• Meta filed a lawsuit this week accusing a man of selling Instagram handles and "unauthorized" account reinstatement services.
• The Instagram usernames were listed at prices ranging from $700 to $50,000, the lawsuit says.
• Meta also filed another lawsuit this week, alleging a different user engaged in similar violations.

Meta is cracking down on the buying and selling of Instagram accounts and "unauthorized" account reinstatement services.

In two separate lawsuits this week, the company took aim at people it alleged had violated its terms by offering these kinds of services. It's the first time Meta has taken this type of legal action in the US.

On Tuesday, Meta filed a lawsuit in California against Daniel Folger, a photographer and entrepreneur. The lawsuit alleges Folger "sold Instagram usernames and unauthorized Instagram account reinstatement services."

The suit says Folger began offering and selling Instagram usernames in 2022 and continued those activities through February 2025. Prices for the usernames ranged from $700 to $50,000. The lawsuit includes documentation of content posted to Folger's accounts, including a list of usernames for sale.

Instagram's terms of service include a clause saying users cannot "buy, sell, or transfer any aspect of your account," including usernames.

Meta's suit also alleges Folger "conspired" with a Meta contractor to "misuse the internal Meta appeal channel in order to circumvent Meta's enforcement action and reinstate" an account that Meta had disabled.

Folger did not respond to a request for comment.

Meta filed two similar lawsuits this week

On Tuesday, Meta filed a similar lawsuit against Idriss Qibaa, alleging he sold unauthorized Instagram services like "the ability to disable user accounts" and "user account reinstatement services." The suit also accuses Qibaa of selling "fake engagement services intended to artificially inflate followers on Instagram user accounts."

The Meta suit references a 2024 podcast in which Qibaa agrees with the host's description of him as a "professional when it comes to the banning and unbanning of Instagram accounts."

"During this podcast, QIBAA outlined an extortion scheme he has perpetrated against multiple victims," the suit continues.

Qibaa has been indicted in a separate criminal case, scheduled for trial in May, alleging that he sent messages threatening to injure or kill two victims, the Meta suit says.

Business Insider was not able to reach Qibaa. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

The market for Instagram usernames

The underground market for Instagram services is nothing new. Last year, BI reported that there were several Facebook Groups where users were trading monetization-eligible accounts. At extremes, some Instagram users have had their accounts held hostage for ransom or faced harassment.

But these new lawsuits suggest Instagram is taking a harder line — at least on the people it believes are the worst offenders.

"We will consider all enforcement and legal options to protect people on our platforms," a Meta spokesperson told BI. "These particular abuses target users and violate our policies, and we are committed to countering these malicious activities."

• VC firm Slow Ventures has raised $60 million to invest in content creators.
• The firm will make $1 million to $3 million bets in exchange for a 10% cut in creator businesses.
• The firm targets creators with niche audiences, superfans, and big ideas about where to innovate.

YouTubers are the new Stanford dropouts.

Slow Ventures, an early-stage VC firm, launched a new $60 million fund focused on investing in content creators. It's looking for creators with the "DNA of a YC founder," Megan Lightcap, a partner leading Slow's creator fund, told Business Insider, referring to Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator.

"Everyone has looked at creators and the businesses that they're building and been like, 'Oh, it's cute. It's like a little lifestyle business,'" Lightcap said.

However, Lightcap poses that some of these businesses are venture scale.

"There's going to be a subset of creators that are very entrepreneurial, have deep trust and expertise in a specific vertical, and are builders," Lightcap said. "They're founders."

Investing in creators' businesses isn't new for Slow. The firm has been testing the model for a few years. Other companies like Jellysmack and Spotter have also offered capital to creators with a focus on licensing their content catalogs. But this is the first time Slow is setting up a dedicated fund for creator deals with participation from institutional investors like MIT and the University of Michigan.

For Slow, investing in a creator does not mean simply getting a cut of their media business built on YouTube ad revenue and brand deals. It's about getting a share in the profits of whatever spin-off businesses they launch, such as a gardening influencer selling rakes or a food creator publishing a cookbook.

The company said it will invest between $1 million and $3 million to get a 10% stake in creator holding companies. Those holding companies will house all the different business lines an influencer might dabble in.

Lightcap said the capital allows for flexibility, letting creators "test and experiment" with content and production, hiring teams, and building broader businesses.

Where Slow's money will flow

What type of creators is Slow looking for? Not a generalist like MrBeast, but rather, a content creator passionate about a specific niche who understands what products are missing from that category.

Slow's target creator sees that opportunity, knows that their audience feels similarly, and says, "'I'm going to build it,'" Lightcap said.

While some creators may be more focused on platform ad revenue or brand deals, Slow is looking for creators whose businesses are outgrowing the traditional influencer career.

"They look at the media not as the end, but as the means to an end, and think of their content and community, really, as this strategic asset on which they can launch other types of companies," she said.

Creators with a substantial YouTube business are top of mind for Slow.

"There's many ways these creators can emerge," Lightcap said. "Most of them end up in some way, shape, or form on YouTube."

Lightcap highlighted Slow's previous investment into YouTube creator Marina Mogilko's business as an example of a successful deal.

Creators as a new type of founder

Investing in a YouTuber could seem risky to a traditional VC. After all, your return leans on the performance and durability of one individual.

But Lightcap said the situation isn't much different than betting on a startup founder, who often carries the future of a company on their back for years.

She said creators can actually be much easier to conduct due diligence on than a startup that's just getting off the ground. A creator's audience, the presence of superfans, and the ways they make money are easy to vet.

"As seed investors, we're so used to looking at an opportunity with zero data," Lightcap said. "When you're looking at creators at this level, there's actually a ton of stuff to diligence."

At the end of the day, there's precedent for media figures growing niche content into big businesses, with lucrative exits.

"You don't have to squint very hard to be like, 'Would a creator holding company ever IPO?'" Lightcap said. She pointed to Martha Stewart and the Oprah Winfrey Network as examples of media players that successfully scaled. "It's not something that we're necessarily underwriting today, but it's going to be very interesting to see how this all changes."

• Hangout, a new social music platform, launched in November.
• The platform now has over 1.1 million users, who are able to stream over 100 million songs.
• In August, the company closed its $8.2 million seed investment. Here's the pitch deck it used.

Joseph Perla thinks the way we listen to music is due for a shake-up.

Spotify, the largest music streaming service, has been focused on AI and podcasting. And TikTok, a breakthrough platform for music discovery and marketing, could still be banned in the US.

Perla, CEO of social music platform Hangout, wants to make the music listening experience more human.

"I'm building a whole new kind of social platform that's focused on connection and unity and harmony," Perla told Business Insider. "And I'm doing that with music."

Hangout, which launched in November, lets people connect around music on both web and mobile through listening rooms where users can queue songs, chat, and discover new music. Hangout has surpassed 1.1 million registered users since launching, according to the company.

It's not the first time Perla has built a music product. He was the VP of technology of Turntable.fm, a similar music service where users could collaboratively play music in chat rooms. Turntable's original iteration ran from 2011 to 2013. It was relaunched by CEO Billy Chasen in 2021 with backing from Andreessen Horowitz. Chasen's version has since rebranded to Deepcut.fm.

When building Hangout, Perla said it was crucial to secure rights to music off the bat. Through partnerships with labels like Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Merlin (a digital rights agency that covers independent labels), Hangout is able to host over 100 million full-length tracks on the platform. Users can also connect their Spotify, Apple Music, or Soundcloud accounts.

"That means that we have content for everybody's taste, everybody's genre," Perla said. "As we scale up the platform to more and more users, we will have a Hangout for you that fits your exact taste, that has five other people that love exactly that kind of thing that you like."

Hangout has both public and private rooms where users can listen to music, but private hangouts do require a paid subscription. The company is using a freemium model for monetization early on, with paid subscriptions running between $5 and $50 a month.

Perla said Hangout also wants to be a hub for music marketing as artists prepare to launch albums and tours. It has already hosted listening parties and AMAs with musicians, such as Empire of the Sun, Greta Van Fleet, and Cage the Elephant.

Hangout's launch comes at a time when consumers are craving new social networking platforms.

"We don't want to be the everything platform, but we think what we've made a much healthier way of having a social experience," Perla said.

Other social music apps have also gained traction in the past few years, like group-listening platforms Stationhead and social music feed Airbuds. Spotify itself has made a play in social listening, launching a feature called Jam in 2023 that lets groups sync their listening. It has collaborative playlists, too.

In August, Hangout announced that it had closed a $8.2 million seed round from investors such as Founders Fund, Elizabeth Street Ventures, and 468 Capital.

Read the 26-page pitch deck Hangout used to raise capital:

Note: Hangout has redacted details and amended some pages so that the document could be shared externally.

Hangout's pitch deck was used in 2024.

It starts by stepping back in time to the 2000s.

"In the 2000s there was pent up demand for on-demand solo streaming," the slide reads. It then lists several services that were popular at the time: Napster, Pirate Bay, Kazaa, LimeWire, eDonkey, Morpheus, and SoulSeek.

Then came Spotify.

The slide says that Spotify "captured the opportunity."

Hangout also references another music app called Groovy.

"Over a decade later, Groovy proved there was pent up demand for social listening," the slide says.

The pitch deck page says that Groovy had 250 million users.

Then Groovy shut down.

"Due to piracy, Groovy app abruptly shut down by the music industry in 2022," the page reads.

Hangout introduces its product-market fit: group streaming.

"We will capture latent demand for group streaming," the slide says. It also lists several music apps that were shut down, including Perla's previous venture, Turntable.

