Issa Rae has always been an advocate for the advancement of the black community; regularly filling productions with Black casts and continually searching for ways to create spaces for black people in film. Recently, the Insecure star ventured into the tech industry and invested in a Black woman-led tech company, described as a streaming media data startup. According to Variety, Rae has taken a minority stake in the Los Angeles-based company Streamlytics, founded by tech entrepreneur Angela Benton. The startup aims “to democratize access to streaming media data — with a specific focus on providing data that better reflects the usage of people of color,” the site explains.
As explained in Variety, this is how streamlytics will work:
To compile its data, Streamlytics is building a panel of users who share their data via one of its consumer-facing products. After cleaning and enhancing that data, the company issues a data license that specifies that the user owns this new data set and Streamlytics purchases the data from them. Currently, Streamlytics is pulling data for Netflix viewing and plans to next incorporate Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and social platforms like Facebook Watch and Instagram’s IGTV, according to Benton.
Rae spoke highly of both the startup and the partnership, stating : “As streaming services become the standard for how people consume content andinformation, tools and companies like Streamlytics are necessary for transparency and consumer ownership,” she said. “Angela’s drive and innovative spirit is the reason why she is a pioneer in the tech space and why I’m excited to partner with her in this endeavor.” Benton also expressed her gratitude of Rae’s involvement telling Variety “Having Issa as an owner is beyond exciting” she continued stating “Her pioneering work as both a creator and as a businesswoman creating digital-first content that has transcended the internet-only medium aligns seamlessly with our company’s core values and ownership.”
Issa and Streamlytics are well on their way to altering how data is controlled and monetized; this dynamic duo is on the verge of making history. If there was any doubt before, there certainly isn’t anymore; Issa Rae is indeed “rooting for everybody Black” and she proved that by putting her money where her mouth is.