Staff Applied Research Scientist

Podcast news bites: Beehiv, descript, YouTube, babylist. * Mar 30, 2026 ... The newsletter publishing startup Beehiv is reportedly looking to expand into podcasts as it sees the audio format as a way to help lure in creators from rivals like Substack and Patreon. Semafor reports Beehiv has been approaching independent podcasters hoping to convince them to make the leap. Founded by CEO Tyler Denk - a veteran of YouTube and Morning Brew - Beehiv is pitching podcasters on a flat-fee model instead of the roughly 10% revenue share its competitors take. Semafor says Beehiv's will launch its podcast program in the coming days, with more tools set to be added in the coming months. ... Descript is introducing Dependicus, a new tool designed to help teams manage software dependencies - the pieces of code a project relies on to work. Instead of automatically creating pull requests, the new tool provides dashboards that show what has changed and what needs attention. That gives developers a clearer view of their dependencies and lets them plan updates based on priority. Descript says in a blog post that smaller fixes can still be automated, while bigger changes are handled more deliberately, helping teams stay organized as their codebases grow. ... YouTube for Android has added more functionality to its Android Auto apps in recent months according to 9to5google.com. It reports that the dashboard media controls feature a widget with the ability to play/pause content and also skip forward. But while YouTube seems to have added Android Auto support, there are limits. It only works if someone is a subscriber, which allows content to play in the background. The website says the bottom line is Android Auto will always pipe through whatever audio is playing on a driver's smartphone. ... Babylist, the registry, e-commerce and content platform for expecting and new families, will include podcast studio in a new showroom it is opening in New York. The expanded content creation capabilities leverage the brand's reach. Its flagship Beverly Hills showroom has hosted more than 500 influencers and celebrities for bespoke content-centric visits from pregnancy announcements and building their registries in person to hosting events. The New York space is expected to open in late summer.

Descript vs Veed vs Kapwing: who's winning AI video in 2026? By Jenny Liu, Director of Product @Yipitdata New YipitData analysis of 1,300+ mid-market and enterprise companies shows Descript widening its lead in AI video editing, driven by accelerating customer growth and a step-change in monetization. Descript is emerging as the clear leader in AI video editing - and the gap is widening. That's the pattern RetailWit LLC see in Signals data tracking real usage and spend across mid-market companies as RetailWit LLC move down the stack to the video editing layer, following last week's analysis on AI video generation. RetailWit LLC analyzed Descript, Veed, and Kapwing to understand who's gaining traction, how monetization is evolving, and where competitive dynamics are beginning to intensify in the mid-market. According to its analysis, Descript isn't just growing faster, it's becoming the default tool for more teams, while the competitors struggle to maintain momentum. Its analysis is powered by Signals, its proprietary B2B spend panel that tracks real software usage and spend across 1,300+ mid-market and enterprise companies, providing visibility into ~250,000 AI and software vendors. RetailWit LLC continue to leverage its upcoming Insight Agent to accelerate this work - surfacing trends like switching behavior, multi-vendor adoption, and cohort dynamics directly from the data. Here's what the data shows. AI video background and key players. AI-native video editing platforms like Descript, Veed, and Kapwing are reshaping how teams create and edit content - enabling non-technical users to produce video through browser-based, AI-assisted workflows. Among this group, Descript, founded in 2017, helped pioneer text-based audio and video editing, with features like transcription-first editing and voice cloning. It has built a strong early position among podcasters, marketers, and content teams. The company last raised a $50M Series C in November 2022. Its headcount has remained relatively stable since then, growing +2% Y/Y to 189. Veed, founded in 2018, offers a browser-based video editing platform, with a greater emphasis on simplicity, templates, and fast content production - features that have helped it gain traction with marketing and social teams. Veed last raised a $35M Series A in February 2022, though its headcount has declined 10% year over year to 182. Kapwing, founded in 2017, focuses on collaborative video editing and content tooling, with a strong presence among smaller teams and creators. It last raised an $11M Series A in September 2019 and remains a smaller player in the space. B2B spend takeaways: Descript expands its lead in AI video editing. Descript remains the clear mid-market category leader, with steady customer growth and an accelerating lead versus peers even as competition intensifies. In contrast, Veed shows more volatile momentum, while Kapwing remains smaller in scale. Customer growth: Descript accelerates mid-market adoption. As of January 2026, Descript grew +37% Y/Y to approximately 120 customers, following a meaningful acceleration in 2025. That growth is reinforced by usage patterns: Descript-only adoption remains the most common and continues to gain momentum, suggesting more teams are standardizing on the platform. Veed's trajectory has been less consistent. Its total customer count has dipped modestly - down 7% since peaking in June 2025 - and Veed-only usage declined more sharply over the same period, falling 17%. At the same time, the number of customers using both Descript and Veed plateaued throughout 2025, rather than continuing to expand. Overall, the data points to a widening gap, with Descript continuing to pull ahead in mid-market customer adoption. Exhibit 1: Descript widens mid-market customer lead in AI video editing as Veed adoption plateaus Get weekly breakout indicators on ~250K companies, including