AI Podcast Start-Up Rebel Audio Launches App With Invite-Only Access, Taps Mark Burnett as Adviser (EXCLUSIVE)

A new start-up is hoping to make its mark on the podcasting biz by using AI to automate the grunt work of producing and distributing podcasts.

Rebel Audio this week is taking the wraps off its AI-powered podcasting platform designed to “radically simplify” the process of creating, producing and scaling podcasts. The Nashville-based company, which has raised $3.8 million in early-stage funding, has tapped Mark Burnett — the TV producer behind such shows as Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice,” “Survivor,” “The Voice” and “Shark Tank” — as its first adviser.

Rebel Audio is launching invitation-only access to its app, which it is promoting during SXSW in Austin. Users can sign up to join the waitlist for early access at rebelaudio.ai. Rebel Audio’s system will provide a free seven-day trial, with three subscription tiers (see below).

The start-up is the brainchild of Jared Gutstadt, a serial entrepreneur and two-time Emmy nominee. Gutstadt’s career catalog includes projects with the likes of Bob Dylan, Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, NAS, Machine Gun Kelly, Miranda Lambert, Jelly Roll and The Weeknd. Before Rebel Audio, he founded and led Audio Up, a podcast and music production firm focused on narrative audio podcasts built around original song scores. Prior to that, he founded Jingle Punks, a company that provides original music for ads, TV, film and videogames,

Gutstadt, who serves as CEO of Rebel Audio, argues that the tools podcast creators and producers currently rely on to record, edit and distribute their shows is complicated and outdated. He says Rebel Audio is the first native AI tool built for podcasting, promising to make it dramatically faster and easier to launch a new podcast.

“Podcasting has exploded, but the tools behind it haven’t evolved fast enough for the social-first generation,” Gutstadt said. “Rebel Audio was born from a breakthrough in how AI can power the infrastructure podcasting has always needed, putting the focus back on ideas, voices and seamless distribution.”

(Gutstadt’s new venture is not to be confused with another company called Rebel Audio, which sells a high-end headphone amplifier.)

Rebel Audio’s $3.8 million seed round was oversubscribed within 30 days, the company claims. Investors include Julie Gauthier, Benjamin Lurie, Jonathan Schulman, Dr. Armin Tehrany, Dr. Richard Firshein and Launch Tennessee, a nonprofit public-private partnership focused on investing in high-growth startups.

In addition to Gutstadt, the Rebel Audio team includes Brian Edwards, co-founder and executive adviser (formerly of MGM and DreamWorks); Patrice Choghi, chief operating officer (MGM Studios, Televisa North America and Mark Burnett Productions); and Bill Hobbs, board of advisers (Vector Holdings, Epiphany Collective). The company is based in Nashville, with offices in L.A. and Miami.

How does Rebel Audio work? The company says podcasters can upload any audio or video file to its platform; users then engage in a chat with Rebel Audio’s AI agent to generate titles, descriptions, cover art and social clips. The system also can translate episodes into other languages with an AI-generated “cloned” version someone’s voice or generate a host-read ad in the same way, according to the company. In addition, Rebel Audio generates automatic transcriptions. Once a podcast is ready to go live, users can publish it with one click to multiple platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Rebel Audio was created in partnership with Lattice Partners, an AI consulting firm and product studio that helps design, build and launch AI products.

Currently, Rebel Audio’s app is in private beta mode so the interface and functionality will likely look different when it launches publicly, per the company.

Here is the company’s pricing:

Here’s the Rebel Audio launch video: