Ozy Media

Ozy Media

Company type	Private
Industry	Media and entertainment
Founded	September 2013 (2013-09)
Founder	Carlos Watson, Samir Rao
Defunct	March 1, 2023 (2023-03-01)
Fate	Ceased operations following fraud allegations and legal issues
Headquarters	Mountain View, California , United States
Area served	United States
Key people	Carlos Watson (CEO), Samir Rao (COO)
Products	Digital media content, podcasts, newsletters, television programs

Ozy Media (branded as OZY) was an American media and entertainment enterprise established in September 2013 by Carlos Watson (serving as CEO) and Samir Rao (COO). Operating out of its headquarters in Mountain View, California and maintaining an additional office in New York City, the firm focused on producing innovative digital content.

On September 27, 2021, The New York Times revealed a series of scandals involving deceptive practices and executive misconduct at Ozy. In response to the ensuing negative publicity, the company’s board declared its closure on October 1, 2021. Nevertheless, CEO Watson rescinded this decision on October 4, announcing that Ozy would persist with a streamlined board of directors.

Subsequent federal inquiries were initiated by the Department of Justice and the SEC. In February 2023, charges of fraud were brought against Watson, Rao, and another executive. Ozy officially ceased its operations on March 1, 2023.

On July 16, 2024, both Ozy Media and Watson were found guilty of fraud; meanwhile, Rao and chief of staff Suzee Han entered guilty pleas and cooperated with prosecutors. On December 16, 2024, Watson received a prison sentence totaling 116 months. Later, in March 2025, former President Trump commuted Watson’s sentence.

Financing

Launched in September 2013 as a digital magazine supplemented by a daily newsletter, Ozy secured $5.3 million in seed funding by December of that year. This round was supported by Laurene Powell Jobs, founder of Emerson Collective, who also joined the board. Early financial backers included Louise Rogers and Ron Conway.

In October 2014, the German media conglomerate Axel Springer contributed $20 million in investment. A subsequent Series B funding round raised $10 million in January 2017, led by Michael Moe’s GSV Capital. Later, in November 2019, Ozy closed a $35 million Series C round spearheaded by entrepreneur Marc Lasry. The company additionally received grants from the Ford Foundation.

By January 2021, CEO Carlos Watson declared that Ozy had achieved profitability with revenues reaching $50 million for the previous year. Nonetheless, prominent news organizations challenged these assertions, resulting in lawsuits from investors accusing the company of fraud and withholding information. Ozy also disclosed that it had entertained acquisition proposals from unspecified media entities.

In March 2021, Ozy entered into a multi-year partnership with Dentsu aimed at engaging millennial and Generation Z demographics. However, by October 2021, major media-buying firms such as WPP’s GroupM halted campaigns and ended contracts with Ozy amid allegations of fraudulent and illicit conduct.

Partnerships

Between its inception in September 2013 and mid-2014, Watson, occasionally accompanied by Ozy contributors, made weekly appearances on NPR's All Things Considered segment titled "The New and the Next," where they showcased emerging trends featured in Ozy's articles.

In 2014, Ozy revealed a content syndication arrangement with National Geographic. By the following year, the company had established newsletter collaborations with The New York Times and Wired, partnerships that Ozy credited with expanding its subscriber numbers. Nevertheless, former staff members claimed that Ozy exaggerated these collaborations, unlawfully accessed partner email databases, and breached data privacy regulations.

In 2019, Ozy developed a television program for the Oprah Winfrey Network that earned an Emmy Award, alongside a PBS production which received the Imagen Award for Best Informational Program.

By 2021, Ozy had co-produced a 33-episode podcast series with the BBC World Service, concluding in April. Additionally, the company formed partnerships with Lifetime, The History Channel, and its parent company A&E Networks.

Allegations of fraud and closure

On September 26, 2021, the New York Times disclosed that Samir Rao, COO and co-founder of Ozy Media, impersonated a YouTube executive during a conference call with Goldman Sachs to secure a $40 million investment. Goldman Sachs verified with Google that no YouTube representatives participated and subsequently retracted their investment offer. Google referred the incident to federal authorities. The report also brought attention to previously reported inflated website traffic figures.

Following these disclosures, Ozy's board suspended Rao and engaged the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to conduct an investigation into corporate practices. However, CEO Carlos Watson later expressed skepticism about whether such a review took place; furthermore, board members who initiated the inquiry reportedly departed from the company.

Numerous prominent figures and investors severed ties with Ozy. Journalist Katty Kay resigned after only three months; SV Angel divested its shares acquired in 2012; and A&E canceled a documentary co-produced with Ozy. Chairman Marc Lasry stepped down after three weeks, citing the need for expertise in handling crisis management and investigations.

Responding to CNBC questions, Sharon Osbourne refuted Watson’s assertion that she and Ozzy Osbourne had become investors following litigation over the Ozzfest brand. She labeled Watson "the biggest shyster" she had encountered and stated she declined any shares offered during their legal dispute. Watson later clarified that shares were granted as part of a legal settlement.

On October 1, 2021, Watson resigned from his position as corporate director at NPR amid scrutiny over governance issues. That same day, Ozy removed Rao’s staff profile from its website and announced it was ceasing operations, terminating most employees while expressing deep regret over shutting down.

Relaunch

On October 4, 2021, Watson declared that Ozy would continue operating, describing it as their "Lazarus moment" during an interview on Today. The following day, LifeLine Legacy Holdings—a fund management firm that had invested more than $2 million—filed a lawsuit accusing Ozy of engaging in "fraudulent, deceptive and illegal conduct." On June 13, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed this lawsuit.

