# Michael Downing

> Michael Downing is a San Francisco-based entrepreneur and venture investor who co-founded Tout and previously led digital music and video businesses including Musicbank and GoFish. He is now managing partner at MDSV Capital, which backs emerging venture managers and makes direct investments in growing companies from their portfolios.

- **Role:** Managing Partner at MDSV Capital
- **Organizations:** MDSV Capital, Tout, GoFish, Musicbank, Sonique, Addwater, Kicklabs, Gravity Ranch Ventures, SRI International
- **Education:** University of California, Davis
- **Known for:** Co-founded six technology companies, with three acquisitions and one public-market outcome, according to his MDSV biography., Led Tout through its transition from consumer short-video sharing to publisher video distribution., Tout reported distribution across more than 2,800 websites in October 2016.

## Career timeline

- **1996** — Co-founded Addwater, an interactive agency; later SEC biography names him as a co-founder and senior vice president.
- **1997-1999** — Served as COO of Sonique, an MP3 playback software business acquired by Lycos in 1999.
- **1999-2001** — Co-founded and led Musicbank, a licensed online music service; the company ceased operations in April 2001.
- **2003** — Co-founded GoFish Technologies, according to its 2006 SEC filing.
- **2006** — GoFish entered the public market; Downing became president and CEO of the public company through the transaction described in its SEC filing.
- **2008** — Co-founded Kicklabs in San Francisco, according to his MDSV biography.
- **2010-2019** — Led Tout as CEO, according to his Wellfound profile.
- **2011** — Shaquille O’Neal used Tout to announce his NBA retirement.
- **2013** — Tout’s publisher partnerships became its primary business; The Wall Street Journal used it for WorldStream.
- **2016** — Tout announced a $26 million Series C financing and reported 57 million monthly unique video viewers.
- **2017** — Became co-founder and managing partner of Gravity Ranch Ventures, according to Wellfound.
- **2021** — Founded MDSV Capital, according to the firm’s biography.

## Achievements

- Co-founded six technology companies, with three acquisitions and one public-market outcome, according to his MDSV biography.
- Led Tout through its transition from consumer short-video sharing to publisher video distribution.
- Tout reported distribution across more than 2,800 websites in October 2016.
- Co-founded Kicklabs and has invested in or advised more than 60 technology startups, according to his MDSV biography.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Appeared on Swimming with Allocators to discuss emerging managers, MDSV’s investment strategy and the Promontory platform.
- **2024-04** — Discussed the Capital Extension Program with David Weisburd on episode 60 of How I Invest.

## Links

- Website: https://www.mdsv.vc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldowning/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/michaeldowning

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-downing
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23