real-time ACV data. Descript continues to lead the category on monetization, with that lead driven by a sharp acceleration in spend throughout 2025. Between January 2025 and January 2026, Descript's average monthly spend per customer scaled more than 2x to nearly $3,000. That increase in per-customer spend translated into a 75% Y/Y rise in total spend, making Descript the primary driver of meaningful mid-market spend growth in the category. Notably, this momentum isn't obvious from traditional growth proxies like headcount. Descript's team has remained relatively flat (+2% YoY), meaning that investors that rely on hiring trends alone would likely miss the company's accelerating usage and spend. By comparison, both Veed and Kapwing remain at a significantly lower level of monetization. Each has average monthly spend below $1,000 per customer, placing them well behind Descript in terms of revenue per account. Taken together, the data suggests that while multiple players are competing in the space, Descript is capturing a disproportionate share of the economic value. Exhibit 2: Descript is driving all meaningful mid-market spend growth in the category Switching and experimentation: add/drop behavior favors Descript. Direct switching within the competitive set remains relatively rare, indicating that companies are not frequently making clean, one-to-one replacements between platforms. Instead, what RetailWit LLC see is a high level of add/drop activity, suggesting that customers are actively testing tools and adjusting their spend over time. Within that dynamic, the signals increasingly favor Descript. Among customers using both Veed and Descript, companies have been nearly 2x more likely to drop Veed than Descript, pointing to stronger retention and stickiness for Descript when both tools are in use. At the same time, expansion between the two platforms appears relatively balanced. RetailWit LLC see 25 Veed-only customers have added Descript, which is similar to the number of Descript-only users adding Veed. This shows symmetrical expansion with both tools actively a part of the consideration set. Overall, while direct switching remains limited, the combination of experimentation and retention patterns suggests that outcomes are increasingly breaking in Descript's favor. Exhibit 3: Cross-vendor switching behavior favors Descript over Veed Early signals of market consolidation in AI video editing. Across customer growth, monetization, and retention signals, the data consistently points in the same direction for AI video editing: Descript is extending its lead. Descript is not only adding customers at a faster rate, but also increasing spend per customer and demonstrating stronger stickiness in multi-vendor environments. At the same time, Veed's recent softness in both customer count and standalone usage, combined with Kapwing's smaller scale, suggests that not all players are keeping pace as the category evolves. The market is still early, but it is no longer evenly distributed. The gap between Descript and the rest of the field is already widening, and the switching and retention patterns suggest that trend is more likely to accelerate than reverse as teams move from experimentation toward standardization. What other AI and software trends are emerging across your portfolio? FAQ's. * AI video editing software enables users to create and edit video using machine learning features like transcription, text-based editing, automated captions, and AI-assisted enhancements - allowing non-technical users to produce polished content without traditional editing expertise. * Based on YipitData's analysis of 1,300+ mid-market companies, Descript leads the category on both customer growth (+37% YoY to ~120 customers as of January 2026) and monetization (~$3,000 average monthly spend per customer). Veed's customer count has declined modestly since mid-2025, and Kapwing remains a smaller player by both customer count and spend. * YipitData's spend data points to stronger product-market fit for Descript. Descript customers are spending more over time (2x per-customer spend growth in 2025) and are significantly less likely to be dropped when companies run multi-vendor evaluations. Among companies using both Descript and Veed, teams were nearly 2x more likely to drop Veed. * Within the mid-market, companies spend nearly $3,000 per month on average with Descript, according to YipitData's B2B spend panel. Veed and Kapwing customers typically spend under $1,000 per month, placing Descript significantly ahead on revenue per account. * Yes, multi-vendor usage is common, but YipitData's data suggests it's often temporary. Experimentation is high - 25 Veed-only customers added Descript over the observed period, a figure roughly symmetrical to Descript-only customers adding Veed. However, when teams ultimately consolidate, retention patterns currently favor Descript. * The insights in this analysis are derived from YipitData's B2B spend data, which aggregates anonymized software spending data from companies that share ERP-sourced transaction data with YipitData or through enterprise data partnerships. The platform tracks spending and adoption trends across 1,300+ mid-market and enterprise companies for ~250,000 AI and software vendors. Post Views: 0

