Open Sesame Media, Inc.

Cover Block

Field	Value
Name	Open Sesame Media, Inc.
Tagline	B2B platform providing low-latency synchronized audio to app developers via patented SyncStage technology
Headquarters	Marina del Rey, CA, United States
Founded	2019
Stage	Seed
Business Model	B2B
Industry	Media / Entertainment
Technology Type	Software (Non-AI)
Geography	North America (with German subsidiary)
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2): Julian McCrea, Steve Lyons
Funding Label	Undisclosed

Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/opensesamemedia
• AWS Marketplace listing: https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-hzl7vsqvgv3me

The Short Version

Open Sesame Media is a Marina del Rey-based seed-stage company commercializing SyncStage, a patent-pending audio pipeline that aims to deliver ultra-low-latency synchronized audio to application developers over 5G networks [LinkedIn] [AWS Blog]. The company was founded in 2019 by Julian McCrea and Steve Lyons and emerged from the USC Viterbi Startup Garage program, with a team that draws on prior experience at Sony, Nintendo, Sony Pictures, Disneyland and the BBC [Built In Los Angeles]. Its most concrete public proof point to date is a joint demonstration with Verizon and Amazon Web Services at AWS re:Invent 2023, in which the SyncStage platform was used to run a real-time remote music collaboration session over Verizon's 5G network using AWS Wavelength [Verizon, 2023]. The company's backers include Quake Capital Partners, Fuel, EvoNexus and Emerging Ventures, with the most recent disclosed activity being an undisclosed-size round logged in January 2023 [Tracxn, Jan 2023]. The SYNCSTAGE wordmark was registered with the USPTO under Serial Number 97260038 in October 2023 [Furm, 2023]. A German subsidiary, Open Sesame Media GmbH, has been registered in Cologne (HRB 103429) [Northdata].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by Verizon press release, USPTO trademark filing, AWS Marketplace listing, and multiple database profiles (Crunchbase, Tracxn, LinkedIn).

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Value
Stage	Seed
Business Model	B2B (developer platform / API)
Industry / Vertical	Media and Entertainment, Telecommunications-adjacent
Technology Type	Software (Non-AI), low-latency networking
Geography	North America HQ, German subsidiary in Cologne
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Two co-founders, entertainment-industry backgrounds
Funding	Undisclosed seed and non-equity assistance

The Company in Brief

Open Sesame Media, Inc. was founded in 2019 by Julian McCrea and Steve Lyons and is headquartered in Marina del Rey, California [Tracxn] [Crunchbase]. The company describes itself as "a B2B platform and tools business making applications to increase social connection in the New Normal, using 5G technology" and identifies the USC Viterbi Startup Garage as its founding accelerator program [Built In Los Angeles]. Steve Lyons is listed as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer [RocketReach].

In 2022 the company was selected as a Top 8 finalist in the HARMAN-XTC Startup Challenge [LinkedIn, 2022]. In 2023 the company executed a joint live demonstration with Verizon and Amazon Web Services at AWS re:Invent, using SyncStage over Verizon's 5G network and AWS Wavelength edge infrastructure [Verizon, 2023]. The SYNCSTAGE wordmark was registered with the USPTO (Serial Number 97260038, registered October 3, 2023) [Furm, 2023]. Open Sesame Media GmbH was registered in Cologne, Germany, under commercial register entry HRB 103429 [Northdata]. Crunchbase records two rounds, the most recent of which is categorized as Non-equity Assistance, with Fuel and Quake Capital Partners listed as investors [Crunchbase].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by Crunchbase, Tracxn, Verizon press release, USPTO via Furm, and the German commercial register via Northdata.

What They Have Built

SyncStage is the company's core product. The platform is described as a low-latency synchronized audio pipeline delivered to application developers, with a stated focus on enabling music collaboration, social audio, and other latency-sensitive multi-user experiences [LinkedIn]. According to AWS's engineering blog, SyncStage is positioned as "a patent-pending platform providing low-latency synchronized audio over 5G to music creators" and is integrated with AWS Wavelength edge zones and carrier Quality of Service APIs [AWS Blog]. The platform is listed on AWS Marketplace as "SyncStage - MainStage" [AWS Marketplace].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by Verizon, AWS Blog, AWS Marketplace, and USPTO trademark filing.

Market Research and Opportunity

Real-time communications as a developer-platform category has been defined by companies such as Agora, Twilio, and Daily. Open Sesame Media is targeting a narrower slice: latency low enough that musicians or other tightly-coupled performers can interact as if co-located. The Verizon and AWS partnership demonstrates that the major US hyperscaler and at least one Tier-1 carrier view this use case as a credible showcase for 5G edge compute [Verizon, 2023] [AWS Blog].

