Pro Weekly: Creator Funding Rises; It's not Just AI

We published our second-quarter funding report this week for the Creator Economy Database. Artificial intelligence fueled a second consecutive quarter of growing investment in the sector, with the first six months of 2024 roughly equaling creator economy startup funding for all of last year. But here’s the thing: It’s not just about AI.

Funding in the U.S. for AI-focused creator startups nearly doubled in the second quarter, but funding for non-AI startups in the creator economy also grew 53%. In fact, non-AI creator startups in the U.S. raised more money—$407 million—than AI startups—$285 million. That’s nothing new; it’s been true every quarter since we started collecting data in 2021.