Hangout has established relationships with some of the largest music labels.

"Nobody social licensed all the music … until us," the slide reads. It also says that Hangout has over 100 million full tracks on its platform.

It cites TikTok's music app, too.

"Even TikTok couldn't get global licenses for its new music service," the slide reads.

TikTok shut down its music streaming app in 2024 and never launched it in the US.

Hangout describes itself as a social platform.

"We are building the next generation social goliath," the slide reads, adding that social platforms primarily have not had "music at the core."

The slide includes an axis of social and entertainment platforms, including Discord, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Hulu.

Hangout also has an enterprise application.

Hangout@Work is the startup's enterprise offering. It pitches the product as "the soundtrack to a stronger team at work."

The slide includes testimonials as well.

Hangout introduces Joseph Perla, its founder and CEO.

Perla includes his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his career highlights. He worked at Turntable, Facebook, and Lyft.

It also lists its team and advisors.

Then the deck goes into product screenshots.

Hangout also has a Discord integration.

The pitch deck highlights the platform's Gen-Z users.

And it includes feedback from a user about using Hangout at work.

It also includes a chart about its "net promoter score."

In this slide, Hangout ranks itself against other social and streaming platforms, including Instagram and Spotify. NPS scores are used to gauge customer loyalty.

Then the deck goes into its partnerships and marketing strategy.

Here's what it lists about its partnerships with the music industry:

• Live online events every week featuring artist album releases, tour promotions, merch sales, etc
• Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, and Merlin association of hundreds of labels
• thousands of artists
• hundreds of millions of superfans
• billions of social media followers
• billions of $ in marketing budgets

It will use LinkedIn to promote its Hangout@Work product.

Here's what the slide lists:

• Founder-Led Social Selling → Engage directly with HR leaders, team managers, and founders through authentic posts
• Viral Team Culture Content → Share engaging videos, polls, and memes around music at work to drive organic
• Employee Advocacy → Encourage early adopters to share their team's Hangout experience on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Cold Outreach + Warm Engagement → Leverage Twitter DMs and LinkedIn

As it wraps up its deck, Hangout looks out to the months ahead.

"What will we get after launch in the first 12 months?" the slide desk asks.

Here's the "expected 2025 traction" it lists:

• 10 million MAU
• 10,000 companies onboarded for Hangout@Work

• 1-3 million SaaS licenses

  • Only 50,000 to

    break-even

• $10-90M/year in revenue

It also lays out a global growth road map.

Hangout launched its product in 2024 and plans to launch its avatar store in 2025. It also plans to raise a Series A investment round in 2025, while eyeing an IPO down the road.

The deck concludes with "potential final outcomes."

It lists two scenarios:

Target Case

• 1-5 billion users
• $30-200 billion/year in revenue
• 2 million paid corporates
• $100-800 billion valuation
• Comps: TikTok, Netflix, Meta

Moderate Case

• 100 million users
• $1-10 billion/year in revenue
• 200,000 paid corporates for Hangout@Work
• $5-50 billion valuation
• Comps: Discord, Spotify, Apple Music, Slack

Hangout concludes its pitch deck with contact information for Perla and a thank you.

• A former director at Meta filed a lawsuit against the company on Monday.
• The plaintiff, Kelly Stonelake, alleges sex discrimination and harassment.
• Stonelake also alleges Meta has a "toxic pattern of silencing women who identify problems."

A former Meta employee filed a lawsuit Monday alleging the tech giant has a "toxic pattern of silencing women who identify problems."

Kelly Stonelake, a former director of product marketing for Meta's Reality Labs org, filed the lawsuit Monday in Washington state. The suit alleges sex discrimination and says Stonelake faced retaliation for "opposing Meta's illegal activity and violations of public policy."

Meta declined to comment on the suit.

Stonelake joined the company in 2009, back when Meta was still called Facebook. The lawsuit says she was laid off in January 2024 following a medical leave. In the complaint, Stonelake says she faced sexual harassment at the company and alleges she was sexually assaulted by a former boss at Facebook.

The lawsuit accuses Meta of wider problems, as well. The suit says that within the Horizon World org, female employees "reported feeling their voices were considered less valuable and that differential treatment was openly permitted." Stonelake's complaint says female staffers raised specific safety concerns in 2022 that were dismissed by Meta's "all-male Horizon product leadership team."

Specifically, the suit says that a female colleague of Stonelake's had advocated for a "quality pause" before expanding Horizon World to teens. She had expressed concerns that the product did not have "adequate" parental and safety controls and did not meet product quality, the suit says. Horizon World is a virtual-reality video game played on Meta's Quest headsets.

Stonelake escalated the concerns to Horizon's leadership, and was later excluded from weekly leadership meetings, the suit says.

"I was the only voice in a room that was otherwise all men advocating for a change," Stonelake told Business Insider in an interview.

She told BI she filed the suit to hold Meta "accountable to responsible, durable business."

"Discrimination in tech isn't just an ethical issue — it's anti-innovation, it's irresponsible, and it causes harm on a scale that only technology companies can achieve," Stonelake told BI.

She is seeking lost wages, as well as damages for emotional distress and attorney fees.

"This lawsuit has been a long time coming," Stonelake told BI. "As I've gotten further and further away from Meta, it's become clearer and clearer that in order to get accountability, I need to file a lawsuit."

The lawsuit comes at a charged moment for Meta, which recently announced sweeping changes to its content moderation and workplace policies.

In January, the company updated its hateful conduct guidelines to permit certain previously prohibited content. Meta also rolled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and eliminated its network of third-party fact-checkers.

Shortly after rolling out these changes, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg went on the Joe Rogan podcast, where he advocated for more "masculine energy" in corporate culture.

"I do think that there's just something … having a culture that celebrates the aggression a bit more has its own merits that are really positive," Zuckerberg said on the podcast.

Zuckerberg acknowledged on the podcast that women face systemic barriers in tech companies. He also said corporations had overcorrected in trying to address those challenges. The tech industry swung too far toward viewing masculinity as "toxic," he said.

These policy shifts come amid broader political pressures and changes.

The New York Times reported that Zuckerberg had met with Trump advisor Stephen Miller at Mar-a-Lago late last year, and that Miller had warned that Trump would target DEI culture at companies like Meta. The report said that Zuckerberg blamed Sheryl Sandberg, Meta's former chief operating officer, for the company's inclusivity initiatives.

Zuckerberg denied the New York Times report on Threads, praising Sandberg as "a legend in the industry." Sandberg responded by thanking him for his friendship. Several prominent female executives at Meta including Naomi Gleit, its head of product, and Iska Saric, Zuckerberg's head of communications, also defended Zuckerberg on the platform. Gleit called him a "champion of women."

"I used to think the gap between Meta's public statements and the internal experience of working there was a bug or a misunderstanding to resolve," Stonelake told BI. "Now I believe it to be a feature, a core strategy of how Meta is able to keep really good people focused on really harmful work."

• Alex Hofmann founded 9count, a social media app conglomerate, in 2019 after leaving Musical.ly.
• Hofmann is also an investor in several social startups and is betting on "private social networks."
• Here are five trends Hofmann thinks will define the future of social networking.

We're still waiting for the next big thing in social media.

Clubhouse's social audio moment didn't stick, BeReal's gamified photo-sharing faded, and while TikTok's impact on social media is indisputable, its uncertain future has consumers hungry for new apps.

So, what comes next?

Alex Hofmann, the CEO of the social-media conglomerate 9count, is betting on a new wave of private social networks that prioritize friends over media.

Hofmann founded 9count in 2019 after leaving his post as president of Musical.ly (now TikTok) in 2018, after ByteDance acquired it. 9count's portfolio includes mostly mobile apps, such as dating app Wink, friend-making app Soda, and LGBTQ+ social network Lex (9count acquired Lex in 2024).

Hofmann said that with influencers, brands, and ads competing for attention on social platforms, consumers aren't seeing or engaging with their own personal connections as much as they may like.

"We are seeing a shift from social networks to social media to media," Hofmann told Business Insider.

As a result, he thinks there's room in the market for more straightforward social networks.

"We finally are at a tipping point because of frustration with policy changes, algorithmic feeds, privacy breaches, excessive commercialization," Hofmann said. "It's time for a change. It's time to build better products."

Beyond connecting people with their friends via private networks, Hofmann sees potential in apps serving niche communities and helping people meet IRL.

Outside 9count's own portfolio of apps, Hofmann has also invested in new social apps as an angel investor and via his VC fund Progression. Those investments include Mozi, an app for close friends cofounded by Ev Williams; Bond Social, a decentralized social network; and Girlgroup, a community and events app for women founded by 9count employee Shoshana Cooper.

Here are five trends in social media Hofmann is eyeing:

1. There's a need for apps serving niche communities. As platforms like Meta or TikTok scale to billions of users worldwide, the apps often prioritize the masses (and advertisers) over smaller segments of users. Hofmann pointed to Girlgroup and Lex as examples of apps built for niche communities, whether that's young women in a specific city or for the LGBTQ+ community.
2. People want to connect IRL. "The big trend that we are seeing is that after Covid, there's a big desire really to meet more in the real world," Hofmann said. Several IRL-social apps raised millions of dollars in 2024, such as 222, Pie, and Posh.
3. Dating apps will need to move past swiping. Hofmann compared the current model of dating apps to Zillow — you can look at a house, but you can't really discern the energy, aura, or feel of the house with just pictures. "The dating app that will be successful is one that is able to mirror that energy in a digital format," he said. Gen Z will also define the next wave of online dating, Hofmann added, particularly how younger users are more interested in sparking a connection, even if just platonic, than finding an instant date.
4. The next big thing won't be a TikTok copycat. "Seeing so many TikTok clones is interesting, and it's a good way for new entrepreneurs to learn how to build products," Hofmann said. "But I hope that these products will either grow into something much bigger, much different, much more valuable to the user base."
5. More new social apps will become pay-to-play or offer freemium models. Public social-media apps usually go after advertising as a primary revenue model and are free to use. Hofmann is bullish on private social networks that instead use subscriptions, paywalls, and freemium models. "Some people believe that that would not be scalable, but the numbers so far show that it's actually quite possible," Hofmann said. He pointed to Duolingo as a successful example of a freemium model, and added that Girlgroup has a paid membership.

