The Chainsmokers

Musical artists and founding partners of the venture capital fund, Mantis.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

The music career is the core engine of their entire business ecosystem, creating the primary opportunities for all other ventures, including their VC fund, Mantis (Claim 4).

The most effective venture capital strategy for them is to act as a value-add co-investor, or 'sixth man,' alongside elite VCs in the best deals, rather than attempting to lead investment rounds (Claim 18).

The music industry has fundamentally failed to adapt to technological shifts, ceding power and revenue to DSPs like Spotify, a mistake they see being repeated with the rise of AI (Claims 20, 26).

Traditional metrics for artist success, such as Spotify monthly listeners, are becoming obsolete, as new artists can now sell out major venues without possessing massive streaming numbers (Claim 21).

Learning from predictable, early mistakes is an unavoidable and necessary part of becoming a successful venture capitalist, a lesson passed down to them from prolific investors (Claim 10).

Podcast consensus on Chainsmokers

Points of consensus

▶The Chainsmokers' music career is intentionally positioned as the central asset in their business ecosystem, believing its success directly fuels opportunities for their venture fund, Mantis (Claim 4).Apr 2026

▶They received and acted upon significant mentorship from established figures in technology and venture capital, including Brian Chesky, Steve Huffman, Peter Fenton, and Bill Gurley, which shaped their investment strategy (Claims 2, 6, 10).Apr 2026

▶A 'growth hacking' and data-driven mindset was foundational to their early success, exemplified by their systematic targeting of bloggers on Hype Machine to achieve 30 number-one tracks in their first year (Claims 7, 9, 11).Apr 2026

▶The stated strategy for their Mantis fund is to be a value-add co-investor, or 'sixth man,' alongside top-tier VCs in competitive rounds, rather than leading investments themselves (Claim 18).Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶There is a significant contrast between the 'predominantly negative and skeptical' public and industry reaction to their Mantis fund (Claim 14) and their internal view of it as a strategic, well-advised venture built during the pandemic (Claims 2, 8, 18).Apr 2026

▶A tension exists between their stated strategic shift to focus more on the creative aspects of their music career (Claim 5) and the detailed operational knowledge Alex Pall maintains on their portfolio companies' KPIs (Claim 16).Apr 2026

▶While they were advised by tech leaders to shift from consumer packaged goods (CPG) to technology investing (Claim 2), one of their most successful and highlighted investments is Poppi, a CPG beverage company that generated a 30x return (Claims 12, 17).Apr 2026

▶Their career trajectory shows a contrast between their early, rapid-fire success on platforms like Hype Machine (Claim 9, 11) and the acknowledged commercial underperformance of more recent records like 'Don't Lie' (Claim 15).Apr 2026

Key themes

▶The Musician as Venture CapitalistApr 2026

This theme covers The Chainsmokers' deliberate expansion from music into venture capital with their fund, Mantis. They conceptualized the fund in 2019, raised it during the pandemic, and now plan to focus their business efforts exclusively on their music and the fund, despite facing significant initial skepticism from the public and industry.

This dual-focus model suggests a new playbook for celebrity-led ventures, where the creative endeavor is not just a source of capital but a strategic asset for deal flow and brand building in a completely different industry.

▶Growth Hacking from Music to StartupsApr 2026

The Chainsmokers applied unconventional, systematic growth strategies early in their music career, such as personalized email campaigns to dominate the Hype Machine charts. This data-driven, 'hustle' mentality appears to inform their approach to business and investing, valuing founders who demonstrate similar resourcefulness.

Analysts should consider their background in direct-to-fan marketing as a unique lens through which they evaluate consumer-facing startups, potentially giving them an edge in identifying companies with authentic growth potential.

▶Critique of Music Industry Adaptation

The Chainsmokers articulate a clear critique of the traditional music industry's failure to adapt to technology, citing how labels' inaction led to the rise of DSPs like Spotify, which now take a significant revenue cut. They draw a direct parallel between this historical failure and the current challenge posed by AI training on copyrighted data, viewing it as a new 'Napster moment'.

Their perspective indicates a strong investment interest in technologies that empower creators and protect intellectual property, suggesting they will likely back startups aiming to disrupt established industry models.

▶Leveraging Networks for AccessApr 2026

Their entry into venture capital was significantly influenced and guided by a network of high-profile tech founders and investors, including leaders from Airbnb, Dropbox, and Y Combinator. Their investment strategy for Mantis is explicitly designed to leverage this access, positioning themselves as valuable co-investors who can bring their unique platform to the best deals led by top-tier VCs.

The success of their fund is heavily dependent on their ability to maintain and cultivate these high-level relationships, making their social and cultural capital as important as their financial capital.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Not enough data for timeline

Changes over time

Early Career

Employed 'growth hacking' strategies, systematically targeting artists and bloggers on Hype Machine to secure 30 number-one tracks within their first year (Claims 7, 9, 11).

Pre-VC

Gained early exposure to private technology investing through relationships with tech founders like Drew Houston (Dropbox) and Brian Chesky (Airbnb) (Claim 6).

2019

Began the conceptualization of their venture capital fund, Mantis (Claim 8).

COVID-19 Pandemic

Utilized the halt in touring to simultaneously write a new album and raise the Mantis fund via Zoom calls (Claim 8).

Post-Mantis Launch

Encountered a 'predominantly negative and skeptical' public and industry reaction upon the announcement of their venture fund (Claim 14).

Present

Making a strategic shift to focus more on the creative aspects of their music career while operating Mantis with a co-investor strategy (Claims 3, 5, 18).

Suggested prompts

How does The Chainsmokers' 'growth hacking' approach in their early music career inform their investment thesis and evaluation of founders at Mantis? &nearr;What are the primary risks and advantages of a business model where a creative career is the central asset fueling a separate financial venture like a VC fund? &nearr;How has the initial negative public perception of Mantis impacted their ability to secure deal flow and co-invest with the top-tier VCs they target? &nearr;Given their analogy of AI as the new 'Napster moment,' what specific investment opportunities or defensive strategies are they likely pursuing for creators and copyright holders? &nearr;

Key concepts

Venture Capital 1 ep Music Industry 1 ep Mantis VC Fund 1 ep Investment Strategy 1 ep Artificial Intelligence (AI) 1 ep Portfolio Companies 1 ep Growth Hacking 1 ep Spotify 1 ep Creator Economy 1 ep

Notable quotes

“our goal at mantis is to be like the sixth man on every championship team like i want to work with the best investors and who are investing in the best founders”

The Chainsmokers · The Chainsmokers’ Journey from DJs to VCs

“on fund announce day there, it wasn't like a positive vibe. You know, like people weren't like, finally... it was like the opposite. People were not stoked about it at all.”

The Chainsmokers · The Chainsmokers’ Journey from DJs to VCs

“The current era of AI models training on copyrighted data is analogous to the "Napster moment" for the music industry.”

The Chainsmokers · The Chainsmokers’ Journey from DJs to VCs

“the new stars of dance right now that are doing like blowing out madison square gardens or doing the basically festival size crowds for their own shows if you looked at them on their spotify monthly listeners like we're talking about earlier like oh this is an emerging artist”

The Chainsmokers · The Chainsmokers’ Journey from DJs to VCs

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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