• Newly filed court documents show how MrBeast's ambitions have shifted over time.
• The YouTuber previously eyed podcasts and NFTs to grow his media empire.
• Today, he's exploring fintech and mobile phone services.

MrBeast has had grand ambitions to build a media empire for years — but they have changed considerably.

New court docs filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit between MrBeast founder Jimmy Donaldson and his burger business partner reveal that he once explored avenues like podcasts and NFTs before pivoting to other areas, including fintech and creator services.

The docs demonstrate how YouTube's top creator pivoted as he sought to capitalize on his social clout.

It's common for startups, and especially creator-led ones, to begin with one idea and then shift gears, said Megan Lightcap, a partner at the VC firm Slow Ventures, where she leads its Creator Fund. Unlike consumer brands launching with a specific product, it's easier for creators to move into entirely new categories.

"Because their popularity is centered on their personal brand, they have even more opportunities," she said.

A 2021 investor fundraising deck included in the court documents labels "Beast Games, Netflix Beast Studios, Beast NFT, Beast Podcasting" as coming in 2023. His company has not launched significant businesses focused on games, Netflix, NFTs, or podcasts.

The 2021 deck also talks about launching a "subscription fan platform" called "Beast World" in 2022. At the time, MrBeast envisioned a $9.95 a month platform featuring "exclusive content, merchandise, community, and experiences."

By 2024, the company was talking about opportunities in theme parks, theatrical releases, and a vast array of consumer products, according to a July 2024 board meeting presentation.

The company was also mindful of the need to diversify away from having Donaldson on camera. The presentation called for animated series and associated toys and consumer products, which manifested in the MrBeast Lab YouTube channel and products.

By 2025, with new CEO Jeffrey Housenbold at the helm, MrBeast's ambitions had changed further.

In a February investor deck that year, MrBeast presented the company as built on three pillars: media, consumer packaged goods, and software, with a "comprehensive" video game portfolio and a loyalty program earmarked for 2026. A creator platform, fintech, and pro sports were being explored. The company also hinted at a mobile phone service.

Here's how MrBeast is currently moving forward on some of those fronts:

Fintech: This year, the company acquired Step, a digital banking platform offering savings accounts, a credit-building Visa card that functions similarly to a debit card, and a cash-advance program. Step, which is geared toward young people, hasn't posted any new videos on its YouTube channel since the deal closed.

Creator platform: MrBeast recently hired a team from the Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup Pietra, including its CEO and cofounder Ronak Trivedi, who's playing a key role in developing the platform.

Membership: At a breakfast for advertisers in May, MrBeast revealed plans for the "largest membership service in the world," with a philanthropic element, early access to content, exclusive content, and member challenges.

CPG: Feastables, a "better for you snack brand," launched in 2022 with a chocolate bar. The MrBeast Burger business continues, even if Donaldson stopped promoting it after getting embroiled in a legal dispute with his partner.

Media: MrBeast has expanded his spectacle-style video offerings and launched the "Beast Games" competition show on Amazon's Prime Video. His company is planning new verticals centered on food, entertainment, fitness, and gaming that aren't meant to rely on Donaldson's on-screen presence.

Mobile phone: The company plans to launch a phone business called "Beast Mobile," Housenbold said at The New York Times' DealBook Summit in December. According to the 2025 investor deck, it's likely to take the form of an MVNO, which uses a major carrier's infrastructure and is a model other celebrities have adopted.

Experiential: MrBeast tested the theme park concept in November with a 45-day pop-up in Saudi Arabia, where visitors could participate in challenges inspired by his videos.

• MrBeast's next growth act may come from AI-produced videos.
• Jimmy Donaldson's company is looking for someone to lead a production team with AI at the foundation.
• MrBeast has been expanding his company while looking for ways to save.

YouTube's biggest star, MrBeast, is looking for a leader to help his company create "AI-native" productions.

A job posting says that Beast Industries wants to build a new production capability in which AI is "not a tool but the foundation."

It calls for someone who can help define "what AI-native entertainment looks like, develop original formats, and build systems that enable content to be conceived, produced, and scaled with AI at the core."

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, wouldn't be the first creator to delve into AI. Fellow superstar creator Steven Bartlett has been making fully AI-animated shows since last year.

Still, as YouTube's top creator with 479 million subscribers, Donaldson's moves in the space will be closely watched by the entertainment community.

Many production studios are adopting AI across production, marketing, and visual effects, and startups are raising millions on the promise of helping legacy Hollywood transition to the AI era.

So far, entirely AI productions are largely the realm of animation, podcasts, and short-form video.

In the micro drama space, apps including TikTok's Pine Drama and Vigloo have character-driven dramas generated by AI. These AI dramas account for 10% of Vigloo's library, a spokesperson said. The Beijing-based startup StoReel recently raised $34 million to make AI micro dramas.

AI-driven productions would solve some problems for Donaldson.

He is famous for his viral, high-budget challenge and giveaway videos, though the company has been tightening up spending. One of the job's listed expectations is to use automation to make more content, faster.

Making AI-driven videos also directly addresses the risk any creator faces when they build a company that relies on their time and persona. As Donaldson expands his company to consumer products and services, it limits his bandwidth to star in his own videos. He recently hired former NBCU unscripted executive Corie Henson to head his studio division and is looking to broaden the company's video franchises. He said this week his company now has 750 employees.

Donaldson himself has shared concerns about AI's risk to his industry.

After OpenAI released Sora 2 last fall, Donaldson mused on X about what AI's advancement will mean for creators, adding, "Scary times."

He also released — and then removed — a tool that used AI to generate video thumbnails last year, after receiving backlash from creators.