“Which movie had the talking peanuts?” AI streaming app Ecco raises $7M to solve content discovery chaos

Ecco, an AI-powered streaming content discovery startup, has raised $7 million in seed funding from high-profile investors including Ben Silverman, Shaquille O’Neal, and former Match Group CEO Bernard Kim. The company promises to solve the fragmented search problem across streaming platforms by using advanced AI to understand complex, descriptive queries that go far beyond basic title or actor searches.

What you should know: Ecco has built a proprietary AI platform that indexes over 21 million pieces of content across major streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Tubi.

• Users can enter highly specific searches like “show me every TV show or movie with Ferraris,” “blue people,” or even “the movie with Will Ferrell shot in the neck with a dart” to find relevant content.
• The app can launch users directly into their subscribed streaming services when they find content they want to watch.
• Currently available on iOS and Android, the platform is U.S.-only but eyeing international expansion.

The funding details: The oversubscribed $7 million seed round valued the company at $35 million, led by Jeff Kearl of Pelion Venture Partners.

• Other notable investors include Propagate Content co-founders Ben Silverman and Howard Owens, Westbrook Entertainment co-founder Miguel Melendez, American Airlines chairman Greg Smith, and streamer Adin Ross.
• The Irvine, California-based company has about 20 employees and has been operating in stealth mode for over a year.

How it works: Ecco operates independently from streaming platforms, describing itself as “like Switzerland” with no commercial relationships with the services it searches.

• The platform can track users’ searches and viewing history across multiple services with opt-in permission.
• Co-founder Jeremy Greene says the company uses “off-the-shelf AI systems” rather than building proprietary AI technology from scratch.
• The team positions Ecco as a “Spotify for movie and TV content.”

The business model: Ecco plans to generate revenue through keyword-based search advertising, similar to Google’s search ad model.

• “The way Google runs search ads is the way we can run our business,” Greene explained.
• The company currently has no commercial relationships with streaming platforms but aims to help drive user acquisition and revenue for studios.

What they’re saying: Investors praised the company’s approach to solving content discovery challenges in the fragmented streaming landscape.

• “The massive democratization and unbundling of content allows for new ways to imagine content discovery and search,” said Pelion Ventures’ Jeff Kearl, calling Greene “a visionary” and “a force of nature.”
• Miguel Melendez from Westbrook Entertainment commented: “Jeremy and his team have created something truly outstanding with Ecco. It reimagines content discovery — making the process not just seamless, but genuinely enjoyable.”

Founder background: Serial entrepreneur Jeremy Greene co-founded Ecco with his wife Janelle Greene after becoming frustrated with the current streaming search experience.

• Greene’s inspiration came from buying a digital copy of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” for his daughter without realizing he already had access to it through existing subscriptions.
• His previous ventures include Fwaygo (streaming platform for independent artists), MojiChat (3D avatar company), and PingTank (animated emoticon app with celebrity partnerships).