Jaeson Ma

Jaeson Ma (born Jason Cheng Yuen Ma, November 11, 1980) is an American serial entrepreneur, artist, and media executive.

He is the founder of the east-west talent, brand strategy & investment firm East West Ventures, a co-founder of 88rising, and a co-founder of Stampede Ventures, chairman and co-founder of broadcast production and distribution company EST Media Holdings, and its subsidiary ventures: EST Studios, (Film & TV finance, production, and sales company), Eastern Standard Times (Global media platform), and OP3N, (a launchpad for IP and communities in the Web3 verse).

He is also a member of Milken Institute - Young Leaders Circle (YLC).

Ma has also been featured in Variety 500.

Ma is a strategic advisor and financier of the social music video app Triller, [ZASH Global Media], and general partner at Caravan Digital Studios.

During his career, he has raised capital and advised on transactions totaling over $1 billion.

He is also a Senior Advisor to Tencent Music Entertainment & KKBox fund KKFarm, Sparklabs Foundry, C Street Advisory Group, a Venture Partner for consumer tech fund GoodWater Capital, and a board member of public SPACs.

His other investments include Musical.ly (TikTok), Grab, Dark Horse Comics, Slock.it, Brain, Oursong, XiaoPeng, Mint Songs, Coinbase, Kind Heaven, and OneOf.

Ma was born in Lubbock, Texas.

Ma is the youngest of three children.

Ma earned degrees in Bible theology, business management, and youth ministry from William Jessup University.

Later, Ma earned a Master of Arts in Global Leadership and Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Prior to this, Ma was a partner with Adventures Corp and Plan C Management, managing international talent, including Far East Movement, MC Jin, Daniel Wu, and Vanness Wu, between 2008 and 2011.

In 2012, Ma founded East West Ventures (EWV, formerly known as East West Artists).

An HTC Portfolio Company, EWV incubates and invests in various opportunities across diverse sectors such as media & entertainment, frontier technology, and consumer goods.

In 2015, Ma co-founded 88rising, a multi-platform digital media company.

providing Asia-related digital content catering to the Asian millennial and Gen Z market.

The company has gained popularity as a digital music platform and label primarily for Asian artists, such as Keith Ape, Rich Brian, Joji, and Higher Brothers.

Ma served as chairman and co-founder of 88rising between 2015 and 2017.

In 2017, advertising agency WPP made a strategic investment in 88rising.

In 2017, Ma co-founded Stampede Ventures with Greg Silverman.

In 2019, East West Ventures rebranded from East West Artists to East West Ventures.

Ma is currently the CEO of East West Ventures.

In 2020, the company signed a first-look deal with CBS Studios International.

In 2022, Anderson Paak announced to make feature directorial debut With dramatic comedy K-POPS!

for Stampede Ventures.

Ma is a Strategic Advisor, Financier, and Principle of the social music video app Triller.

In September 2020, Ma brokered and put together the comeback fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.

In 2020, Ma founded EST Media Holdings alongside co-founder Eric Tu, executive of Vice Media and Anonymous Content.

There subsidiary companies of EST Media include Eastern Standard Times, EST Studios, and OP3N.

Ma stated, "The steady rise in popularity of Asian content all over the world is a testament to the potential for the continent to become a powerhouse in entertainment. The team we have assembled at EST Studios has the experience and relationships that will bring together the best from East and West to tell the stories that can unite us."

In April 2023, EST Studios acquired international sales rights to Streams Flow From A River, a Canneseries selection produced by Canada’s Fae Pictures and starring Jane Luk and Simon Sinn.

The series, created by Christopher Yip, follows a Chinese-Canadian immigrant family trapped in their laundromat together during a snowstorm.

In May 2023, EST Studios secured the global sales rights to Chabak– Night Of Murder And Romance, a Korean horror-thriller feature film directed by William Inhyuk Hyoung, starring Danny Ahn, a member of K-Pop group G.O.D., Kyoung-In Hong, and Min-Chae Kim.

Also in May 2023, EST Studios formed a partnership with N8 Studios to bring East Asian content to global markets, beginning with the Thai horror film Home For Rent at the 2023 Marche du Film.

EST also acquired sales rights to Surf Nation, a documentary feature film about two Chinese surfers aspiring to represent their country in the Olympics.

In addition, EST Studios pitched Caylee So's drama The Harvest to international buyers at Cannes Film Festival 2023.

In 2021, Ma announced the launch of the web3 social media platform OP3N, an NFT-based app for community building.

This decentralized "community economy" allows creators and fans to connect/create/build using multi-chain, multi-wallet.

OP3N received seed funding from investors such as Warner Music Group, Galaxy Interactive, Blue Run Ventures, founders of Axie Infinity, Yield Guild Games, Twitch, and Animoca Brands.