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| Science Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Name | Science Inc. |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Venture studio; Venture capital; Startup accelerator |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Mike Jones |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Key people | Mike Jones |
| Products | Startup incubation; Consumer internet products; Mobile application development |
Science Inc. is an American venture studio and startup incubator based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 2011. The firm operates at the intersection of Venture capital and operational incubation, combining investment, product development, and growth marketing to launch and scale digital companies. Science Inc. has participated in building and acquiring companies across advertising, media, e-commerce, and software, engaging with a network that includes high-profile technology firms, media conglomerates, and entrepreneurial founders.
Science Inc. was established in 2011 during a period when incubators and startup studios such as Y Combinator, Techstars, and Betaworks were reshaping early-stage investment. Its founder emerged from the Silicon Valley ecosystem and sought to blend practices from Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, and growth-focused operators like Andreessen Horowitz with hands-on product teams influenced by IDEO and Frog Design. Early activity coincided with the rise of Facebook, Twitter, and the mobile revolutions led by Apple and Google. Science Inc. positioned itself alongside Los Angeles–area entities such as Crosscut, LaunchPad LA, and Amplify LA, contributing to the region’s expansion as a technology hub distinct from San Francisco Bay Area clusters.
The firm operates as a hybrid between a Venture capital investor and an operational studio: it sources ideas, assembles founding teams, provides capital, and supplies shared services including product design, engineering, growth marketing, and corporate development. Services draw on methodologies from Lean Startup, Growth hacking practices popularized by figures in Silicon Valley and agencies that supported companies like Uber and Airbnb. Science Inc. offers seed and pre-seed financing alongside in-house resources to accelerate user acquisition and monetization for consumer-facing startups, often leveraging partnerships with platforms such as Facebook Platform, Apple App Store, and Google Play. The studio engages in strategic advisory for media partners like BuzzFeed, Vox Media, and entertainment firms in Hollywood to develop branded digital products.
Science Inc. has raised capital through multiple funding vehicles and partnerships with institutional and strategic investors. Its funding approach mirrors models used by GV and First Round Capital—combining fund commitments with carry structures tied to portfolio exits. The firm has participated in rounds for portfolio companies alongside investors such as Accel Partners, Index Ventures, and Benchmark. Exit events and secondary transactions have involved acquirers from the technology and media sectors, comparable to deals seen involving Yahoo!, AT&T, and Verizon Communications in consolidations of digital content and services. Financial performance of individual portfolio companies varied, reflecting broader market cycles including the impact of the 2010s tech boom and corrections tied to macroeconomic shifts.
The studio’s founder and public face has prior experience within digital advertising and venture-backed startups, aligning with leaders who moved between Myspace, Google, and Facebook. The leadership team has historically included executives with backgrounds at firms like Snap Inc., YouTube, Amazon.com, and Microsoft who contributed expertise in product, engineering, and growth marketing. Science Inc.’s operating model often embeds interim CEOs and chief product officers drawn from networks that include alumni of Dropbox, Spotify, and Netflix to steward portfolio companies through fundraising and exit processes. Advisory board participants have included entrepreneurs and executives connected to Time Warner, NBCUniversal, and investment firms such as Silver Lake.
Science Inc. has launched and scaled multiple consumer and enterprise ventures, some of which reached significant liquidity events. Projects encompass mobile and web products in areas similar to companies like Dollar Shave Club, Hulu, Dollar Shave Club, and Bonobos in e-commerce and subscription models, and content ventures akin to BuzzFeed and Vox Media in digital media. The studio has been involved in acquisitions and partnerships with strategic buyers in the advertising and media sectors, following patterns seen in transactions involving Yahoo!’s acquisition of startups and Verizon’s consolidation of digital properties. Certain portfolio companies attracted investment from corporate venture arms such as Comcast Ventures and Warner Bros. Discovery.
As with many incubators and venture studios, Science Inc. has faced scrutiny regarding founder equity splits, governance of studio-created startups, and the balance between operational support and investor returns. Debates mirror controversies that have affected entities like WeWork and discussions in publications covering startup governance involving The New York Times and TechCrunch. Critics have questioned the transparency of deal terms, comparisons to accelerator models at Y Combinator and Techstars, and the potential for conflicts when the studio retains significant control over strategic decisions in portfolio companies. The studio’s activity has also been examined in the context of Los Angeles’s evolving startup ecosystem alongside commentary from outlets such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.
Category:Startup studios Category:Venture capital firms based in the United States