While Hofmann wants to see innovation in social apps — either via 9count or his investments — he knows very well that the consumer social landscape is volatile.

"The chance to build a successful product in the social-media space is very small," Hofmann said.

• Meta is offering creators thousands to post exclusive short-form videos on Instagram reels.
• The deals require creators to post a certain number of reels on Instagram each month.
• Read the terms in the contracts Instagram sent creators.

Instagram wants to be the first place creators go to post short-form videos.

And it's attempting to do so with piles of cash.

With TikTok's US future in limbo, Meta has been contacting creators and their teams with deals offering thousands of dollars in exchange for exclusive video content on Instagram reels. The payouts described to Business Insider ranged from $2,500 to $50,000 a month and required the content to be exclusive to Instagram for three months. The Information first reported on the program last week.

BI viewed contracts and spoke with several talent managers whose clients have received these offers. The managers requested anonymity to protect business relationships. Their identities are known to BI.

Typically, the deals are being sent to creators with more than 1 million followers on TikTok.

Not every contract is the same. One manager told BI they couldn't see a clear pattern as to why some creators were offered more money than others.

The payouts are grouped into tiers:

• Tier 1: $50,000 a month.
• Tier 2: $25,000 a month.
• Tier 3: $15,000 a month.
• Tier 4: $5,000 a month.
• Tier 5: $2,500 a month.

But even the promise of a big payday hasn't been enough to lure in some TikTok creators. This underscores the challenges Meta may face in usurping TikTok's short-form dominance.

"To try and change consumer behavior, or at least the perceived acceptance of consumer behavior, by stemming down another platform, I just don't think is the right way of handling it," a second manager said.

Instagram is offering deals worth up to $300,000 over 6 months

Here's a glimpse into an offer that has been sent to several creators for a total of $300,000 over six months:

• Creators would be required to post new, never-before-seen short-form video content to Instagram as reels.
• Over the course of six months, creators would post at least 10 new reels on their Instagram accounts each month.
• This content must be exclusive to Instagram for three months.
• Videos must be at least 15 seconds and no longer than three minutes.
• Creators must post 25% more on Instagram reels than on their next-largest short-form-video platform.

• They must share two of the reels a month as an IG story.

• Once a day, they need to engage with fans via comments, shares, or replies.

• They must post twice a month on their primary platform (TikTok or YouTube), promoting their content on Instagram and encouraging their fans to follow them on Instagram via the link in their bio.

• Instagram may promote the creator's content through paid ads on TikTok, Google, and app stores.
• If creators meet these requirements, they will earn $50,000 each month for the duration of the six-month deal.

The second talent manager with knowledge of these deals said some of their clients turned down the offer, citing reasons like exclusivity and overall frustration with Meta. Some said posting multiple reels a day felt "cheugy," a Gen Z term for out of touch.

"It's not a good deal," the second manager said. "Having to track that you're posting 25% more to reels than TikTok makes this untenable."

The manager added: "Some clients are taking it because the money is good for them, and I've seen some clients pass."

Here are the terms for a second offer that has been sent to several creators for a total of $90,000 over six months:

• Creators would be required to post new, never-before-seen short-form video content to Instagram as reels.
• Over the course of six months, creators would post at least eight new reels on their Instagram accounts each month, totaling 48 videos.
• This content must be exclusive to Instagram for three months.
• Videos must be at least 15 seconds and no longer than three minutes.
• Creators must post more short-form video content overall on Instagram during this period than on any other platform, such as TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, or X.

• If creators meet these requirements, they will earn $15,000 each month for the duration of the six-month deal.

Meta is also offering bonuses to lure TikTok creators

Word is getting around about Meta's offers in the influencer industry, two talent managers told BI.

"Meta is being really bullish on locking these in," a third talent manager who has seen similar offers from Meta said.

This isn't the only trick Meta has up its sleeve to woo TikTok creators amid a still looming ban or sale.

Meta launched a "Breakthrough Bonus" program last week. The program pays "eligible TikTok creators to help jump-start their growth on our apps," a spokesperson told BI. The compensation is up to $5,000 within a three-month period for posting reels on Instagram and Facebook.

Meta declined to comment on the specifics of these deals.

At the Sax Restaurant and Lounge on the eve of Donald Trump's second inauguration, it seemed like business as usual for TikTok.

The wildly popular video app was sponsoring a Washington, DC, party for a gaggle of conservative influencers sporting bright-red Make America Great Again hats. Bryce Hall wandered around in a black bow tie as other creators sipped cocktails and danced to Don Omar's "Danza Kuduro." Guests combated the frigid temperatures outside with TikTok-branded beanies and earmuffs.

Amid the gaiety, it was easy to forget that just 24 hours earlier, the ByteDance-owned social media platform had briefly gone dark for its 170 million American users.

It was just one twist during a whirlwind January weekend that featured everyone from Neil Gorsuch to Trump to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. What began with a bombshell Supreme Court decision on Friday morning culminated in TikTok CEO Shou Chew as a guest at Trump's inauguration, hobnobbing with tech leaders like Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai.

As TikTok continues to navigate a divest-or-ban law designed to target the company's connections to China, the app is back — for now. But the weekend left some feeling unsettled.

"This situation showed how quickly you can have something and then that something can be taken away," said creator Kyle Barber.

How quickly? Let's turn back the clock.

Friday, 10 a.m. ET: A decision comes down

After months of buildup, including a last-ditch attempt by the app to preserve its US presence, the Supreme Court dropped its opinion on TikTok Inc. v. Garland on Friday morning, ruling that a law forcing a sale of the app was constitutional.

TikTok then had 38 hours to broker a sale of its US assets or "go dark" when its service providers cut ties to avoid hundreds of billions of dollars in potential fines.

From the moment the court publicized its ruling, fear set in among some of the app's creators and partners. TikTok is often more than just a tool for mindless scrolling: It can be a source of substantial income for small businesses selling products or a platform to rocket-launch a career as a creator.

In spite of this, many TikTokers, advertisers, and other businesses had spent months shrugging off the threat of a shutdown. Internally, it was "business as usual," as one current TikTok staffer put it. The Supreme Court ruling changed all that.

"After the Supreme Court ruling hit and they still hadn't announced a buyer, it's like, OK, this thing could be gone," said Barber, who has around 40,000 followers on the app. "So immediately I had to go into emergency mode, and I was spending all this time trying to archive my content."

Some influencers had contingency plans in their contracts that dictated they would move sponsorships to other apps in the event TikTok went dark. Others spread out across different social platforms, like Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat, and newcomers like RedNote.

To many in the TikTok community, it was still unclear what would happen next. A week earlier, a lawyer for the company told the Supreme Court that the app would "go dark" and essentially "stop operating" on January 19 without legal or political intervention.

When Chew finally emerged with a TikTok message around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, he didn't say what would happen over the weekend.

He said TikTok had been fighting to "protect the constitutional right to free speech" for Americans who use the app. "On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States," he said.

Users flooded the comments section of Chew's video. One pleaded with Chew not to sell the app: "[I]t won't be the same."

"TikTok has gotten me through some of my darkest moments in the past 5 years," another commented. "I'm eternally grateful for my time here and will miss it 💔"

In the hours after the ruling dropped, some staff told BI they felt unclear about what would happen next. The company told US employees a few days earlier that their employment, pay, and benefits were secure, and offices would remain open even if the situation wasn't resolved before the January 19 deadline. The company sent a message on Friday that linked to Chew's video and included some assurances about their employment, an employee said. (A TikTok spokesperson told Business Insider the company communicated regularly with employees throughout the weekend.)

The other TikTok employee felt there was no work to be done that day with the app's future hanging in the balance. (The staffers asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak about their employer. Their identities are known to Business Insider.)

At 8:36 p.m. ET, the company issued a written statement about its plans — and said much of the uncertainty lay with the Biden administration.

"Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19," the statement read.

Saturday afternoon: Confusion swirls

On Saturday, TikTok's global e-commerce team sent out an "important notice" to its Shop agency partners, a group of vendors that work with merchants to sell products on the app.

The app would be suspended at 8:30 p.m. ET, according to a copy of the memo reviewed by BI, though agencies could continue to check orders and access other platform data. Some e-commerce partners who had spent weeks preparing for a potential app shutdown — with what they said was little guidance from TikTok — began chattering about the app's imminent demise, one Shop partner told BI. (They asked to remain anonymous to protect business relationships. Their identity is known to BI.)

But the memo appeared to be inaccurate. A few hours later, in a follow-up email, the company informed its partners that "an unauthorized individual sent an erroneous email about TikTok Shop's business service" and it would share "official company communications with users, creators, and partners when plans are finalized."

"No idea what is going on honestly lol," the Shop partner messaged BI after the second email went out.

Saturday around 10:30 p.m. ET: 'Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now'

On Saturday night, users were greeted with a pop-up when they opened the app: "We regret that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We're working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned."

