Gaia, Inc.

Gaia, Inc., formerly Gaiam, is an American alternative media video on demand streaming service founded by Jirka Rysavy. Gaia has been criticized as a "conspiracy theory hub," with content featuring British conspiracy theorist David Icke. Additional content includes videos promoting the chemtrail conspiracy theory, UFO conspiracy theories, Astral projection, and The Lost City of Atlantis. Gaia is a streaming service that largely features videos and contains written articles. Initially called Gaiam, a combination of "Gaia," the Greek mother earth deity, and the phrase "I am," Gaiam was founded in 1988 by Czechoslovakian entrepreneur Jirka Rysavy. Gaiam was founded in the late 1980s as a Yoga equipment brand, including mail-order exercise videos, amongst other alternative medicine products. In 2001, Gaiam merged with the Californian company Real Goods Solar, a residential and commercial solar power integrator with a focus on off-the-grid living. Gaiam continued expansion and in 2003 bought a 50.1% share in its UK distributor Leisure Systems International (LSI). As Gaiam continued to expand its video service, in 2005, Gaiam acquired the media assets of GoodTimes Entertainment and Jetlag Productions. Gaiam acquired both Lime TV and Zaadz.com in 2007 to start what was called the LOHAS network (LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability). In 2011, the Gaiam launched Gaiam TV, a streaming service for videos on yoga, meditation, and fringe science. As Gaiam grew their streaming services, they acquired Vivendi Entertainment, a DVD distributor from Vivendi subsidiary Universal Music Group Distribution, merging it with its home entertainment division to form Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment. Sequential Brands Group purchased the Gaiam brand and yoga equipment unit for $167 million in 2016, after which the company rebranded from Gaiam to 'Gaia,' focusing on its video streaming service. As Gaia's alternative media streaming services continued to grow, 2019 showed increased popularity for the streaming service.