Michael Kassan
About Michael Kassan
Michael Kassan began his career as a tax lawyer in the entertainment industry and practiced for about ten years. He later became President and COO of International Video Entertainment (Artisan Entertainment). From 1994 to 2001 he was COO and Vice-Chairman of Initiative Media Worldwide, where billings grew from $1.5 billion to over $10 billion.
He founded MediaLink in 2003, an advisory firm for media, marketing and technology companies. Ascential acquired it in 2017, and United Talent Agency acquired it in 2021. Per Wikipedia, Kassan and UTA parted ways in March 2024.
He now runs 3C Ventures, a Los Angeles advisory and co-investment firm founded in 2024. Its stated pillars are consult, convene and co-invest. He was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame in 2019.
Kassan invests personally as well as through 3C Ventures. Crunchbase lists 23 personal investments, and PitchBook lists 19. Counts differ by database. Tracxn dates his earliest recorded deals to 2018.
Database records show several seed and Series A deals, including Wondery (Series A, 2018), Podsights (Seed, 2020), Adelaide (2021), Qonsent (Seed, 2021) and Memorable (Seed, 2022). Wikipedia also names Boostr, Mass Appeal and Encantos as companies he has advised or invested in.
His AI deal on record is OptimizeGEO, a generative engine optimization startup. Its platform tracks how brands appear in answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot. It was announced on October 1, 2026.
Press reports describe a pre-Series A round led by Young Capital at an $80 million valuation. They say Kassan joined the round, not that he led it. Crunchbase lists the round as a seed round. Kassan declined to share the size of his investment. He is also an advisor to OptimizeGEO on go-to-market strategy, enterprise relationships and partnerships.
On the thesis, he told Adweek that GEO is bigger than the evolution of search, and that there may not be a search page in the future.
His public deals concentrate on advertising, marketing, media and entertainment technology. Tracxn lists enterprise applications and media and entertainment as top sectors, all in the United States. Database profiles list seed as his main stage, though he has also joined Series A and Series C rounds. He has not published a check size or a formal investment thesis.
- OptimizeGEO: generative engine optimization platform for brands in AI answers; invested October 2026, with an advisory role.
- Vidmob: Series C participation, February 2021 (Tracxn).
- Qonsent: seed round, December 2021.
- Memorable: seed round, October 2022 (CB Insights); CB Insights lists an exit in August 2024.
- Adelaide: angel round, July 2021 (CB Insights).
- Podsights: seed round, January 2020 (Tracxn).
- Wondery: Series A, March 2018 (Tracxn).
- adweek.com/dealroom/michael-kassan-invests-in-80m-startup-optimizegeo
- prnewswire.com/news-releases/optimizegeo-surpasses-100-global-brands-a
- crunchbase.com/person/michael-kassan
- tracxn.com/d/people/michael-e-kassan/__-NBhWppfs4nrU2qT3CpRneKRWSC6cpI
- cbinsights.com/investor/michael-kassan
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/106521-76
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Kassan
- mmaglobal.com/speakers/michael-kassan
Investing activity
Michael Kassan appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $80M, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $80M. The most recent is OptimizeGEO.ai (Seed, $80M, Oct 2026).
Michael Kassan most often invests alongside Young Capital, Kiran Mani, Mauria Finley and Gulshan Verma, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Michael Kassan
Who is Michael Kassan?
Michael Kassan founded the advisory firm MediaLink in 2003 and now leads 3C Ventures in Los Angeles. He is also an active angel investor in media and marketing technology.
Does Michael Kassan invest in AI startups?
Yes. His most recent reported AI investment is OptimizeGEO, announced in October 2026. He also advises the company.
Did Michael Kassan lead the OptimizeGEO round?
Press reports say the pre-Series A round was led by Young Capital and that Kassan joined it. Crunchbase labels the round as a seed round.
What check size does Michael Kassan write?
He has not published a check size. He declined to disclose his OptimizeGEO investment amount.
What stage and sectors does Michael Kassan back?
Public records show mostly seed-stage investments in advertising, marketing, media and enterprise software, with some later rounds. His AI interest so far is in AI-driven brand discovery.
How can founders pitch Michael Kassan?
He has no public pitch process that we found. His firm, 3C Ventures, says it consults, convenes and co-invests across advertising, media, marketing, entertainment, sports and technology.
Is Michael Kassan an angel investor?
Yes. Michael Kassan invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Michael Kassan invested in?
Michael Kassan's AI investments include OptimizeGEO.ai. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Michael Kassan invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Michael Kassan has invested at Seed, with a median round of $80M. Michael Kassan led 1 of those rounds.
Who does Michael Kassan co-invest with?
Michael Kassan's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Young Capital (1 deal), Kiran Mani (1 deal), Mauria Finley (1 deal), Gulshan Verma (1 deal) and FalconX (1 deal).