Delirious is one way to describe the app's final hours.

"This is not OK," Alix Earle told her 7.2 million followers in a video posted from bed before the shutdown, wiping tears from her eyes. "Someone's gonna have to, like, check me into a mental hospital."

Barber said he was struck with a feeling of, "What am I supposed to do?"

"You're scrolling through TikTok and you're seeing everybody saying their goodbyes in tears," he said.

Others confessed their secrets to millions on the app, while some took to comedy.

"They want to laugh up until the last second and I want to laugh, too," said Victoria Paris, a lifestyle content creator who has about 2 million followers. (Her content leading up to the ban included several videos in which she licked Jawbreaker candy.) "I've cried a million times on this app. You don't need to go out watching me cry. Let's go out watching some stupid shit. That's why we love this place."

Finally, around 10:30 p.m. ET, TikTok called it quits.

"Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now," a second pop-up read. "A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!"

Paris described the cutoff as "shocking and jarring."

Lukas Battle, a comedy creator with around 620,000 followers, said his feed was frozen on a video of Jane Goodall. "Every time I accidentally opened it," he said, "it would just be Jane Goodall and a piece of glass and a gorilla, and I was like, I love this. I kind of feel like this is a good representation of what's going on."

"Minutes before I was going to post my goodbye video, I couldn't, the app wouldn't let me," Barber said.

Sunday: TikTok's game of chicken

For about 14 hours, TikTok was dead.

Then, around 12:30 p.m. ET, it rose again.

"In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service," TikTok said in a statement, referring to partners like Oracle that it works with to store data and deliver videos. The company thanked Trump, whose inauguration was set to begin roughly 24 hours later.

Earlier that morning, Trump posted on social media that he would "issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect."

The general feeling for users and creators was: Welp, that was a waste of energy.

"I thought it was going to be at least a full day, or even a week," Battle said.

"We all have whiplash from it coming back," Paris said.

Advertisers received an email from TikTok on Sunday that reaffirmed the app was coming back to a majority of US users and ad campaigns would resume over the course of the day. The email, a copy of which was reviewed by BI, also noted there may be some "temporary service instability" as things came back online.

Hours later, TikTok was sponsoring the glitzy MAGA crowd in the nation's capital.

"President Trump saved TikTok," CJ Pearson, a cochair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, who helped organize the party, told CNN. "We have a lot to celebrate tonight."

Monday and beyond: What's next?

On Monday morning, Chew attended the inaugural festivities along with fellow tech executives including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. He sat on the dais next to Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's nominee to be the next director of national intelligence.

That night, around 8 p.m. ET, Trump dropped a new executive order instructing his future attorney general to delay enforcing the TikTok ban for 75 days. It was a sharp departure from his first term, when he signed an August 2020 executive order attempting to force TikTok out of app stores.

At the time, Trump said he was concerned that TikTok could become a disinformation tool for the Chinese Communist Party. He also feared that US user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government. Members of Congress raised similar concerns when they passed the 2024 divest-or-ban law. (TikTok has previously said that it does not share information with the Chinese government and that a US-based team operates its content-moderation work "independently from China.")

The next few weeks will be critical for TikTok and ByteDance as they fight for a deal that keeps the US and China happy — without destroying their business.

Trump has proposed a joint venture that would give a US entity 50% ownership in the company. Various potential bidders have also emerged, including the AI startup Perplexity, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, and the YouTube creator MrBeast.

Bill Ford, the CEO of General Atlantic, a ByteDance investor, told Axios a deal would get done that's "in everybody's interest" but that may be "short of divestiture." But if the whirlwind weekend is any indication, the final resolution is still up in the air.

While TikTok's app is back online, new users still can't download it from Apple or Google's app stores. Legal analysts say it may not return to stores anytime soon as the companies weigh the risks of working with ByteDance.

After a weekend of chaos, TikTok has once again gone back to "business as usual," one of the TikTok staffers told BI.

Even if Trump does manage to broker a deal with the blessings of ByteDance and the Chinese government, the chaos of the weekend has given many of TikTok's creators and partners pause.

They're back, but some say they have one foot out the door.

One TikTok Shop seller said on Sunday they were focused on diversifying their business to other platforms, as TikTok temporarily coming back online was just "kicking the can down the road again."

"This is definitely a changing moment," Paris said.

Will TikTok ever have the same juice? Will it be a zombie of its former self?

"I know it's going to be different somehow," Battle said. "This is a new chapter."

• Meta will pay TikTok creators who post on Instagram and Facebook with a new program.
• The "Breakthrough Bonus" will pay eligible creators up to $5,000 within a 90-day period.
• Meta will also ink "content deals" with TikTok creators, a spokesperson told Business Insider.

TikTok is back for now, but Meta is looking to get its creators to post on Instagram and Facebook.

Meta is paying "eligible TikTok creators to help jumpstart their growth on our apps," a Meta spokesperson told Business Insider. The program began testing earlier this month.

Meta has dubbed the program the "Breakthrough Bonus." It allows creators to earn up to $5,000 within 90 days for posting reels to Facebook or Instagram. Eligible creators will also be given access to Facebook's content monetization program, which lets users earn money from posting videos, photos, and text posts.

According to Meta, to be eligible, creators must be adults based in the US, have an "existing presence on a third party social app" — like TikTok — and link to it in the application, have a professional Instagram or Facebook account, and not be participating in any of Facebook's other monetization programs.

Creators will then have to post at least 20 reels on Facebook and 10 reels on Instagram each month during the first 90 days in the program, as well as share content at least 10 days each month.

Bonuses have been Instagram's primary creator monetization option for reels and initially launched in 2021. The bonuses have undergone several changes. For example, the program was paused in 2023 and returned in the form of seasonal bonuses in 2024.

Meta will also soon ink "content deals" with some TikTok creators "to help grow their communities on Instagram and Facebook," the spokesperson said. This isn't the first time Instagram has done this. In 2021, Instagram paid select TikTok creators, including the "Sway Boys," for video content across features like Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.

Meta is also taking aim at another app owned by TikTok parent ByteDance that is subject to the same divest-or-ban law. This weekend, Meta announced it would launch a stand-alone video editing app for creators called Edits that could compete with ByteDance's CapCut.

• LGBTQ+ apps are seeing a surge of interest after Meta's content moderation changes.
• Business Insider spoke with several founders building apps about the influx of users.
• The apps are focused on safety, privacy, and community amid tech industry shifts.

Between Meta's changes to its content-moderation policies and the TikTok ban, the past week has left many social-media users questioning where to go next.

For some LGTBQ+ users, that's resulted in a search for platforms specifically designed for their community that offer both connection and safety.

BI spoke with three founders building apps for the LGBTQ+ community who said they'd seen a spike in downloads and new users this month.

"We've just been trying to stop the product from combusting because we've been having so many people come in," said Callum Smith, founder of Collective, a queer community and dating app where users can share photos, songs, GIFs.

One user on Collective posted this week that they were "slowly looking for options to shift from Meta."

Meanwhile, Lex, a queer community and text-based app that was acquired by 9count in September, also noticed a spike beginning in the second week of January. Jennifer Lewis, Lex's CEO, said the app saw a 2x spike in downloads following Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement that the company would alter its content-moderation and community standards.

Meta's changes included updating its Hateful Conduct policy, which now allows "allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like 'weird.'"

"This is the most anti-LGBTQ announcement that a social-media platform has made in recent memory," Josh Helfgott, an LGBTQ+ advocate and content creator, told BI last week.

Meta told BI that its content-moderation policies had been too far-reaching in years past, and its updates draw a line between offensive speech and potentially dangerous speech. The company also continues to prohibit attacks on protected characteristics, including dehumanizing speech, calls for harm, slurs, and more, as well as maintain its bullying and harassment policies.

In May 2024, GLAAD, a nonprofit advocacy organization for LGBTQ+ representation in media, published its fourth annual Social Media Safety Index report, which said that anti-LGBTQ "rhetoric and disinformation on social media translates to real-world offline harms."

"What I felt, time again, is that Big Tech doesn't really cater to us because they don't care about us," said Carmen Hernandez, founder of Freddie. The app describes itself as "for the sapphic and trans community to find friends, events, and lovers."

Designing apps with safety in mind

As LGBTQ+ apps welcome new users amid changes happening across tech, safety and privacy are top concerns.

Freddie, for example, is integrated with the encrypted messaging service Signal for security and data privacy.

"That need for safety is really what I think people are coming to Lex for," Lewis said. "What we've been doing since the acquisition by 9count has been building our backend moderation practices, trust and safety, user verification, bad actor banning."

On Collective, one safety measure (in addition to a zero policy for anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric) is its new user review process, which can take up to 24 hours and looks at a user's digital footprint across the web.

"We are creating a safe space for queer people, which means we have bad actors who want to get in and do bad things," Smith said.

Meta apps are still a necessity for visibility

For these LGBTQ+ apps, Meta platforms like Instagram are likely to remain crucial tools for getting in front of new users, despite the content-moderation changes.

Boyan Golden, founder of Purr, a social app for queer women, nonbinary, and trans people that will launch later this year, said the moment is a double-edged sword.

On one side, Golden hopes Meta's changes show the need for more queer-led social-networking platforms. At the same time, Meta platforms are still the largest channels Purr has for spreading its brand.

"You could rely on more traditional advertising methods, but you'd have nowhere the same reach," Golden told BI.

Collective, Lex, and Freddie also each have Instagram pages that are used as a marketing tool to direct users to their apps.

"I'm personally deleting all my Meta accounts on Friday," Hernandez said, but the separate account for Freddie will keep posting. "We're going to keep it as a beacon."

