Hallstone Ventures Closes $10M+ Fund I with Bets on AI Infrastructure for Entertainment

Hallstone Ventures, the entertainment-focused venture fund led by industry veteran Seth Hallen, has closed its debut Fund I at over $10 million and revealed its first four portfolio companies. The investments span AI video datasets (Waffle Video), fan content creation (Wide Worlds), human identity authentication (Rex), and space-based cinema robotics (Orbes) — a mix that reflects the fund's stated thesis of backing infrastructure enabling the future of media, entertainment, and advertising.

Hallen, who has held senior roles at Comcast, Sony, and Disney and sits on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences AI task force, assembled a partner group with deep media-tech credentials including former executives from Netflix, MovieLabs, Microsoft, and Live Nation. The fund's bets offer a window into where smart entertainment money is flowing: rights-cleared training data, identity verification, and fan-driven IP activation are emerging as foundational layers beneath the industry's AI ambitions.