Spotter, a startup that supports creators and provides AI tools, secured $7.4 million in funding, as reported in a Form D filing reviewed by TechCrunch. A representative from Spotter confirmed the legitimacy of the filing but did not provide further details.
This new funding is much less than what Spotter raised recently – a $200 million Series D round led by SoftBank in 2022. Back then, Spotter, valued at $1.7 billion, raised the funds to support YouTubers’ businesses. Spotter offers significant YouTubers like MrBeast and The Try Guys upfront capital to enhance their channels. In exchange, the creators agree to license some of their content to Spotter for a set period of time. Spotter does not take ownership of creators’ copyright or intellectual property; instead, it recovers its investment by earning ad revenue from the content it licenses.
Spotter has invested $940 million in more than 735 YouTube channels as per information on its website. This business approach has been well-liked by creator startups, with other companies like Jellysmack and Creative Juice also investing in creators.
Given the challenges creators face in securing funding from traditional financial institutions, startups like Karat are stepping in to provide financial resources, such as business credit cards. Sometimes, venture capitalists invest directly in creators to help them grow their businesses.
For Spotter, this puts them in a favorable position as they can offer creators substantial capital, while creators have limited alternatives for funding. The partnership with creators at Spotter seems to yield positive outcomes – MrBeast, for example, used the upfront cash to finance a Spanish-language channel, increasing his viewership significantly over a few years.
Spotter’s founder and CEO, Aaron DeBevoise, mentioned that creators often continue working with them to reinvest in themselves due to the successful outcomes they see. Spotter did not disclose how the funding would be utilized, but this raise coincides with the launch of Spotter Studio, an AI-powered tool suite for creators.
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