San Francisco-based crowdfunding/membership platform Patreon has just raised $155 million in Series F financing, increasing its valuation to $4 billion.
Patreon (which artists use to offer exclusive content) previously raised $90m in September 2020, valuing the company at $1.2 billion.
According to Patreon, its 200,000 creators across podcasts, videos, music, visual art, writing and more are earning over $100 million per month from 7 million patrons.
Patreon’s creators have earned more than $2bn since the company’s inception in 2013.
The investment round was led by new investor Tiger Global Management, with participation from Woodline Partners and existing investors Wellington Management, Lone Pine Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Glade Brook Capital, and DFJ Growth.
Patreon plans to use the additional funds to accelerate its progress on initiatives including enhanced creator and fan experiences on both desktop and mobile, international expansion and new content consumption tools.
The financing also allows Patreon to explore potential acquisitions to further expand its talent and product capabilities.
In 2020, Patreon added new languages, currencies, messaging functionality, merchandise and annual memberships.
The platform announced in May that over 70,000 new creators had launched on the platform since mid-March.
During that time, Patreon saw a 150% increase in the number of musicians launching and a 57% increase in the number of video creators launching.
“We’re starting with content and community capabilities, but over the next decade we’re setting out to build the creator infrastructure that supports a Second Renaissance.”
Jack Conte, Patreon
Jack Conte, CEO and co-founder of Patreon, said: “When Sam and I started Patreon eight years ago, we were solving a clear problem: collapsing the gap between the impact that creators have in the world and their paychecks at the end of the month.
“That world is quickly becoming a reality, and the emerging creative class is already scaling their dreams.
“We’re starting with content and community capabilities, but over the next decade we’re setting out to build the creator infrastructure that supports a Second Renaissance.”
“We believe Patreon can be a transformative, culture-defining company and we are excited to partner with them.”
Evan Feinberg, Tiger Global Management
Evan Feinberg, Partner, Tiger Global Management, said: “The world is shifting toward a creator economy, of which Patreon has been a long-standing champion, and the opportunity for the team to continue spearheading this movement is significant.
“We believe Patreon can be a transformative, culture-defining company and we are excited to partner with them.”
Music Business Worldwide