Demand drivers center on three tailwinds: the rollout of 5G standalone networks and operator-exposed network APIs (CAMARA/GSMA Open Gateway), hyperscaler edge offerings (AWS Wavelength) that reduce round-trip time, and the post-pandemic normalization of distributed creative work.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Demand-side tailwinds confirmed by Verizon and AWS publications; quantitative TAM not available from a named third-party report in the cited research.

Who Else Is Fighting for This

Company	Positioning	Stage / Funding	Notable Differentiator	Source
Open Sesame Media (SyncStage)	B2B audio sync platform delivered over 5G and edge compute	Seed, undisclosed	Patent-pending sync layer; Verizon and AWS co-demo; SYNCSTAGE trademark	[Verizon, 2023]; [Furm, 2023]
Elk Audio	Low-latency audio operating system and collaboration platform for musicians	Privately funded, Sweden-based	Embedded real-time audio OS	[LeadIQ]
SonoBus	Open-source peer-to-peer low-latency audio streaming application	Open-source project	No commercial gating	[LeadIQ]
JackTrip	Open-source and foundation-backed audio bridging for remote music ensembles	Foundation / non-profit	Research lineage from Stanford CCRMA	[LeadIQ]

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Subject row confirmed by Verizon and USPTO sources; competitor rows drawn from the structured competitor set with limited public funding data per competitor.

Opportunity

If SyncStage becomes the default audio synchronization layer that carriers and hyperscalers ship inside their 5G developer offerings, Open Sesame Media has a path to owning a piece of real-time communications infrastructure. The single largest outcome this company could plausibly become is the embedded ultra-low-latency audio layer for 5G developer platforms, sold through carriers and edge clouds.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Scenarios anchored to confirmed Verizon, AWS, Northdata, and Built In Los Angeles sources; outcome sizing is explicitly scenario-based and not a forecast.

Sources

1. [LinkedIn] Open Sesame Media, Inc. company page | https://www.linkedin.com/company/opensesamemedia
2. [Tracxn, Jan 2023] Open Sesame Media - Raised Funding from 4 investors | https://tracxn.com/d/companies/open-sesame-media/__P3aqP2QjhGtKxbTqYBnq07_I9vo71nk-4x6qkMT2S00/funding-and-investors
3. [Tracxn] Open Sesame Media - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors | https://tracxn.com/d/companies/open-sesame-media/__P3aqP2QjhGtKxbTqYBnq07_I9vo71nk-4x6qkMT2S00
4. [Crunchbase] Open Sesame Media - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/open-sesame-media-inc
5. [Crunchbase] Open Sesame Media - Financial Details | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/open-sesame-media-inc/financial_details
6. [Crunchbase] Julian McCrea - Co-Founder @ Open Sesame Media | https://www.crunchbase.com/person/julian-mccrea
7. [Built In Los Angeles] Open Sesame Media Los Angeles Office: Careers, Perks + Culture | https://www.builtinla.com/company/open-sesame-media
8. [Startup Seeker] Open Sesame Media - Funding profile | https://startup-seeker.com/company/opensesame~media
9. [LinkedIn, 2022] Extreme Tech Challenge - Open Sesame SyncStage Promo 2022 | https://www.linkedin.com/posts/extreme-tech-challenge_open-sesame-syncstage-promo-2022-activity-7135542118546055168-piOn
10. [AWS Marketplace] SyncStage - MainStage on AWS Marketplace | https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-hzl7vsqvgv3me
11. [Verizon, 2023] Verizon & Open Sesame Media work with AWS to demo real-time remote music collaboration session | https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-open-sesame-media-aws-collaboration-session
12. [AWS Blog] Remote Music Collaboration Using Multi-Edge Audio Sync and Network API | https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/industries/remote-music-collaboration-using-multi-edge-audio-sync-and-network-api/
13. [Furm, 2023] SYNCSTAGE Trademark of Open Sesame Media, Inc. - Serial Number 97260038 | https://furm.com/trademarks/syncstage-97260038
14. [LeadIQ] Open Sesame Media, Inc. Company Overview, Contact Details & Competitors | https://leadiq.com/c/open-sesame-media-inc/5e42d0bf626d3b6fe0c72c08
15. [VisualVisitor] Open Sesame Media, Inc. - Company profile | https://www.visualvisitor.com/companies/3792109/Open-Sesame-Media-Inc.
16. [Northdata] Open Sesame Media GmbH - German commercial register entry HRB 103429 | https://www.northdata.com