What are the latest funding news in the creator economy? (September 2026)
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In our creator economy deck, you will find everything you need to understand the market
Creator economy funding remained active through September 2026, with new capital flowing to creator commerce, AI production tools, live selling and creator-finance platforms.
The 12 publicly announced deals below total more than $1.39 billion, although the largest two rounds accounted for most of that amount.
And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the creator economy.
Insights
- Whatnot and ElevenLabs represented roughly 75% of the $1.39 billion disclosed across these creator economy funding deals, showing how late-stage platform leaders still dominate total capital deployment.
- Six of the 12 rounds were Series A financings, suggesting that creator economy startups are still reaching product-market fit across monetization, creator data and audience-management software.
- Five companies focused on helping brands work with creators, including Levanta, Astute, Passionfroot, Nectar Social and Devotion, making creator-brand infrastructure the most repeated category in this selection.
- Only Whatnot and ElevenLabs disclosed valuations, despite both raising more than $500 million, which highlights how private creator economy valuations remain difficult to benchmark.
- AI was central to at least seven of the 12 companies, from voice generation and interactive mini-apps to influencer management, creator data access and community operations.
- Creator monetization is broadening beyond advertising: the deals include live commerce, affiliate commissions, music-rights finance, stock-content licensing and AI-powered expert products.
- Eleven of the 12 announced financings took place in 2026, making the list a useful view of the creator economy’s most recent investment activity as of September 2026.
As this chart shows, and as featured in our creator economy deck, search interest in becoming a creator has grown significantly
Summary table of the latest funding deals in the creator economy as of September 2026
We define the creator economy as people and small teams who build an online audience and earn money from the content or ideas they produce.
We include video and audio creators, writers, streamers, educators, community builders and other audience-first creators, plus the platforms, tools and services that help them create, grow and monetize.
We exclude traditional media companies, gig workers like drivers or delivery couriers, and small businesses whose main activity is selling products or services rather than making content for an audience.
You can also read our detailed analysis to understand how funding activity in the creator economy has evolved over the last few years.
We also have a quarter-by-quarter analysis of funding activity in the market here.
Finally, you can check our complete list of fundraising deals for the creator economy (we update this list every quarter) as well as our ranking of the most funded startups.
| Name | When | Amount in $ | Round Type | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levanta | August 27, 2026 | $22M | Series B | Affiliate Commerce & Creator Monetization |
| Astute | August 17, 2026 | $1.2M | Pre-seed | Creator Discovery & Brand Partnerships |
| Whatnot | August 7, 2026 | $545M | Series G | Live Commerce & Creator-Led Selling |
| Phyllo | August 6, 2026 | $15M | Series A | Creator Data & Financial Infrastructure |
| Passionfroot | July 22, 2026 | $15M | Series A | Creator Sponsorships & Brand Partnerships |
| Sekai | June 1, 2026 | $20M | Series A | Interactive Creation & Fan Experiences |
| Wirestock | May 15, 2026 | $23M | Series A | Creative Data Licensing & Creator Monetization |
| Nectar Social | May 13, 2026 | $30M | Series A | Community Management & Creator Marketing |
| Devotion | March 2, 2026 | $4M | Seed | Influencer Marketing & Creator Operations |
| ElevenLabs | February 4, 2026 | $500M | Series D | AI Audio & Creator Production Tools |
| Duetti | January 21, 2026 | $200M | Series C & Structured Financing | Creator Finance & Music Rights |
| Delphi | June 24, 2025 | $16M | Series A | Expert Creators & AI Digital Products |
All the latest funding deals in the creator economy as of September 2026
Levanta raised $22 million in August 2026.
When was it?
Levanta announced its Series B financing on August 27, 2026.
Who are they?
Levanta helps creators earn affiliate commissions while giving brands tools to recruit partners, track sales and manage creator-commerce campaigns.
Geographical focus?
Levanta began with a U.S. focus and is expanding across global retail marketplaces, including Amazon, Walmart and Shopify.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Levanta belongs in the creator economy because its core product helps creators monetize product recommendations through affiliate commerce.
What is the company stage?
Levanta is a growth-stage company that reported 80% year-over-year revenue growth in 2026 and more than 90,000 vetted creators.
How much did they raise?
Levanta raised $22 million in this financing round.
What round is it?
Levanta raised a Series B led by Volition Capital.
Why did they raise?
Levanta raised the funding to expand its creator-commerce technology, strengthen go-to-market operations and add retail marketplaces.
Astute raised $1.2 million in August 2026.
When was it?
Astute announced its pre-seed round on August 17, 2026.
Who are they?
Astute uses AI to help B2B companies find relevant newsletter, podcast and social creators, manage partnerships and measure results.
