Synopsis
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has invested in the newly launched 24/7 media streaming company Monitoring The Situation (MTS). MTS aims to provide real-time insights across tech, finance, geopolitics, and culture, drawing inspiration from CNN's continuous coverage model but leveraging the constant flow of information on X.Listen to this article in summarized format
“We’re very excited to invest in MTS, a media company launching today. MTS aims to be the best place in the world to make sense of what’s happening right now. It’s what you get when you take the Current Thing to its logical conclusion,” a16z wrote in a post on X.
This comes just weeks after OpenAI acquired TBPN (Technology Business Programming Network), another tech podcast startup.
So, why are tech giants and VC investments suddenly interested in media ventures? Let's find out.
What is MTS and how is it different from other media ventures?
MTS is an always-on media company that streams real-time interviews across the tech, finance, geopolitics, and culture beats, echoing the 24/7 coverage style pioneered by American multinational media agency CNN but driven by the constant flow of updates on X.
“Introducing MTS: The first timeline-native news network that's always on. Monitoring tech, finance, geopolitics and culture — as it happens,” MTS wrote in a post on X.
Andreessen Horowitz partners Erik Torenberg and Brent Liang describe this approach as an evolution of CNN’s early “randemonium” concept, which aimed to focus continuously on the most important unfolding story and examine it from every angle until a bigger development emerged.
“The CNN model has to wait for something to happen IRL [in real life]. But something is always happening on X. And of course, X is — and has always been, the real world. Or at the very least, it’s the place where the people who run the real world make sense of what’s happening,” Torenberg and Liang wrote in a blogpost.
Who else has invested in the company?
While a16z has not revealed how much it has invested in MTS, it did reveal that the seed funding round included as many as eight angel investors, including Dan Romero, who is currently building stablecoin startup Tempo and has invested in online platform Substack; Packy McCormick, who also runs another media and venture capital firm Not Boring; and VC firm Volt Capital’s founder Soona Amhaz.
How was the company’s first livestream received?
Since its launch on Monday, the company has amassed close to 23,000 followers on X, with close to 267,000 views of its first-ever livestream. Per its website, users simply have to enter their email addresses to watch the ‘always-on’ livestream.
On its first day of livestream, the show featured six speakers, including a16z co-founder and general partner Marc Andreessen, as well as a mix of internet creators and podcast hosts. According to a16z’s blogpost, the programme has at least 11 hosts, including content creators such as Mark Halperin, Amit Kukreja, and Jayden Clark.
Why this sudden interest in media companies?
The MTS and TBPN deals are indicative of a renewed push by tech companies and venture capital firms into the media sphere.
A presence in the media business enables them to have their own distribution network, and build direct relationships with audiences that are online around the clock.
TBPN, a fast-growing tech talk show founded by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, was acquired by OpenAI earlier this month. Per a Wall Street Journal report, the 11-person company, which launched in October 2024, generated about $5 million in advertising revenue last year and projected more than $30 million in revenue for 2026.
By investing in content platforms, tech companies can shape narratives, capture user attention in an increasingly crowded digital environment, and also tap into high-growth revenue streams while gathering richer engagement data.
