# Ynon Kreiz

> Ynon Kreiz is a Series C investor at Maker Studios backing Music, Video and Security. See 3 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Maker Studios](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/maker-studios)
- Total investments: 3
- Last investment: Mar 2014
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026

Ynon Kreiz is a Series C investor at Maker Studios focused on Music and Video. Ynon Kreiz joined Maker’s board as Chairman in May 2012 and was appointed Executive Chairman/CEO in May 2013. Under Ynon’s leadership, in May 2014 Maker merged with The Walt Disney Company.Before joining Maker, Ynon was Chairman and CEO of Endemol Group, the world's largest independent television production company, with majorinternational programming franchises including Big Brother and Deal or No Deal. Under his management, Endemol produced more than 10,000 hours of programming per year for over 300 broadcasters worldwide and became one of the world’s largest independent distributors of English speaking programming. During his tenure, Endemol also established its position as the leading independent producer for both network and cable in the U.S. and diversified into scripted programming. Prior to Endemol, Ynon was a General Partner at Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Capital Europe). Prior to that, Ynon co-founded Fox Kids Europe N.V. where he was Chairman and CEO. Under his leadership, Fox Kids Europe became one of the fastest growing pay-TV channels in Europe and the Middle East, broadcasting in 56 countries in 17 languages. Fox Kids Europe was listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange in Amsterdam in 1999 and the majority shareholding was sold to the Walt Disney Company in 2001. Ynon is a graduate of the Tel Aviv University and holds a B.A. in Economics and Management as well an M.B.A. from UCLA's Anderson School of Management.

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Series C | $20M–$36M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Music | 1 | 33% |
| Video | 1 | 33% |
| Security | 1 | 33% |
| Automotive | 1 | 33% |
| Computer Vision | 1 | 33% |

10 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series C | 2 | 67% |
| Series A | 1 | 33% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Israel | 1 | 33% |
| United States | 1 | 33% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cortica | Cortica is an Israeli company founded in 2007 with leading AI technology for visual perception. Its unique self-learning technology, backed by more than 200 patents, allows Cortica to develop multiple products that can read and understand images on a human level­–thereby significantly exceeding the capabilities of the major tech companies.Cortica is the first AI company capable of human-level image understanding. Even the most advanced technology has never been able to understand the visual world as well as people do - until now. By leveraging proprietary brain research to create unsupervised AI, Cortica has developed the most effective computer vision system. This technology, based upon the mammal cortex is utilized to build products impacting many industries. The company’s mission is to lead the emerging AI market with a strong focus on computer vision and establish its "universal visual index of the world" as the global standard­­–enabling machines to read and understand images. Cortica's vision is to embed its capabilities in all next-generation platforms where understanding images is a critical task. This includes autonomous vehicles, smart city applications, security cameras, drones, media, robotics, and medical image analysis. Cortica's headquarters and R&D center are based in Israel employing over 80 leading AI researchers and veterans of elite Israeli military intelligence units. | $20M | Series C | Mar 10, 2014 |  |
| Maker Studios | Maker Studios is a next-generation, talent first media company home to many of online video’s top digital stars and content including KassemG, The Game Station, Nice Peter’s “Epic Rap Battles of History,” the Shaytards, Andrea's Choice, The Yogscast, Snoop Lion, The Gregory Brothers, Mike Tompkins and celebrity actress/comedian LisaNova,among many others. Maker is the only network to offer partners development, production, promotion, distribution, sales, and marketing services. Maker Studios is headquartered in Los Angeles. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Culver City, California. | $36M | Series C | Dec 22, 2012 |  |
| Cortica | Cortica is an Israeli company founded in 2007 with leading AI technology for visual perception. Its unique self-learning technology, backed by more than 200 patents, allows Cortica to develop multiple products that can read and understand images on a human level­–thereby significantly exceeding the capabilities of the major tech companies.Cortica is the first AI company capable of human-level image understanding. Even the most advanced technology has never been able to understand the visual world as well as people do - until now. By leveraging proprietary brain research to create unsupervised AI, Cortica has developed the most effective computer vision system. This technology, based upon the mammal cortex is utilized to build products impacting many industries. The company’s mission is to lead the emerging AI market with a strong focus on computer vision and establish its "universal visual index of the world" as the global standard­­–enabling machines to read and understand images. Cortica's vision is to embed its capabilities in all next-generation platforms where understanding images is a critical task. This includes autonomous vehicles, smart city applications, security cameras, drones, media, robotics, and medical image analysis. Cortica's headquarters and R&D center are based in Israel employing over 80 leading AI researchers and veterans of elite Israeli military intelligence units. | $7M | Series A | Aug 02, 2012 |  |

3 of 3 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Horizons Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/horizons-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [BlackPine](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/blackpine-private-equity-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Daher Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/daher-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Lanta Capital Holdings](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lanta-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [VK (ex. Mail.Ru Group)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mail-ru) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Warner Media](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/time-warner-investments) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Maker Studios

VC Fund · Culver City, United States

Maker Studios is a next-generation, talent first media company home to many of online video’s top digital stars and content including KassemG, The Game Station, Nice Peter’s “Epic Rap Battles of History,” the Shaytards, Andrea's Choice, The Yogscast, Snoop Lion, The Gregory Brothers, Mike Tompkins and celebrity actress/comedian LisaNova,among many others. Maker is the only network to offer partners development, production, promotion, distribution, sales, and marketing services. Maker Studios is headquartered in Los Angeles. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Culver City, California.

2 contacts available at Maker Studios.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ynon Kreiz | President | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ynon-kreiz |
| Amy Finnerty | SVP Talent | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/amy-finnerty |

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## FAQ

### What does Ynon Kreiz invest in?

Ynon Kreiz invests primarily in Music, Video and Security startups, most often at Series C and Series A stage. Most of the 3 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Israel. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Ynon Kreiz's check size?

Ynon Kreiz typically joins rounds of $20M–$36M at Series C. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Ynon Kreiz participates in.

### When did Ynon Kreiz last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Ynon Kreiz closed in Mar 2014. Shizune tracks 3 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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