Geographical focus?
Astute is Europe-based and is designed to support international B2B creator partnerships.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Astute belongs in the creator economy because it connects audience-first creators with brands seeking measurable B2B marketing partnerships.
What is the company stage?
Astute is at an early commercial stage and launched its platform alongside an oversubscribed pre-seed round.
How much did they raise?
Astute raised $1.2 million from a group of venture investors and strategic angels.
What round is it?
Astute raised a pre-seed round with participation from Flyer One Ventures, Silicon Gardens, Marathon Fund and ERA.
Why did they raise?
Astute raised the capital to build AI agents, broaden creator coverage and simplify partnership execution for B2B teams.
This chart, included in our creator economy deck, compares the main business model options for creator monetization platforms
Whatnot raised $545 million in August 2026.
When was it?
Whatnot announced its Series G round on August 7, 2026.
Who are they?
Whatnot is a livestream marketplace where sellers build audiences and sell products through live video, chat, community features and checkout.
Geographical focus?
Whatnot was founded in the United States and is expanding across Europe and other international markets.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Whatnot belongs in the creator economy because individual sellers and creator-led businesses monetize audiences through live shopping content.
What is the company stage?
Whatnot is a late-stage growth company that reported more than $8 billion in first-half 2026 gross merchandise volume.
How much did they raise?
Whatnot raised $545 million at an approximately $20 billion valuation.
What round is it?
Whatnot raised a Series G co-led by ICONIQ, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Avra.
Why did they raise?
Whatnot raised the funding to develop seller tools, improve AI features, expand internationally and attract more live-show buyers.
Phyllo raised $15 million in August 2026.
When was it?
Phyllo announced its Series A financing on August 6, 2026.
Who are they?
Phyllo provides an API for creator-consented identity, audience, engagement and income data across major online platforms.
Geographical focus?
Phyllo operates globally and is headquartered in San Francisco with a remote-first team.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Phyllo belongs in the creator economy because its infrastructure helps platforms and financial products access verified creator data.
What is the company stage?
Phyllo is at an early growth stage, with more than 100,000 creators reportedly linking their accounts to the platform.
How much did they raise?
Phyllo raised $15 million in new equity funding.
What round is it?
Phyllo raised a Series A led by RTP Global.
Why did they raise?
Phyllo raised the capital to broaden its API coverage, support more creator platforms and improve access to verified data.
This chart, included in our creator economy deck, breaks down beehiiv’s strategy in the creator economy
Passionfroot raised $15 million in July 2026.
When was it?
Passionfroot announced its Series A financing on July 22, 2026.
Who are they?
Passionfroot connects B2B creators with brands and provides software for campaign planning, payments and performance measurement.
Geographical focus?
Passionfroot was founded in Germany and is expanding into the United States while serving international customers.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Passionfroot belongs in the creator economy because its marketplace helps professional creators earn sponsorship revenue from B2B brands.
What is the company stage?
Passionfroot is a growth-stage company that reportedly paid more than $10 million to creators during the prior 18 months.
How much did they raise?
Passionfroot raised $15 million in this round.
What round is it?
Passionfroot raised a Series A led by Insight Partners, with participation from Creandum, Supernode Global and s16vc.
Why did they raise?
Passionfroot raised the funding to expand in the United States and develop creator-graph and AI measurement tools.
Sekai raised $20 million in June 2026.
When was it?
Sekai announced its Series A round on June 1, 2026.
Who are they?
Sekai lets people create, remix and share interactive mini-apps and fan experiences by describing an idea in natural language.
Geographical focus?
Sekai is a global consumer product with early communities influenced by anime and fan-fiction culture.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Sekai belongs in the creator economy because users can create and distribute interactive audience experiences with planned creator monetization options.
What is the company stage?
Sekai is an early growth-stage company that reported more than 15 million mini-apps created on its platform.
How much did they raise?
Sekai raised $20 million in fresh funding.
What round is it?
Sekai raised a Series A round, although the complete investor list was not publicly disclosed.
Why did they raise?
Sekai raised the funding to grow its AI creation platform, develop the consumer product and build creator and celebrity partnerships.
In our creator economy deck, we identify pain points entrepreneurs should prioritize
Wirestock raised $23 million in May 2026.
When was it?
Wirestock announced its Series A round on May 15, 2026.
Who are they?
Wirestock helps photographers, videographers, designers and musicians license creative work to AI companies and other buyers.
Geographical focus?
Wirestock operates globally with a creator community across creative disciplines and countries.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Wirestock belongs in the creator economy because it gives creators new ways to monetize visual, audio and multimodal content.
What is the company stage?
Wirestock is a growth-stage company with more than 700,000 creators and reported annualized revenue above $40 million.
