VCs Fund Creator Economy Startups, Focusing on AI-Powered Tools
The venture capital landscape is currently experiencing a significant redirection of capital, with a keen focus on the burgeoning creator economy, particularly innovative startups leveraging artificial intelligence. A recent report highlights 16 VC firms actively channeling investments into companies like Substack, Whatnot, and Agentio, signaling a robust belief in the sector’s future. This surge is underpinned by the creator economy’s projected growth to $528 billion by 2027, with over $1.5 billion in funding deployed in 2024 alone.
Driving much of this investment is the transformative power of AI. Generative AI, in particular, has seen an explosion of venture capital interest, capturing 15% of total VC investment in the first half of 2024, a dramatic increase from just 2% in 2022. This reflects a fundamental shift in how creators operate, with a remarkable 91% of creators now regularly employing generative AI for content creation. Investors are recognizing that AI tools can significantly enhance efficiency, automate tedious tasks, and unlock new creative possibilities, making content production more scalable and accessible than ever before.
Among the companies attracting significant attention is Agentio, an AI-powered ad platform designed to streamline the often-complex process of buying creator-led advertising, aiming to make it as straightforward as purchasing ads on major platforms like Google or Meta. Co-founded by Arthur Leopold and Jonathan Meyers, who bring experience from platforms like Cameo and Spotify, Agentio recently secured a $12 million Series A funding round in November 2024, led by Benchmark. This investment, which brought their total raised to $16.25 million, marked Benchmark’s inaugural foray into both the creator economy and adtech, underscoring the perceived immense potential of AI-driven solutions in this space. The company has reported impressive 2,000%+ year-over-year growth, with advertisers seeing substantially better returns on ad spend.
Another prominent player drawing substantial investment is Whatnot, a live shopping platform that has revolutionized how collectibles, from sneakers to trading cards, are bought and sold. Whatnot recently closed a massive $265 million Series E funding round in late 2024 and early 2025, pushing its valuation to nearly $5 billion. This round saw participation from leading firms including Greycroft Partners, DST Global, Avra, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bond Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Y Combinator, bringing its total venture capital raised to $746 million. The platform is projected to surpass $6 billion in gross merchandise volume in 2025, indicating its strong market position and the continued growth of live commerce.
Substack, a platform empowering independent writers and creators to monetize their content through subscriptions, has also seen significant investor confidence. The company recently secured a $100 million Series C funding round, boosting its valuation to $1.1 billion. This investment, led by BOND and The Chernin Group, highlights a broader industry shift towards direct monetization models and the empowerment of individual creators.
Beyond these established platforms, venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Seven Seven Six (founded by Alexis Ohanian), UTA Ventures, and Floodgate are actively scouting and backing a diverse range of AI-powered creative tools. Startups such as Pika Labs, which generates video content from text descriptions, and Dashverse, an AI entertainment startup focused on video-based stories that recently raised $13 million, exemplify the innovative applications of AI attracting investor interest. Even platforms like Howl, a creator commerce platform, are integrating generative AI for content optimization, expecting significant efficiency boosts. The consensus among investors is clear: the integration of AI is not just an enhancement but a fundamental catalyst for the next wave of growth and innovation within the creator economy.