• TikTok is veering toward a US shutdown after the Supreme Court upheld a divest-or-ban law.
• The app is set to leave app stores and may go dark on Sunday if its owner, ByteDance, doesn't divest.
• TikTok creators and their teams are tired from months of uncertainty, but cautiously hopeful too.

TikTok is in trouble.

The company is set to disappear from US app stores on Sunday due to a divest-or-ban law that requires its owner, ByteDance, to sell the app by January 19 or essentially cease operating in the country. TikTok may stop showing content in the US and "go dark" over the weekend.

For TikTok creators and their teams, ongoing uncertainty around the app's US future has sparked frustration and fatigue.

"We've been dealing with this for months," said Julian Andrews, founder of talent management firm Talentiish. "I just sort of want the situation to be over so we know how to move on."

Some in the talent community are cautiously optimistic that a solution will emerge to save TikTok. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to try to rescue the app once in office, though his options could be limited.

"So many of us are still holding out hope that it will work out," Barbara Jones, CEO of Outshine Talent, said.

Others aren't holding their breath and are instead focusing on established alternatives, such as Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, as well as challenger apps like Clapper, Flip, and RedNote.

"Many of our clients are making accounts on RedNote and Flip as well as downloading their data from the TikTok app," Jones said. "They are trying to be as prepared as possible."

Creators may be hesitant to commit to new platforms, however, when the advertising dollars are much more reliable on major players like Instagram.

Instagram is, for the most part, the platform of choice among those Business Insider spoke to who are pivoting from TikTok.

Fallen Media, which runs TikTok shows like "What's Poppin? With Davis!" said it will be heavily investing in Instagram reels, for example.

"I have suggested to my clients not to focus on any new platforms and focus on the tried and true," Andrews at Talentiish said.

In the meantime, there's still no clear answer as to what happens this weekend.

"The truth is we don't really know what's going to happen on Sunday, which I think is the crazy part," said Fallen Media CEO Sol Betesh.

Creators are exhausted and devastated to say goodbye to TikTok

As news stories around a TikTok ban swing between good news and legal defeats, some creators have sunk into despair. The Supreme Court loss on Friday hit particularly hard for those whose businesses depend on the app.

"The ruling is truly devastating for me as someone who built their platform starting on TikTok," said Sofia Bella, a TikTok creator with 4.8 million followers. "Losing the majority of my audience is a difficult reality to face, and while I'm doing everything I can to prepare, it's hard not to feel like I'm starting over."

Andrews said the job of talent manager has teetered between acting as a therapist and strategist for the creators they manage.

Some creators are actively fighting against a TikTok ban, including Vitus Spehar, who runs the news account @underthedesknews. Spehar has been covering breaking news and political developments around the divestment. They said Americans should call their senators and other representatives to demand action against the law.

Still, other creators who have experienced burnout from TikTok are welcoming a possible shift if the app goes down.

"Generally, the tone from most internet creators I've spoken to has been entirely apathetic," said Tati Bruening, a TikTok creator with 2.4 million followers. "The pacing of content creation for TikTok was a recipe for burnout."

Building a strategy for doomsday

Even as the creator economy braces for the loss of its favorite corner of the internet, this moment is a lesson for many.

"Stop building brands on social media that other people own," Jennifer Powell, a talent manager who works with creators like Tezza and Ty French, told BI. "This can and will happen again. Start your website, get newsletters going, blogs, use affiliates, turn it into a brand, and own your own little place on the web."

A TikTok ban could also be a gold rush for social media startups as they race to fill the void.

"There's never been a better time to start a creation or curation company," said Em Herrera, a former investor at Slow Ventures who recently founded a firm called Creator Venture Accelerator.

• TikTok faces a likely US shutdown after the Supreme Court rejected its appeal.
• Brands and marketers are preparing contingency plans to shift content from TikTok.
• Managers shared their plans, including new clauses in their campaign contracts.

Creators are finalizing their post-TikTok plans.

TikTok is hurtling toward a US shutdown after the Supreme Court rejected its appeal of a divest-or-ban law. The app may "go dark" entirely on Sunday.

Ahead of a likely ban, TikTok influencers and their teams are offering contingency plans to assure brands and marketers that sponsored posts can move elsewhere if TikTok abruptly closes.

"We haven't seen anybody try to kill a contract, thank goodness," said Jennifer Powell, a talent manager who works with creators like Tezza and Ty French. "The good news is that most of the brands came into this year cautious about putting all their eggs into the TikTok basket, knowing that this judgment was looming."

Songfluencer, a platform that facilitates influencer campaigns for music marketers, has a "platform uncertainty" guarantee that promises marketers that creators will automatically repost TikTok content to Instagram or YouTube shorts if TikTok goes down.

"We want to make sure clients are not scared to run campaigns on TikTok," Songfluencer's CEO Johnny Cloherty said. "All of the creators in our network must agree to this new policy during this uncertain season."

Talent-management firm CFG has also been proactive in including clauses in its contracts with brands that ensure campaigns can migrate to a creator's "next highest-engaged" platform.

Powell, similarly, said her team has offered to move content to an "equal value" social platform if a sponsored TikTok post disappears.

Some of these preparations began months ago.

Gregory Littley, a freelance creative director and content producer, has been working with brand partners and clients on campaigns that aren't so tied to TikTok since November, he said.

"The language has shifted," Littley said about campaign deliverables. "It starts to really focus on the content as opposed to where you're posting it."

"Many of our current campaigns in progress that involve TikTok are preparing contingency plans for changing deliverables to different platforms," said Barbara Jones, founder of Outshine Talent.

• Americans are rushing to download two Chinese social apps, days before a possible TikTok ban.
• Xiaohongshu and Lemon8 rose to the top spots on the Apple app store rankings on Monday.
• Both platforms could be subject to the same divest-or-ban law that's imperiling TikTok.

TikTok users are lamenting that the app could "go dark" in less than a week in the US due to a divest-or-ban law. At the same time, two other apps with Chinese owners have risen to the top of the Apple app store in the US.

On Monday, Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, and Lemon8, an app with the same owner as TikTok, hit the top two spots on the Apple app store rankings.

Xiaohongshu functions similarly to Instagram, but with more commerce features, while Lemon8 has been described by creators as a Pinterest-like platform.

The rush to download these apps is a bit of a head-scratcher, as they could be subject to the same divestment requirements as TikTok if the US government chooses to target them. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act applies to social platforms owned by countries that the US government views as foreign adversaries. TikTok became a political target because its owner, ByteDance, is based in China, which the US government has labeled a foreign adversary and Congress views as a national-security risk.

TikTok is clearly subject to the divest-or-ban law, as it's named in the bill's text. But ByteDance is also named, which raises the question of why its other app, Lemon8, is suddenly surging in popularity.

Christopher Krepich, the communications director for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, previously told Forbes the bill would ban Lemon8 unless ByteDance divested. A spokesperson for the committee did not immediately respond to Business Insider on whether it would apply to Xiaohongshu.

The law was written broadly and could be enforced on any company owned by a foreign adversary that permits a user to "create an account or profile to generate, share, and view text, images, videos, real-time communications, or similar content." That could include Xiaohongshu if the US government chose to target the app.

The law does have some exceptions, including apps where users "post product reviews, business reviews, or travel information and reviews." That suggests Chinese e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu would not be targeted.

ByteDance, Xiaohongshu, Apple, and Google did not respond to requests for comment.

Why users are flocking to these two apps

It's tough to say exactly what's driving mass interest in Xiaohongshu and Lemon8. Some users may be flocking to the apps to find a replacement for TikTok, while others may simply like their product features. In December, Xiaohongshu had around 300 million monthly active users globally, Bloomberg reported.

Another possibility for the downloads surge is that TikTok users are choosing the Chinese apps as a tongue-in-cheek protest of the divest-or-ban law.

"It really is just retaliation towards the government in the simplest way, but in a way that feels very native to Gen Z," said Meagan Loyst, founder of the investor collective Gen Z VCs.

If millennials pioneered "slacktivism" with online petitions, Gen Z seems to be trying something new. You might call it "trolltivism."

"This is not the first time that trolling on a large scale has happened," Loyst said, citing the 2020 incident when TikTok users purchased tickets to Trump rallies. "It's trolling the US government."

• The reaction among creators to Meta's content-moderation changes has largely fallen along political lines.
• Some influencers worry the changes could cause harm to the LGBTQ+ community.
• Others questioned Meta's decision to feature more political content.

Getting "Zucked" — a term for having your account suspended or content removed due to community violations — is a staple in the creator lexicon.

Despite that, creators who spoke with Business Insider had mixed reactions to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plans to reduce content moderation in the name of free speech.

On Tuesday, Meta unveiled new policies that included winding down fact-checking, loosening content moderation, and introducing X-style "Community Notes."

The creator community largely reacted along political lines, with some left-leaning influencers expressing disappointment.

"This is really about just pandering to the Trump administration in a way that feels extremely obvious," LGBTQ+ advocate and "Gay News" host Josh Helfgott told BI.

Left-leaning filmmaker Michael McWhorter also said he felt the changes were catering to Trump and his MAGA base.

"You're not trying to balance things out," McWhorter said of Meta. "We are shifting to the other side of things."

Elsewhere, some right-leaning creators cheered the changes.

Christopher Townsend, an Air Force vet and conservative rapper with over 300,000 Instagram followers, told BI he thought the policy overhaul was "a great step toward the decentralization of information and the end to the control legacy media has had on the prevailing narrative."

