COSM: creating the future of live entertainment

The future of entertainment is here, and COSM is at the center of it.

The idea that it is possible to watch the Super Bowl 2025 live, but within twenty minutes be driving down Sunset Boulevard, seems impossible, but a new innovative company is making this unimaginable idea of being in two places at once possible. That is the shared reality experience COSM is creating for fans. 

 Stephen Winn and Jeb Terry, the innovators of COSM since 2020, are rapidly changing the entertainment industry. The venue blends the energy of live events with a curved LED dome that creates a “shared reality” experience, making attendees feel as if they have the best seats at the live event. Cosm’s goal is to invent a new entertainment industry that creates a new feeling that falls in the middle of being at a sports bar and paying a high ticket price to attend the actual live show or game. 

COSM was born when Winn donated a planetarium to the St. Mark’s School of Texas, which sparked the idea of creating something similar for live events using the power of technology and a bit of scaling. In the typical COSM venue, guests are inside an 87-foot, 12K resolution LED dome, showing incredible visuals paired with surround sound. 

COSM initially opened its doors in Los Angeles in June of 2024, followed by a second location in Dallas opened in August of 2024. There are venues under construction in both Atlanta and Detroit, planned to open soon. COSM so far has raised over $250 million in funding from investors such as Baillie Gifford, Dan Gilbert of Rock Ventures, David Blitzer of Bolt Ventures, Marc Lasry of Avenue Sports Fund, Bright Path Sports Partners, and Stephen Winn of Mirasol Capital. Now the company is valued at over $1 billion and partnerships span with sports leagues: NBA, UFC, ESPN, FOX Sports, Cirque du Soleil, and educational content. 

Inside COSM

A Conversation with CEO Jeb Terry

Q: What moment led to Cosm's vision, and how has it evolved? 

A: When Steve donated a planetarium to St. Mark's School of Texas, the idea for an LED dome rotated on its side was conceived.

Q: What technological advancements have been the most critical to the company's success? 

A: (i) perfection of curvilinear LED display technology at very high resolution, (ii) open architecture for immersive content, (iii) Unreal Engine activations to enable the creation of integrated “worlds” within a broadcast feed or as an extension to the linear movie feed, (iv) live ultra-high speed, high resolution, video capture of sporting and entertainment events enabling capture once, distribute everywhere capability, (v) hands off video capture system enabling pan, tilt, zoom and player isolation capture.

Q: Does AI play a role in Cosm's immersive experiences? Do you see AI shaping the future of entertainment? 

A: AI will enable accelerated software development and enhanced, faster, less expensive content creation and production.

Q: Cosm is recreating events and the entertainment industry? Do you see traditional entertainment companies as competitors, or is there a possibility of collaboration? 

A: We don’t want to compete if we can collaborate. Incumbent broadcasters and studios are essential partners to Cosm.

Q: What is a common misconception about Cosm and its business model? 

A: We are not a sports bar or restaurant. We are a new form of immersive entertainment in the massive experience economy that is growing at over 20% per year worldwide.

Q: What technological breakthroughs are you most excited about in the immersive experience industry? 

A: All the innovations discussed above, plus newer technological advances that we can’t talk about now. To remain relevant, we must continue to innovate. We use technology to provide a short-term competitive advantage. We continually enhance that technology to retain our long-term competitive advantage.

Q: Are there any specific trends in consumer behavior that have surprised you or reshaped your business strategy in some ways? 

A: The shift to an experience economy is 

accelerating. What is especially true of younger demographic cohorts is that they “live to play” and use work as a means to that end. In the past, older demographic cohorts “lived to work” and could only play a small percentage of the time. This macroeconomic trend is reshaping the world with the experience economy growing at 20% per year worldwide. Immersive experiences (like Cosm) are moving faster than that!

Q: What is a key lesson you have learned about leading an innovative company that is disrupting an industry? 

A: Be flexible, be persistent, and never believe it can’t be done. What’s the Future (WTF) is what we make of it.

Q: What's one experience you hope everyone will get to have through Cosm in their lifetime? 

A: Cosm is where you come to create epiphanies in life … those magic inspirational moments that change your life forever. 

As seen in COSM’s journey, success is often granted to those who are willing to take risks and think outside the box. Both Jeb Terry and Stephen Winn chose to reinvent the entertainment industry instead of improving the same concept. From their story its clear to see that groundbreaking ideas often spark when the “impossible” is the starting point.