How much did they raise?
Wirestock raised $23 million in this financing round.
What round is it?
Wirestock raised a Series A led by Nava Ventures, with participation from several existing and strategic investors.
Why did they raise?
Wirestock raised the capital to build more creator tools, support new data formats and increase AI dataset production capacity.
Nectar Social raised $30 million in May 2026.
When was it?
Nectar Social announced its Series A financing on May 13, 2026.
Who are they?
Nectar Social uses AI agents to help brands manage social conversations, communities, creator workflows, moderation and commerce interactions.
Geographical focus?
Nectar Social is U.S.-based and serves brands with global audiences and multi-platform social operations.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Nectar Social belongs in the creator economy because its platform includes creator workflow management and social audience operations for brands.
What is the company stage?
Nectar Social is a growth-stage company with customers including Liquid Death, Figma and e.l.f. Beauty.
How much did they raise?
Nectar Social raised $30 million in new financing.
What round is it?
Nectar Social raised a Series A led by Menlo Ventures and the Anthology Fund.
Why did they raise?
Nectar Social raised the funding to hire AI talent, deepen platform integrations and expand its AI agents into more workflows.
This market map, featured in our creator economy deck, highlights top companies and startups in the creator economy
Devotion raised $4 million in March 2026.
When was it?
Devotion announced its launch and seed financing on March 2, 2026.
Who are they?
Devotion is a platform that helps large brands discover, evaluate, manage and pay influencer partners at scale.
Geographical focus?
Devotion is focused on the United States and serves large consumer brands.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Devotion belongs in the creator economy because its software helps brands manage large portfolios of creator relationships.
What is the company stage?
Devotion is at an early commercial growth stage, with more than 10 beta clients and reported seven-figure revenue.
How much did they raise?
Devotion raised $4 million in seed funding.
What round is it?
Devotion raised a seed round led by Basecase and Will Ventures.
Why did they raise?
Devotion raised the funding to hire engineers and brand operators and improve its AI systems for creator management.
ElevenLabs raised $500 million in February 2026.
When was it?
ElevenLabs announced its Series D financing on February 4, 2026.
Who are they?
ElevenLabs provides AI voice, dubbing, sound-effects, music and conversational-audio tools for creators, developers and businesses.
Geographical focus?
ElevenLabs operates globally, with teams and commercial activity across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
ElevenLabs belongs in the creator economy because creators use its tools to generate, localize and distribute audio and voice content.
What is the company stage?
ElevenLabs is a late-stage growth company that reported more than $330 million in 2025 annual recurring revenue.
How much did they raise?
ElevenLabs raised $500 million at an approximately $11 billion valuation.
What round is it?
ElevenLabs raised a Series D led by Sequoia Capital.
Why did they raise?
ElevenLabs raised the funding to expand creative-audio products, continue research and build voice-agent and enterprise infrastructure.
This chart, included in our creator economy deck, shows annual funding in creator economy startups
Duetti secured $200 million in January 2026.
When was it?
Duetti announced its combined equity and structured financing on January 21, 2026.
Who are they?
Duetti gives independent musicians upfront capital in exchange for portions of their music rights and helps grow those catalogs.
Geographical focus?
Duetti operates globally with more than 1,100 artists and music creators across more than 40 countries.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Duetti belongs in the creator economy because it provides financing and catalog-management services directly to independent music creators.
What is the company stage?
Duetti is a growth-stage company with an established artist network, recurring catalog transactions and international expansion underway.
How much did they raise?
Duetti secured $200 million in total financing, including $50 million in equity, a $125 million securitization and a credit-facility increase.
What round is it?
Duetti’s equity component was a Series C led by Raine Partners, alongside debt and securitization financing.
Why did they raise?
Duetti raised the financing to acquire more music catalogs, develop its technology and provide more capital to artists.
Delphi raised $16 million in June 2025.
When was it?
Delphi announced its Series A financing on June 24, 2025.
Who are they?
Delphi helps experts, writers, coaches, consultants and creators build interactive AI versions of their knowledge for their audiences.
Geographical focus?
Delphi operates globally and serves creators and experts across professional and knowledge-based categories.
Why do we include them in the creator economy?
Delphi belongs in the creator economy because it helps audience-first experts turn their knowledge into a scalable digital product.
What is the company stage?
Delphi is at the product-market-fit stage, with more than 2,000 experts, business owners and creators reportedly using the platform.
How much did they raise?
Delphi raised $16 million in new equity funding.
What round is it?
Delphi raised a Series A led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Menlo Ventures and other investors.
Why did they raise?
Delphi raised the funding to improve its digital-mind technology and help more creators scale access to their expertise.