Are listeners overwhelmed by too many ads? * Two days ago, we covered a company that is copying podcasts to remove the ads, and then selling access. Glenn Rubenstein at Adopter Media covers the story, suggesting it raises a question of why tools like this may gain traction. "PodcastAdBlock didn't appear because people don't want to hear ads. It appeared because some shows are starting to cross an invisible line with their listeners," and suggests a path forward that podcast networks can make to improve the listener experience. (It's one reason why we run our "Having a bad DAI" feature, where we highlight ways we can improve - try the bottom of Jan 2 for an example). * We learn today that PodcastAdBlock's "24/7 support" email address is now bouncing back. * Exclusive: Sounds Profitable has hired its first-ever Head of Communications, Molly DeMellier. She will oversee all global communications functions, including media relations and marketing, for Sounds Profitable and Podcast Movement. She previously worked with Sundaze PR and Acast. * From Jan 1, Podnews is no longer directly connected to the Sounds Profitable group of companies. Full disclosures * First look: CBC has launched its Winter 2026 slate of podcasts. Many of the broadcaster's biggest shows have new seasons planned, including Uncover, Personally and Someone Knows Something. * Goalhanger show The Rest is Football has acquired the rights for the Premier League video archive, for all matches until the end of last season. A new show, "Premier League Greats: The Moments That Made Them", is now appearing within The Rest is Football feeds. The company says: "viewers watching on Spotify Video or YouTube (and socials) will be able to see the iconic match footage as those moments are discussed on screen. Audio listeners will still receive the full episode as usual." Last month we reported that the show will be on Netflix during the World Cup as a daily show. * Glenn Beck has released a podcast episode entirely produced by AI. The show is here - it's apparently built by his own, proprietary, AI tool. * Descript has announced a new version of its AI assistant, Underlord. The tool can be used for editing tasks. The newer version produces better edits while using 20% fewer credits. * NHPR podcasts, including Bear Brook, The 13th Step, and Outside/In, are joining The Podglomerate for advertising sales and distribution. NHPR had been working with The Podglomerate for marketing campaigns. * Popular podcast app Pocket Casts appears not to be playing well with Supercast premium shows, including those from the New York Times. The reason for the bug is that Pocket Casts doesn't handle private feed URLs that are more than 1,020 characters. (If you're wondering, the generally accepted advice is that URLs are supported up to around 2,000 characters). * Global's DAX, a digital audio ad exchange, has partnered with DISQO, an advertising effectiveness measurement tool. Advertisers will be able to use DISQO's measurement platform to measure marketing campaigns in real time. * An upcoming tool to add chapters to podcasts is on the way: ChapterPod has taken its cues from Marco Arment's Forecast tool, but added new features. It'll also make transcripts. Enter the webbys. Prove you're the Best. Paid content. Since 1996, The Webby Awards has been recognized as the preeminent international honor for Internet excellence. Last year's Webby Awards received nearly 13,000 entries from around the world. This year, to keep up with the ever evolving audio landscape, The Webby Awards has expanded offerings in Podcasts, including Best New Podcast, Best Video Podcast, Best Video Podcast Host, as well as Interview or Talk Show - Entertainment & Culture and Interview or Talk Show - News, Business & Society. Don't forget, Podcast Company of the Year, a Special Achievement award recognizing the podcast company with the most accolades across the 30th Annual Webby Awards competition. Judges for Podcasts this year include: Bill Simmons, Founder & CEO, The Ringer, Stephanie Wittels Wachs, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Lemonada Media, Ben Cave, Global Head of Podcasts, Apple, Jenna Weiss-Berman, Head of Audio & Podcasts, Paper Kite Productions, Bob Carrigan, CEO, Audible and Shreeya Sinha, Executive Editor, Audio, The New York Times.Don't miss your last chance to put your work in front of these industry titans! Moves and hires. * Citing growth in Europe, digital audio company Audion has hired Ina Börner as Head of Sales & Market Growth DACH. She'll look after Audion's operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. * Ami Thakkar has been announced as The Podcast Academy's new Executive Director. She was the organisation's Secretary; E.B. Moss assumes that role. Podcast News. Foo Fighters Podcast Foos Files returns from a Christmas break today with the legendary drummer Omar Hakim - who has worked with the likes of David Bowie, Madonna, Sting, Dire Straits, Kate Bush, and the Foos themselves. What do a CEO, a comedian, and a musician have in common? They've all mastered the art of scaling without losing their soul. In Founder's Mentality: The CEO Sessions from global consultancy Bain & Company, executive advisor and bestselling author James Allen explores lessons of scale, simplicity, and growth from global CEOs and surprising guest voices. We Blame Roseanne isn't a recap show. It's a cultural exploration, and a dissection of learned behaviors and toxic patterns. A lot of fans label Roseanne as their comfort show, and can relate to the Conner family because it reflects a lot of what they saw at home. Those same fans will also say that Roseanne's current public persona "happened all of a sudden": but if you go back and re-assess the show, along with the connected media surrounding it, you see that she's always been this way. This show explores Roseanne's complicated life through the lens of a specific phenomenon or problem - one per episode. On The Porch with Front Porch Music is back for a brand new season, fresh off a CCMA nomination and a Canadian Podcast Award nomination. You'll hear true, honest conversations with Canadian country artists; interviews are natural, creating space for real stories, unexpected moments, and genuine insight into life and music. Season 5 kicks off with MacKenzie Porter, who sets the tone with an open discussion about creativity, motherhood, and building a career on her own terms. Podcasts in the wild. Today, we're in "indisputably the biggest bookshop in the area" (if the area is the bit between the city centre of Bristol and and the fancy shopping mall Cabot Circus) - in a branch of Waterstones, an English bookseller. Proudly on display is A Short History of Ancient Rome, with a little sticker on the cover saying it's from the hit podcast Short History Of.... The author, Pascal Hughes, is also the CEO of Noiser, the podcast's production company. Noiser tells us that the book is "riveting and action-packed". This page contains automated links to Bookshop - org. We receive a commission for purchases made; and the purchase also supports local bookstores.