The news that a handful of Silicon Valley venture capital firms are stirring up money for startups has caused a bit of a stir. But is it just a case of investors looking to cash in on the recent boom in the tech space? Or could there be other reasons?
Andreessen Horowitz
One of the biggest names in VC, Andreessen Horowitz, is advising Stir Money, a video production company. Andreessen Horowitz has also invested in Clubhouse, an online network for creators. In addition, the firm is putting money behind startups in the creator economy, including Beacons and Run The World.
Stir Money, which helps people manage their income through videos and audio recordings, recently raised Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz. Founded by former Facebook product designer, Andrew Chen, and led by the company’s CEO, Mark Levine, Stir Money is aimed at helping musicians and writers to make a living from their work.
Another big investor betting on software in the creator economy is BharatPe, an Indian company that helps offline merchants accept digital payments. BharatPe is valued at $900 million and has raised $108 million in a Series D round. Meanwhile, Stax, formerly known as Fattmerchant, has raised $245 million in an undisclosed funding round.
With tens of millions of individuals building businesses on YouTube, social media and other web properties, the creator economy is in full swing. Major investors are betting on software that will help this boom continue. It is not hard to imagine a day when a major VC firm makes a billion dollar investment in a creator economy startup. Andreessen Horowitz has invested in a number of these companies, and has been successful in helping them find their way.
