# Ira Belsky

> Ira Belsky is the self-taught filmmaker who co-founded Artlist in northern Israel in 2016 with Itzik Elbaz, Eyal Raz and Assaf Ayalon. As co-CEO, he has helped expand the business from subscription music licensing into footage, sound effects, editing software and AI production tools. His public interviews and writing focus on creative control, customer experience, brand building and adapting the company to generative AI.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Co-CEO at Artlist
- **Organizations:** Artlist
- **Known for:** Co-founded Artlist and remains its co-CEO alongside Itzik Elbaz., Helped expand Artlist from music licensing into several creative production categories., Artlist announced a $48 million funding round led by KKR in June 2020.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2016** — Worked as a freelance filmmaker, cinematographer and editor on promotional, commercial and music-video projects.
- **2014** — Developed the annual-subscription music-licensing idea, according to his March 2016 interview.
- **2016** — Co-founded Artlist in Kibbutz Afikim; public beta launched in March.
- **2019** — Artlist launched stock-footage platform Artgrid in April.
- **2020** — Artlist added sound effects, announced a $48 million round led by KKR and acquired Motion Array.
- **2021** — Artlist acquired FXhome.
- **2025** — Publicly discussed brand building, marketing measurement and creative control in AI; Artlist ended the year at a reported $260 million ARR.
- **2026** — Artlist launched Studio and reported $300 million ARR; Belsky and Elbaz later discussed an AI-led organizational restructuring.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Artlist and remains its co-CEO alongside Itzik Elbaz.
- Helped expand Artlist from music licensing into several creative production categories.
- Artlist announced a $48 million funding round led by KKR in June 2020.
- The company reported $300 million annual recurring revenue at the start of 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Genesis Accelerator published an account of his session with TITAN founders about Artlist’s origins, AI pivot and customer-led product development.
- **2026-08** — Appeared with Itzik Elbaz on Scale Up Nation to discuss their co-CEO partnership and AI restructuring; the account states around 200 of roughly 500 employees had left.
- **2026-04** — Artlist launched Studio and reported $300 million ARR at the start of 2026; Belsky shared hands-on production tips.
- **2026-03** — Published a Forbes Technology Council article arguing for building useful AI tools rather than trying to persuade every creator to adopt them.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ira-belsky-8aa090126/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ira-belsky
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21