Instagram head Adam Mosseri posted a video on Wednesday outlining how the new policies would impact creators. He said the company would correct its "over-enforcement" of content moderation and begin recommending political content again.

"If you're a creator who likes to post about political content, this should mean that you feel comfortable doing so on any of our platforms," Mosseri said. "We will now show political recommendations."

Meta didn't respond to a request for comment.

Some are wary of Community Notes

As part of the policy overhaul, Meta is getting rid of fact-checkers in favor of Community Notes in the style of Elon Musk's X. Users will be able to volunteer to contribute to Community Notes, which will appear on content when people with a range of different perspectives agree a correction is in order.

"Like X, it gives the user community more authority over the platform instead of biased third-party administrators," Townsend said.

McWhorter said that while Community Notes were a "great equalizer," he felt they were not an adequate replacement for fact-checking. He said he wished Meta would rely on a combination of both systems.

A former Instagram staffer told BI that they felt placing the responsibility to moderate content on users and creators "on a platform with massive global reach and historical harmful content issues" was a step in the wrong direction. They asked for anonymity to protect business relationships; their identity is known to BI.

Concerns about anti-LGBTQ+ discourse

Helfgott expressed concern about Meta's plan to decrease moderation around certain political topics. The company's blog post specifically noted immigration and gender identity as areas of debate where it plans to decrease restrictions.

Helfgott said that while Meta's plans were described in the language of "political discourse," he felt the changes could lead to bullying of the LGBTQ+ community.

Alongside Tuesday's announcement, Meta updated its Hateful Conduct policy.

"We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation," the company wrote, "given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like 'weird.'"

"This is the most anti-LGBTQ announcement that a social-media platform has made in recent memory," Helfgott said.

While McWhorter told BI he felt his content had been Zucked — or unfairly suppressed — in the past, he said he'd prefer a stricter moderating system even if it had "flaws."

"I'd rather that I take the hit for a joke that it didn't understand than that stuff being allowed to be spread all over the platform," he said, referring to potentially harmful posts.

Meta's increased political emphasis marks an about-face

Some creators were flummoxed by Meta's about-face on the amount of political content it plans to recommend. The company had previously cut back significantly on promoting political content in feeds in recent years.

Malynda Hale, a creator and activist with 65,000 followers, said this change could benefit political creators but questioned the company's motives.

"I think the fact that Meta is going to be serving up more political content is actually positive for creators like myself, but I don't think it's with the intention to keep the community informed," she told BI.

She said she felt Meta wanted to boost engagement even at the cost of division and disagreement.

Despite some misgivings, the creators who spoke with BI said they weren't going anywhere.

"I'll work with the system as it's presented to me, and I'll find my way to work around it," McWhorter said. "I constantly have to do that on all different platforms."

Helfgott said he felt "handcuffed" by Meta because if he stopped posting on Instagram, he would lose out on millions of people seeing his content each month.

"Meta knows this," he said. "They know that creators may not like this, but we need the reach, and we will keep posting there."

• Instagram has shut down a program that paid creators for ads placed on their profiles.
• Meta began testing the program in 2022.
• Instagram has launched several creator-monetization tests since 2020 — and some haven't survived.

Instagram has ended a program that allowed creators to earn money from ads placed between content on their profiles, the company confirmed to Business Insider.

The Meta-owned platform began testing the program with US creators in 2022 and expanded it in 2024 to eligible profiles in Canada, South Korea, Japan, and Australia.

Meta will continue to place ads in between content on nonteen public Instagram profiles. Businesses will still be able to prevent their ads from running on specific profiles.

According to court documents filed in 2024, Instagram has generated billions in ad revenue for Meta. In 2022, when the platform began testing the ads-in-profile program, it generated $16.5 billion, the same court filing said.

This isn't the first creator-monetization program that Meta has tested and shuttered.

Other programs you may remember include:

• IGTV (Instagram's now defunct YouTube competitor) shared ad revenue with creators from 2020 to 2022.
• Instagram briefly had a native affiliate program between 2021 and 2022 that allowed creators to earn revenue from shopping tags on their posts.

The Instagram Reels Bonus, which paid creators a sum of money based on how their reels performed, was paused in 2023. It was reintroduced in 2024 as a series of limited-time bonuses.

• I'm a reporter covering social media for Business Insider.
• My phone has well over 150 apps, and I'm quick to test out any new social app.
• Here are three apps worth trying if you're looking for alternatives to Instagram, X, or TikTok.

More apps? For this social-media reporter, the answer is "always."

I'm back with my favorite apps from the year.

At a glance, the dozens of apps I've downloaded this year fall into a few themes: IRL social, close-friends-focused apps, social shopping, and anti-swipe dating apps.

Last year, I highlighted 13 apps that I downloaded in 2023 as part of my reporting on the social-media industry. Since writing that story, some of those startups have continued to grow, while others have been acquired, and a few have had to pivot.

For instance, Artifact, an AI-driven news app founded by the original creators of Instagram, shut down and was acquired by Yahoo. Lex, a queer social network, laid off staff before getting acquired by mobile app conglomerate 9count. And Landing, a creative social collaging app reminiscent of Polyvore, changed course and pivoted to building Zeen, a shoppable blogging platform.

Meanwhile, new apps have launched or expanded this year, making their way onto my phone (which, yes, has very low storage).

Here are the three of the best apps I downloaded in 2024:

Disclaimer: These are my favorite downloads of the year and this is very much an opinion.

1. PI.FYI is a recommendations-based feed

What it is: Created by the team behind the pop-culture newsletter Perfectly Imperfect, PI.FYI is a mostly text-based feed where people answer questions, share recommendations, and post micro-blogs about topics like music or film. The app was built by ex-Meta staffer Tyler Bainbridge, who cofounded the PI newsletter with Alexander Cushing.

When it launched: 2024

Why I haven't deleted it: When I'm on the hunt for new forms of media to consume (be it books, movies, music, etc.), I'll open up PI.FYI to see what people are sharing. The app lets you add a link to a post, which helps when going down rabbit holes. Posting there sometimes feels like writing into the void on Tumblr or Twitter in 2012 (in a good way).

2. Airbuds lets you see what friends are listening to

What it is: It's a feed of music. It's that simple. Airbuds pulls information from several music streaming platforms (including Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud). The team behind Airbuds also built Cappuccino, a social-audio app that launched in the early days of Clubhouse.

When it launched: 2022

Why I haven't deleted it: I switched from Spotify to Apple Music several years ago, and the one feature I missed was the ability to see what my friends were listening to. Airbuds lets me do just that and also makes it easy to save music to my own library.

3. IRL social app 222 coordinates experiences with strangers

What it is: 222, which started as a dinner series in Los Angeles in 2021, is an app that matches users with strangers for in-person experiences. The in-person events range from dinner and drinks to DIY art classes, and users take a robust personality quiz that is used to pair them with compatible matches. It was founded by Keyan Kazemian, Danial Hashemi, and Arman Roshannai, and was part of Y Combinator. In February, 222 announced it had raised a $2.5 million seed investment round.

When it launched: 2021 (222 expanded to New York in 2024)

Why I haven't deleted it: I've gone to several experiences through 222 this year and even made a few friends along the way. I've described the app to friends as a way of working out my socializing muscles, more than a guaranteed way to make friends or find new romantic sparks. You do have to pay a fee to access the curated experience (the monthly fee, for example, is about $22) on top of drinks, food, and other expenses.

• Many social-media users are looking to make friends and spend time together in person.
• A new wave of startups is capitalizing on this demand with tools to help people make plans.
• The "IRL Social" trend grew in 2024 and could carry into the new year.

Making new friends, it turns out, is pretty hard.

While the dominant social networks like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat have proclaimed that they connect us with our friends, many users feel less connected and more alone than ever.

A new wave of apps is trying to fill that void by replacing content algorithms with features designed to help users get together in real life. This year, several of these apps hit new peaks in popular culture and adoption.

One of the biggest stars in the space is Partiful, an events app that has replaced Facebook Events for many. Google named it the 2024 "app of the year," and it was even used for the viral Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest.

Then there's Timeleft, a European startup that gets groups of people together over dinner every Wednesday night in over 60 counties. It was also recognized by Google this year as a "hidden gem." Timeleft, which launched in 2020, expanded to the US in March.

"This year, we found product-market fit," Lais De Oliveira, head of North America for Timeleft, told Business Insider. "We've had over 20,000 people dining with us this year in the US and we've been handling weekly about 6,000 people dining with us across the US."

IRL social startups are not just getting users to download their apps. Some are also getting investors on board.

Posh, another events app that offers a feed of nearby happenings, closed a $22 million Series A round this year led by Goodwater Capital. Other firms, like FirstMark, Forerunner, and Best Nights VC, have also participated in IRL-focused tech.

For Zehra Naqvi, an angel investor and VC focused on consumer startups, IRL has been a core concept in her investing thesis this year.

"There is this overwhelming desire for people to just connect with one another," Naqvi said.

She sees IRL social apps right now falling into two camps. One is advanced event tech that makes things easier on hosts and attendees (like Partiful, Posh, or Luma), and the second is apps that foster a sense of "whimsical" in-person connection (like Timeleft and 222, another app that connects strangers over dinner or activities).

Some IRL apps are tackling monetization, though others are not in that stage yet. Posh, for example, takes a percentage of ticket sales, and 222 has a subscription model for access to curated events.

Read more of BI's coverage of emerging IRL social companies.