Axios underscored persistent obstacles to Ozy’s revival efforts, including ongoing federal investigations and ambiguous financial reserves. The board was reduced to just Watson and venture capitalist Michael Moe. They also pointed out uncertainty regarding remaining staff numbers since many former employees were still listed on the company’s team page.

Early investor Ron Conway criticized Watson’s decision to relaunch, arguing that remaining funds should have been allocated to severance payments for approximately 75 former employees rather than restarting operations. Conway relinquished his shares and retained Wilson Sonsini to represent ex-employees in litigation. By late November 2021, Ozy reached a severance agreement covering final wages, reimbursements, accrued paid time off, and commissions for most former full-time personnel.

In November 2021, investigations by the Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into Ozy commenced; Watson confirmed contact from the SEC.

In February 2022, Watson shared an article presenting "Ozy 2.0," which did not address previous controversies. Vice World News observed that the article was published under a pseudonym accompanied by a stock image on Tech Bullion, a platform known for sponsored content. Watson deleted his tweet about the article and acknowledged he anticipated coverage from mainstream business media but admitted awareness of its dubious origin while affirming agreement with its substance. The article has since been removed.

Fraud allegations and subsequent shutdown

On February 23, 2023, the Wall Street Journal revealed that several executives at Ozy were charged with fraud. Samir Rao entered a guilty plea in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On February 14, former chief of staff Suzee Han admitted guilt to conspiracy to commit fraud, acknowledging that she manipulated financial records under instructions from two unnamed senior executives. CEO Carlos Watson was taken into custody and pleaded not guilty. Additionally, Rao, Watson, and Ozy are defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission accusing them of misleading investors.

On March 1, 2023, Ozy declared through Twitter that its board had resolved to halt all operations immediately in light of ongoing legal and operational difficulties. The company’s website went offline on the same date.

Conviction

A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York found Ozy Media and founder Carlos Watson guilty on July 16, 2024, of conspiracy involving securities fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Watson is facing a potential prison sentence of up to 37 years. Co-founder Samir Rao and chief of staff Suzee Han had previously pleaded guilty and testified against him. A significant aspect of the trial centered on a 2021 investor presentation during which Rao impersonated a YouTube executive.

Content

After the fraud accusations surfaced in 2021, Ozy largely ceased its media activities, stopping podcast and video content production while reportedly continuing to distribute a newsletter.

Magazine

Ozy’s digital publication concentrated on profiles highlighting emerging talents and trends but frequently repackaged stories already covered by other outlets without conducting original interviews or investigations. Reporters operated with budgets as low as $150 per article and were directed to avoid subjects that mainstream media had already addressed, leading to coverage of highly specialized topics.

In 2017, Ozy journalists traveled to all 50 U.S. states for the "States of the Nation" initiative. The subsequent year saw the launch of "Around the World," an ambitious project committing to report three stories from every country. CNN observed that both projects were largely completed as planned, although some smaller nations were combined for reporting purposes.

Television

Ozy debuted its initial television series, The Contenders: 16 for '16, on PBS in 2016. The company subsequently created three more series for PBS.

In 2019, the four-part series Black Women OWN the Conversation aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Its episode titled "Motherhood" received the Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis award at the 41st News & Documentary Emmy Awards in 2020. The program featured dialogues with an audience composed of 100 Black women.

In January 2020, Ozy entered a collaboration with A&E Networks to co-produce a minimum of two television programs. By September 2020, this partnership had grown to include five shows: two scripted series, a dating program, and an updated edition of The Contenders focusing on the 2020 election.

July 2020 marked the launch of The Carlos Watson Show, a daily talk format concentrating on extended interviews distributed via YouTube. Executive producer Brad Bessey resigned after realizing he had been misinformed about the show’s broadcast status on A&E prime time. He criticized Ozy for falsely promoting an A&E series to guests when no such program existed and warned that these deceptions could have disastrous consequences for both himself and the company.

Podcasts

Ozy introduced multiple podcast series, beginning in 2017 with the historical program The Thread, which The Guardian named among the top 25 podcasts of that year. The company also developed the science and technology-focused podcast The Future of X alongside the interview-based series Ozy Confidential.

Ozy Fest

Launched in 2016, Ozy Fest was held yearly at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, New York City, until 2018. In 2017, the festival encountered legal action from Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest concerning its name. Prominent figures such as Wyclef Jean, Issa Rae, Katie Couric, and Laurene Powell Jobs—who conducted an interview with Hillary Clinton in 2018—participated in the event.

The 2019 edition was called off due to extreme heat conditions. Subsequent investigations revealed exaggerated attendance claims and inadequate event management, drawing parallels to the notorious Fyre Festival. In 2021, Ozy Fest shifted to a two-day virtual format aimed at fundraising for the United Negro College Fund.

Ozy Genius Awards

Since its inception in 2015, Ozy has granted ten college students annually $10,000 each to support their groundbreaking "genius ideas." Among the 2017 recipients was poet Amanda Gorman, who later achieved widespread acclaim after delivering The Hill We Climb at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.

Organization

According to Axios, Ozy stood out as one of the rare U.S. digital media firms founded and led by a person of color. CEO Carlos Watson emphasized that more than half of the workforce comprises people of color, with female representation exceeding fifty percent among leadership roles. Nonetheless, employee accounts described demanding work schedules, intense productivity demands, and high staff turnover, with some characterizing senior management as unpredictable and harsh.

Reception

The Daily Telegraph categorized Ozy as a "left-wing media company," whereas Variety praised its innovative brand approach. Reviews of Ozy Fest 2018 were mixed: Rolling Stone criticized it as a "neoliberal nightmare," GQ referred to it as a "sizzling hot festival for folks who love Coachella and neoliberalism," and The Washington Post portrayed it as "a progressive alternate reality" where branding often took precedence over substantive ideas.