Sony Pictures Entertainment has invested $100 million in Cosm, the entertainment and tech company focused on creating shared-reality experiences through immersive dome-like venues throughout the U.S.
Sony led Cosm’s Series C financing round and will take a minority ownership stake in the company, while SPE CEO and chairman Ravi Ahuja will join Cosm’s board of directors.
Cosm, founded in 2020 by Steve Winn, has opened several dome structures throughout the U.S. Cosm’s venues — three in Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta, with upcoming venues in Detroit and Cleveland— allow fans to experience sporting events and other entertainment experiences through various 87-foot, 12K LED dome displays, selling different seating tiers to hundreds of fans that mimic fans’ attendance at sporting events. It was the technology and collective experience that lured Sony to invest in the company, according to a source familiar with the matter, with hopes to have the funds help Cosm expand its market footprint domestically and worldwide.
Cosm has struck partnerships with the NFL, NBA, WWE, NBC Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports and other sports broadcasters, and it has also shown films such as “The Matrix,“ “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Sony plans to experiment with new ways to screen its own slate of franchises using the technology, according to the source, potentially bringing its “Spider-Man,” “Rocky” and anime movies along with films under their “Classics” banner to the shared-reality format. The company hopes to announce which projects make it to Cosm screens before the end of the year, according to the source.
“Cosm sits at the intersection of several trends shaping the future of entertainment. We’ve followed Cosm since before launch and have been impressed with the quality of the experience and the enthusiasm it’s generating with audiences,” Ahuja said in a statement. “We’re excited to support Cosm’s next phase of growth and help bring these experiences to more fans around the world.”
The move also represents Sony’s latest encroachment into the theatrical space following its 2024 purchase of the Alamo Drafthouse line of theaters. Sony plans to keep the two separate, according to a source familiar with the matter, but the company views both investments in line with the studio’s experiences intitatives.
“Sony Pictures shares our passion for innovation and the future of the fan experience, and this investment represents that,” Cosm President and CEO Jeb Terry added. “We will use this capital to fuel Cosm’s growth as we expand our venue network and advance our technology initiatives across both Sports and Entertainment. Sony is one of the most storied technology and entertainment companies in the world with IP spanning across films, tv, music, and games. Together, we’re positioned to bring more of the world’s most iconic IP to life in Shared Reality as we continue to super serve our fans around the world.”
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Allen & Company LLC served as Cosm’s financial advisors in the financing round.
