language adaptation more accessible for YouTube creators. This partnership allows AIR’s network of creators to easily translate and localize content, reaching new audiences across linguistic and cultural barriers.

Gyre Partnership

In December 2022, AIR Media-Tech announced a partnership with Gyre, a continuous streaming service that enables creators to broadcast pre-recorded content 24/7. Gyre’s continuous streaming feature helps creators maintain audience engagement around the clock, opening up additional monetization opportunities and enhancing viewer retention across multiple time zones.

Social Responsibility: Brave Voices for Ukraine

In response to the events of February 24, 2022, AIR Media-Tech ended all cooperation with Russian creators who support the policies of the aggressor country. The company also stopped onboarding new creators and processing payments to existing creators in Russia and Belarus.

In June 2023, at VidCon Anaheim, AIR Media-Tech launched the Brave Voices for Ukraine initiative to maintain global awareness of the situation in Ukraine. This project invites influencers worldwide to create content about Ukraine’s current realities, ranging from war updates to cultural highlights, in an effort to counteract declining media attention on Ukraine. The project is a partnership with UNITED24 Media, an English-language platform created by the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation under the United24 initiative by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Key Metrics

• Collectively, AIR-supported channels amassed 125 billion views in 2023.
• With 3,138 channels in 44 countries, AIR’s network represents a broad spectrum of creators, particularly in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, US, Canada, Middle East, Latin America and South Asia.
• AIR’s partner creators have received several recognitions, including:
  • 1 Red Diamond Button for channels with 100 million subscribers;
  • 31 Diamond Buttons for channels with 10 million subscribers;
  • 318 Gold Buttons for channels with 1 million subscribers;
  • 2,441 Silver Buttons for channels with 100,000 subscribers.
• AIR has facilitated influencer campaigns for 217 brands, integrating digital partnerships that expand brand reach and engagement within various creator demographics.