These IRL social startups have raised millions of dollars:

• 222, which coordinates plans with strangers in Los Angeles and New York, announced that it raised $2.5 million in February.
• Pie, founded by Bonobos' Andy Dunn, raised an $11.5 million Series A in September.
• Posh, an events feed inspired by TikTok, raised a $22 million Series A in July.
• Howbout, a calendar app geared toward helping friends make plans, raised an $8 million Series A in September.

Meet the founders behind the apps trying to help people make friends:

• Kndrd: How a 25-year-old went from talking to 1,000 strangers in NYC to quitting her finance job and founding a social startup
• PamPam: Ex-Google staffers are building a social-mapping platform for online and IRL communities

• It was a busy year for M&A in the creator economy.
• Startups in influencer marketing, talent management, and podcasting became acquisition targets.
• Companies also sought to expand globally by acquiring creator startups in new regions.

Dozens of merger and acquisition deals were signed between companies across the creator economy in 2024.

Two M&A experts told Business Insider that one of the most impactful sales was Publicis Groupe's purchase of Influential for $500 million, signaling that one of the world's largest ad holding companies viewed influencer marketing as a must-have offering.

"If influencers are the new gatekeepers and authority within these digital channels, then they're going to command audiences," Chris Erwin, the founder of the M&A advisory firm RockWater, told BI. "Advertising revenue dollars are going to flow towards them."

Goldman Sachs analysts highlighted influencer-marketing spending as a primary driver of growth in the creator economy when they valued the industry at $250 billion last year.

A few other clear trends emerged this year around deals. Outside influencer marketing, popular acquisition targets included talent-management firms and podcasting tech. Non-US firms also pushed to build out creator businesses globally through purchases.

BI combed through data from PitchBook and Crunchbase and connected with M&A insiders to understand some of the key deals in 2024. Here are four takeaways:

1. Influencer marketing was a big focus among acquirers in 2024. The category has a proven business model compared with some of the more experimental parts of the industry. Beyond Publicis' deal with Influential, other large advertising brands brought in influencer expertise through acquisitions.

A few noteworthy deals in this category:

• The marketing firm Stagwell announced in July that it had acquired the influencer-marketing agency Leaders.
• The Canadian talent agency Dulcedo Group acquired the influencer-marketing app Node in July.

2. The creator economy is maturing globally. Several companies made strategic deals across markets like India, Japan, and Australia. Publicis highlighted Influential's global reach in its announcement about the deal.
   
   "Creators really can be global from day one," said Ollie Forsyth, a former senior manager at the investment firm Antler who now writes the newsletter New Economies. He pointed to technologies like AI-powered audio-dubbing and video-editing tools as helping creators distribute content to a global audience.

A few noteworthy deals in this category:

• The French influencer firm Ykone announced in March that it had acquired a majority stake in the Indian influencer-marketing firm Barcode to build a business in the Indian influencer market.
• The Finnish influencer firm Boksi announced in February that it had acquired the German influencer-marketing company The Influencer GmbH to grow its business in Central Europe.

3. Podcasting is a hot category. As platforms like YouTube and Spotify drive listenership (and viewership) of longer content, advertisers are paying close attention. EMARKETER expects US ad spend for podcasts to hit $2.28 billion this year, a roughly 16% increase from 2023. Meanwhile, M&A deals in the category focused on podcasting tech and IP in 2024.
   
   "It's a publisher play of rolling up these popular networks of shows," said James Creech, an M&A advisor through Quartermast Advisors who founded Creator Economy Jobs. "I think that'll continue because you're likely to see a handful of winners in this space."

A few noteworthy deals in this category:

• Triton Digital said in March that it had acquired the podcasting-adtech firm Sounder to boost its targeting and brand-safety tech.
• Night announced in April that it had acquired The Roost, a podcast network that includes shows from Theo Von and other popular creators.

4. Creator-focused talent firms are continuing to consolidate. There's no shortage of talent managers and agencies looking to represent creators. But a smaller number are prepared to support the businesses of top creators who aim to book deals, exclusive podcast agreements, and Hollywood roles.

A few noteworthy deals in this category:

• The talent-management firm Wasserman announced in September that it had acquired the talent-management agency Long Haul to grow its gaming and sports creator business.
• The influencer-marketing and creator talent company Whalar announced in October it had acquired the influencer-management firm Sixteenth.

Looking ahead to 2025

Erwin and Creech are expecting the next year to be fruitful for creator-economy companies.

"We're going to see more activity next year," Creech said.

The two M&A advisors are watching closely whether consumer-packaged-goods companies will continue to shop for creator-owned businesses, such as Hershey's purchase of Maxx Chewning's Sour Strips brand in 2024.

Companies that raised new funding in 2024 may also signal where M&A activity is heading next in the industry. Creator startups with offerings in artificial intelligence, newsletter tech, influencer marketing, and e-commerce drew in investor dollars in the past year. Among the big rounds were the creator-marketing platform Agentio, the newsletter app Beehiiv, the social shopping app Flip, and the AI firm ElevenLabs. Startups flush with funding could become acquirers in 2025.

"If you are looking to sell or to raise capital now, it's a good time to do it," Erwin said.

• TikTok could be banned come January, but what are the other fascinating creator-economy stories?
• BI's media team rounded up the most intriguing stories for the year ahead.
• Our picks ranged from a battle between Spotify and YouTube to what will happen in "IRL social."

There are many fascinating stories popping up in the creator economy every day. So, which ones have really caught the eye of Business Insider's team of reporters and editors?

We're all closely tracking whether TikTok will be banned in the US in January. But that's not the only story that could shake up the industry.

As we head into 2025, BI's media team rounded up the creator-economy storylines we are most excited to dig into next year.

Dan's storyline to watch: Influencers look to become QVC-style live shopping hosts

Live shopping has really begun to catch on in the US. Next year, I'm watching to see if top influencers embrace live selling and become QVC-style hosts — or if its momentum fades.

US creators have always hawked goods on behalf of brands, but live selling hasn't been a popular approach. It makes sense, as it's much easier for a creator to make a quick sponsored post than to film a 2-hour live sellathon.

TikTok Shop sought to popularize live selling in the US by working with outside partners to train live-selling creators and aggressively promoting the practice. I expect that will continue next year (if TikTok isn't banned), alongside efforts to drive up livestreams among e-commerce competitors like Amazon, Whatnot, and TalkShopLive.

But will creators whose content has nothing to do with e-commerce choose to try out live selling in 2025? Will live shopping replace static brand deals as the predominant way US creators make money, as it has in other regions like Asia? We'll be watching.

-Dan Whateley, senior reporter

Amanda's storyline to watch: Spotify and YouTube battle over video podcasting

Creators are launching their own talk shows in the form of video podcasts.

As this growing trend of serialized long-form content takes over screen times, two tech giants — Spotify and YouTube — will continue to compete to be the best platform.

YouTube is already a strong leader in the creator economy and a go-to creator platform. Spotify has also had a good year, reporting increased profitability in its Q3 earnings.

As video podcasts rise in popularity, these two platforms will have to convince both creators and viewers why they're the best place to earn money, engage with fans, and reach new audiences.

The race has already begun. YouTube took a stand by releasing a suite of tools and features that creators can't get on other podcast platforms — including the ability to go live, respond to comments, and earn revenue from donations.

Meanwhile, Spotify invested heavily in video in 2024, developing its own tools and more ways to pay creators for video podcasts through subscription earnings and ad revenue.

So, how will these platforms compete in 2025, and who will ultimately win in the video podcast race?

-Amanda Perelli, senior reporter

Sydney's storyline to watch: The future of IRL social apps

Social-media platforms are great for entertainment ... but for making new friends and maintaining IRL relationships? Less so.

However, a wave of startups that have either launched or expanded in 2024 plans to fill that gap. From in-person dinners offered by apps (like 222 or Timeleft) to event platforms (like Partiful or Posh), some startup founders are finding product-market-fit amid a loneliness epidemic. The trend extends beyond mobile apps, too, with in-person clubs or groups growing in popularity, like reading groups or running clubs.

While some of these startups are already raising capital and dabbling with monetization, will these solutions to loneliness stick around in 2024? And if they do stick, who will be category winners and what will success be defined by?

-Sydney Bradley, senior reporter

Nathan's storyline to watch: Creators on TV

The walls between the TV and the creator worlds are being torn down brick by brick, particularly by YouTube.

In November, as it has been for a while, YouTube was the top streaming service on TVs in the US, coming in at 10.8% of viewing compared to Netflix's 7.7%, per Nielsen.

With the lines blurring, will we see more streamers and even traditional TV networks look to creator-style content, as ESPN has done with Pat McAfee?

Creator TV shows have had a muddled history, but I'd argue that their struggles often came from networks trying to parachute an influencer into a traditional "TV" format. What about meeting them halfway?

On that point, it's been interesting to see the convergence of podcasts and video. YouTube (hello again) is the top podcasting platform in the US, ahead of Spotify (which is also looking to beef up video) and Apple Podcasts.

What's stopping the likes of Netflix, or even CNN, from licensing podcasts as long as they get the video quality up to snuff? CNN+ wanted to give Scott Galloway a show once upon a time. Maybe they should just put one of his hit podcasts on the air. The cable TV business is in freefall. It's time to get creative.

-Nathan McAlone, deputy editor

• The hiring trends among creator-economy startups can tell you a lot about the state of the industry.
• Creator Economy Jobs analyzed hiring posts from over 600 companies in 2024.
• Silicon Valley still has a grip on creator-related tech, while London could be the "next big" hub.

Being a creator isn't the only career path in the creator economy.

Creator Economy Jobs, a job listings platform founded by James Creech, analyzed hiring posts from over 600 creator-economy companies in 2024.

