07/05/2026
Congratulations to Kapsule, winner of the IMS Accelerator 2026
This year’s IMS Accelerator brought together an incredible group of founders building the future of music, nightlife, and live events. With over 400 startups applying from around the world, the quality of ideas, ex*****on and ambition across the cohort was genuinely exceptional, and we want to thank every team that took part.
Kapsule () stood out for its vision around artist ownership and direct-to-fan commerce, building a platform where discovery is driven by the music itself, while helping artists keep more of their earnings and own their fan relationships. Their approach to sound-first discovery and artist monetization represents an exciting new direction for the music industry.
We also want to recognize the outstanding finalists who presented alongside them:
→ EventSynth is building an AI operations layer for event production teams, helping festivals and touring operations transform operational chaos into structured intelligence through workflow automation and smarter coordination tools.
→ UPTAK () is rethinking safety within nightlife and festival culture through a bold consumer product designed to help tackle drink spiking while creating a new lifestyle-driven approach to confidence and protection in live environments.
The future of music innovation is clearly being shaped by founders working across creator tools, fan engagement, live operations, safety, commerce and AI, and this year’s accelerator was a reminder of how much talent is emerging globally across the space.
Thank you to all founders, judges, partners and attendees who made IMS Accelerator 2026 such a special experience
Stay tuned as the next edition of the IMS Accelerator will be announced soon.