AI and Music Don't Have To Be Enemies
💙 January Edition. Featuring our new podcast and conversation with the founder of Endel.
Welcome to New Renaissance Notes, a monthly newsletter where we share insights about the intersection of culture, creativity and technology. We include our updates from New Renaissance Ventures - Europe’s first venture fund dedicated to the Creative and Cultural Industries.
If you haven’t subscribed yet you can join our journey here:
💙 NRV News:
🤝 We’ve recently closed a new investment in the AI x gaming space and have committed to another deal in the AI x media space, set to close in the next few weeks. While the details are under wraps for now, we’re proud to be investing alongside industry leaders such as a16z.
🎉 We’re excited to host more impactful events for founders, investors, and senior Cultural and Creative Industries stakeholders. Our next events are set to take place in London and Paris this February. Both events are nearing full capacity, but if you’re interested in joining, don’t hesitate to reach out! Our Berlin event in March to be announced soon!
🗣 We’ve launched our new podcast ‘New Renaissance Talks’, an interview series featuring successful tech founders in the Cultural and Creative Industries. Each month, we’ll spotlight a different guest, sharing their insights, experiences, and advice for aspiring founders in this space. (see below)
👨💻 Valerio Velardo has joined New Renaissance Ventures as a scout! Valerio, a PhD in AI-driven music composition, is a leading expert in music and AI. He teaches generative AI in music at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and runs The Sound of AI YouTube channel with 50k subscribers, alongside his work as a composer.
💙 New Renaissance Talks
How AI And Music Can Work Together To Improve Focus And Sleep with Oleg Stavitsky, Founder of Endel
Endel is the leading sound wellness tech company that creates personalized sound environments to reduce stress, improve sleep, and boost productivity.
You can listen to the full episode on Spotify here:
We cover topics such as:
Navigating Co-Founding Dynamics (with 6 cofounders!)
Balancing Human Creativity and AI
The Future of Adaptive Music
Cultural Navigation in Music and Wellness
A few key highlights…
What problem is Endel solving?
Today, we’re tackling two of the biggest challenges: focus and sleep. These are massive, multi-billion-dollar problems, and people are willing to do whatever it takes—pay whatever it costs—to improve their concentration or get a good night’s sleep.
Over the last ten years, young people in the EU have lost 45 minutes of sleep a night.
How does Endel use scientific research and methodologies?
The science behind Endel is what sets us apart. Our soundscapes use the pentatonic scale, which the brain processes easily, saving cognitive energy.
To prove it works, we collaborated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, creator of the “flow” concept, and adapted his methodology to measure flow states in our users. We even published a peer-reviewed study showing that Endel’s personalized soundscapes outperform static Spotify playlists in improving focus. For us, science isn’t optional—it’s core to everything we create.
AI and Musicians have a difficult relationship. How do you balance the creative input of human artists with algorithmic generation to maintain artistic integrity?
Our approach is laser-focused on functional wellness sound, not creating a one-size-fits-all music model. Unlike typical generative music, where you regenerate everything to make changes, we’ve built tools that allow precise edits.
Artists can sit down, give feedback like “less vocals” or “more space,” and we can adjust specific parts of a soundscape without starting over. This level of flexibility is unmatched in generative music today.
What’s one piece of advice you would share with founders?
There’s no universal playbook for starting a company. But one thing I believe is key: you need to stay focused on your vision while remaining open and flexible. It’s a balancing act—holding onto your ideas but also listening to others and setting aside your ego.
What book/tool/content do you recommend?
Balance is crucial for success. If you’re looking for a great read, I’d recommend The Cold Start Problem by Andrew Chen—it’s full of valuable insights.
💙 NRV Picks
Virality Has Killed Creativity - by NRV’s James Song
Artlist 2025 Trend Report - insights from handpicked creative leaders and 5,000+ content creators
Rex Woodbury’s 25 predictions for 2025 on consumer technology
Impacts and Disruption of AI on the Music Industry by Rolling Stone Magazine
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