Across the board, creator-economy startups were generally hiring for roles in engineering, marketing, product, and sales.

"This year, the creator economy has definitely felt more energy and activity," Creech, who is also an investor and advisor to several creator startups, told Business Insider.

Since launching in late 2023, the platform has pooled over 1,000 job listings from creator-economy companies each quarter.

Creech's job site pulls listings from various third-party platforms and applicant tracking systems, like LinkedIn, Greenhouse, and Lever, among others. Some companies also list jobs directly through the site, Creech said.

While the creator economy — from Big Tech companies to startups — was hit hard by layoffs over the last few years, the post-hype-cycle industry appears to be landing on two feet.

Creech predicts that heading into 2025, more companies will emerge as strong players in the space and expand teams with hiring. That could prove true as a handful of creator startups have raised millions in 2024 — some, like newsletter platform Beehiiv, with the intent to hire.

Another trend Creech expects in the creator economy next year is corporate brands continuing to hire creators to fill in-house roles.

Here are a few takeaways on the state of jobs in the creator economy:

1. Creator-economy startups are in the market for engineers

"The most in-demand jobs are engineering," Creech said. "As we think about what types of companies in this space are growing and needing help, it's a lot of software businesses."

The majority of the engineering roles on CEJ are either backend or full-stack, Creech added.

Since the second quarter, the platform has had over 500 engineering jobs listed quarter-over-quarter.

The second and third most in-demand categories of jobs were in sales and marketing, respectively, Creech said.

2. Silicon Valley still has a hold on the creator economy

"We all think, 'Oh, the creator economy is Los Angeles,'" said Creech, who is based in LA himself. "When we started publishing these reports, the San Francisco Bay Area ranks the highest."

That's, in part, due to the sheer number of startups still building in the broader Silicon Valley area.

LA and New York City were the next largest US job markets throughout the year, Creech said. Meanwhile, international cities such as London, Bangkok, and Berlin have also been hubs for jobs on the platform.

"The international markets are growing really rapidly," Creech said. "We believe that the creator economy is a global phenomenon, and you're seeing people can live anywhere and build great businesses all over, and that's reflected in the fact that there are cool companies and cool jobs everywhere now."

Creech also identified London as "the next big creator economy destination."

3. These 6 companies were some of the most active job listers for 2024

When analyzing the top hiring creator-economy companies, CEJ excludes big platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Pinterest. The six companies below consistently listed new jobs within the creator economy throughout 2024, according to CEJ's data.

• Coda Payments, a monetization platform for digital products
• ElevenLabs, a generative AI and video-dubbing startup
• Impact.com, an affiliate-marketing company
• Lightricks, a content-creation and editing company
• Podimo, a podcast and audiobook platform
• Whatnot, a live-shopping company

Whatnot told BI that it would continue to prioritize hiring across all of its teams in 2025.

And Lightricks, which currently has 40 open roles, told BI that it plans to expand its teams in 2025 as it continues to build generative AI products.

ElevenLabs, meanwhile, said it plans to double its "core team" in 2025 with a focus on engineering and sales roles, while also expanding the company with hubs in Poland and India.

• 2024 has been a solid year for creator-economy fundraising.
• Creator startups focused on AI, e-commerce, influencer marketing, and newsletters drew in dollars.
• These 17 startups raised at least $10 million in 2024 — totaling over $900 million.

Money is still flowing in the creator economy, even as the investor hype cycle has died down.

In 2024, 17 creator startups raised at least $10 million in new funding, totaling over $900 million. A large amount of that investment went toward creator companies whose work overlaps with trendy categories, such as artificial intelligence or social shopping. But tried-and-true business models like influencer marketing and newsletter subscriptions also scored new rounds.

"For the second year in a row, the trends kind of stayed the same. AI, community, and revenue diversification for all creators," said Ollie Forsyth, a former senior manager at the investment firm Antler who now writes the newsletter New Economies.

Startups that offer automated dubbing, AI editing, or generative AI features — such as Captions, ElevenLabs, and OpusClip — all raised hefty rounds this year. Social-commerce startups like ShopMy and Levanta captivated venture firms, alongside newsletter companies like Beehiiv, Workweek, and Substack.

A few startups — Agentio, Beehiiv, and Captions — that raised capital in 2023, when creator-economy investments were at a low ebb, also raised again in 2024. Meanwhile, some venture firms have consistently tapped into the creator space, such as AlleyCorp, Inspired Capital, and Volition Capital.

Investor interest in the creator economy surged when social-media consumption spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, but then fell off dramatically. It's now steady, Forsyth said.

"We're no longer in the hype cycle," he said. "Maybe it has lost its trendiness a tiny bit, but it's stabilizing, which is needed."

Business Insider worked with data providers PitchBook and Crunchbase to sort through fundraising data in order to highlight big creator startup rounds from 2024. We focused on companies whose products significantly impact the businesses of creators and their partners.

Here are 17 of those companies, listed in alphabetical order:

1. Agentio, an ad platform streamlining creator-brand marketing on YouTube, raised a $12 million Series A. The round, announced in November, was led by Benchmark and included returning investors Craft and AlleyCorp (the latter firms co-led Agentio's $4.25 million Seed investment last year). Agentio's Series A is being used to scale the startup's go-to-market teams and expand its product offerings beyond YouTube creator ads.

2. Beehiiv, a newsletter platform competing with Substack, raised a $33 million Series B this year — $32 million from venture capital investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, and Sapphire Ventures, and $1 million from a crowdfund. Beehiiv will use the money to expand hiring, build its ad network, and continue its M&A strategy (the startup acquired Typedream in May).

3. Cameo, a video shout-out platform for celebrities and creators, raised $28 million with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Valor Siren Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, and cofounders Steven Galanis, Devon Townsend, and Martin Blencowe. The aim of the raise was to build out Cameo for Business, an offering focused on connecting its creators with brands for promotional content, per a company spokesperson.

4. Already on its Series C round after launching in 2021, AI video startup Captions closed a $60 million round in July led by Index Ventures. The round included returning investors like A16z and Sequoia Capital, as well as new investments from Adobe Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, and Jared Leto. Captions will use its funding to grow its machine learning team and in-house research, and also shared plans to invest $100 million into generative video research.

5. ElevenLabs closed an $80 million Series B round at the start of the year, led by A16z, Nat Friedman, and Daniel Gross. Other firms, like Sequoia Capital, Smash Capital, and SV Angel, joined the round. The startup announced at the time that the raise would be used to "refine" its products and safety measures in the deployment of AI.

6. Flip, a social-shopping platform set up in a TikTok-like feed, raised $144 million in a Series C round led by Streamlined Ventures with participation from advertising firm AppLovin, the companies announced in April. Flip planned to integrate marketing tech from AppLovin as part of the deal.

7. Infinite Reality, a tech company that owns talent-management firm TalentX, Drone Racing League, and other holdings, closed a $350 million fundraise from an undisclosed family office, the company said. The investment was meant to support efforts in hiring, with a focus on tech and product, as well as allow the company to pursue M&A opportunities.

8. Influur, an influencer-marketing platform, closed a $10 million Series A in November, led by Point72 Ventures and HTwenty Capital. The startup will use its funding to develop products like AI tools to help brands predict campaign performance and fintech tools for its users.

9. Levanta, an affiliate-marketing company that connects Amazon sellers with creators and other affiliates, raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Volition Capital. The company said the round would help it grow its business development team and improve its user experience.

10. OpusClip, an AI video editing platform that helps creators turn long videos into short clips, closed its Series A in April, bringing total funding to $30 million, per the company. Millennium New Horizons led the startup's Series A with participation from other investors like AI Grant, DCM Ventures, Samsung Next, GTMfund, and Alpine VC, among others. The company said it plans to use the funding to build its products and grow its team.

11. Passes, a subscription and memberships platform for creators, raised a $40 million Series A round in February from Abstract Ventures, Crossbeam Venture Partners, and individuals like Alexandra Botez, Emma Grede, and Michael Ovitz. The funding will be used for hiring and product, CEO Lucy Guo told BI.

12. Podcastle, a content-creation platform for podcasters, closed a $13.5 million Series A round led by Mosaic Ventures, with participation from returning investors Sierra Ventures, RTP Global, and Point Nine, among others. The company is using the funding to expand its AI and video products and grow its team with a new base in London.

13. ProRata.ai, a startup focused on helping creators and media firms get compensation for contributing to generative AI products, raised $30 million in a rolling Series A that closed in Q4, led by Mayfield Fund and other investors like Revolution Ventures, Prime Movers Lab, and Calibrate Ventures.

14. ShopMy, an affiliate and influencer-marketing company, raised an $18.5 million add-on to its Series A in March, closing the round at $26.5 million. The startup previously told BI that it raised from firms like Inspired Capital and AlleyCorp to grow the platform and attract more brand and creator partners.

15. Slushy, an adult-content platform competing with OnlyFans, raised a $10.2 million seed investment that closed in June. The round included investments from The Chainsmokers' Mantis VC, Electric Feel Ventures, and individuals like Jon Oringer (the former CEO of Shutterstock) and Sean Rad (the former CEO of Tinder). Slushy will direct its new funds toward developing its product, onboarding more content creators to the platform, and expanding into new markets.

16. Substack closed an investment round of about $10 million (the company directed BI to Axios' reporting on the matter) in the fall. Substack recently announced that it had 4 million paid subscriptions on its platform. It has worked to ramp up in-person events this year.
17. Workweek, a business-focused newsletter startup, announced a $12.5 million Series A round in June led by Next Coast Ventures. It's using the investment to build out a professional networking service for Workweek's subscribers.