Michael Mignano is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is a venture capitalist at Lightspeed,[1] the co-founder of the podcasting platform Anchor, and former head of Spotify's talk audio (podcasts, live, and video) business.[2][3] In 2019, Mignano was regarded by Fortune Magazine as one of the most influential young people in business in their annual "40 under 40" list.[4] Mignano studied Computer Science at the University of Delaware.[5]
Michael Mignano | |
|---|---|
 Michael Mignano | |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Delaware |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, venture capitalist |
| Employer(s) | Lightspeed, Spotify |
| Notable work | Anchor |
| Title | Co-Founder, Anchor |
Business career
editMignano began his career in the music industry at Atlantic Records before transitioning into tech, first at photo-sharing platform Aviary and then Adobe.[6] In 2016, after struggling to produce podcasts on his own, he started Anchor to make it easier for aspiring creators to broadcast audio with co-founder, Nir Zicherman.[7] The pair received financial backing from a variety of venture capitalists, including Accel, Google's venture arm GV, and the co-founders' former boss from Adobe, Scott Belsky.[8]
In February 2019, Anchor was acquired by Spotify[9] for more than $150M[10] and Mignano became responsible for overseeing the Swedish audio streaming company podcast tech business, as well as their expansion into video and live audio.[11] Under Mignano's leadership, Anchor has grown to power more than 75% of all podcasts.[12] In 2022, after announcing he'd be leaving Spotify to focus on early stage tech investing,[13] Mignano introduced a new feature enabling users to create, edit, and share podcasts directly in the Spotify app.[14]
In 2022, it was announced that Mignano would be joining the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Lightspeed.[15] He has invested in AI companies including Pika Labs[16], Granola[17], and TollBit.[18]
In 2024, Mignano and his former Anchor Co-Founder launched a new AI education company, Oboe.[19]
Speaking
editIn 2019, Mignano was featured as one of the main keynote speakers at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX.[20]
References
edit- ^ Loizos, Connie (2022-09-07). "Lightspeed Venture Partners has hired podcasting guru Michael Mignano as a partner". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
- ^ Ifeanyi, K. C. (2019-05-11). "Anchor is Spotify's best bet to beat Apple for control of your ears". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ "Spotify Names New Leader to Strategize Creator Growth". Bloomberg.com. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ^ "Michael Mignano". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
- ^ "Undergraduate Students - Computer & Information Sciences - UD". 2005-03-04. Archived from the original on 4 March 2005. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ "Anchor Cofounder Michael Mignano Becomes Latest Podcast Executive To Leave Spotify". Insideradio.com. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ Titlow, John Paul (2016-02-09). "Can This App Rewire Podcasts For The Future?". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (2019-02-06). "Spotify Buys Podcast Startups Gimlet Media and Anchor, Plans Up to $500M in Acquisitions in 2019". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ Steele, Anne (2019-02-06). "Spotify Is Acquiring Pair of Podcasting Companies, Signaling Broad Ambitions". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
- ^ Shapiro, Ariel (2022-05-02). "Anchor co-founder Michael Mignano to leave Spotify". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
- ^ "Spotify's podcast tech chief is leaving the company". Engadget. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ "Anchor Cofounder Michael Mignano Becomes Latest Podcast Executive To Leave Spotify". Insideradio.com. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ Leight, Elias (2022-05-02). "Anchor Co-Founder Michael Mignano Resigns From Spotify". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ Shapiro, Ariel (2022-06-21). "The Obamas head to Audible". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ Fischer, Sara (2022-09-07). "Lightspeed Venture Partners opens NYC office". Axios. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
- ^ Metz, Rachel. "Spark Capital, Jared Leto Back AI Video Startup Pika". Bloomberg.
- ^ Perez, Sarah (October 23, 2024). "VCs love using the AI meeting notepad Granola, so they gave it $20M". TechCrunch.
- ^ Fischer, Sarah. "Exclusive: AI startup TollBit raises $24M series A". Axios.
- ^ Perez, Sarah (October 24, 2024). "After selling Anchor to Spotify, co-founders reunite to build AI educational startup Oboe".
- ^ "Keynotes PJ Raval, Dawn Ostroff, Matt Lieber, Michael Mignano & More Featured Speakers Join SXSW 2019". SXSW. 2019-02-27. Retrieved 2022-04-10.