Patreon Notches $155 Million At $4 Billion Valuation

Creator crowdfunding startup Patreon raised $155 million at a $4 billion valuation led by new investor Tiger Global Management with participation from Woodline Partners, Wellington Management, Lone Pine Capital and New Enterprise Associates, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday (April 7).

The digital platform connects fans with musicians, artists, online personalities and other creators, and facilitates payments for donations. The Silicon Valley firm saw its valuation triple since September 2020. The fresh infusion of capital follows Patreon’s $90 million fundraise in September that brought the company’s value to over $1.2 billion.

Patreon Co-Founder and CEO Jack Conte told the news outlet that the way creators and fans connect has been in the crosshairs of change, one that has been further fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform now has over 200,000 creators and somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 million fans.

Although the Silicon Valley startup has not yet turned a profit, its three levels of membership give the platform a 5 to 12 percent commission on the money artists make. It also makes a percentage of every payment processed.

Patreon competes with Cameo and OnlyFans. The trio of platforms has so far proven themselves to be popular with both creators and audiences. Patron has international expansion plans and has already added additional languages and currencies to its platform.

The platform was founded in 2013 by YouTube musician Conte and his Stanford roommate Sam Yam, who serves as chief technology officer, according to the firm’s website. Creators on the site have earned more than $2 billion directly from their fans.

The company’s September 2020 funding round was earmarked for search discovery tools and international expansion plans. The firm is also working on enhancing the overall experience for the fans on the site.

In a PYMNTS interview last year, Patreon Senior Vice President of Product Wyatt Jenkins said the platform lets creators keep a bigger take of their earnings than other platforms such as Spotify and YouTube.