Whalar Group has landed its biggest capital injection to date. The firm that operates multiple creator-facing businesses has announced a strategic investment from a trio of notable names: Salesforce Co-Founder Marc Benioff, ecommerce platform Shopify, and Hollywood producer Neal H. Moritz.
The exact size of the the investment was not publicly revealed, but a Whalar spokesperson told Bloomberg that the deal came with an attached valuation of $400 million. That value is spread across six businesses: Whalar’s eponymous creator agency, its talent management firm Sixteenth (which it acquired last year), the IRL space known as The Lighthouse, operating system Foam, brand-building studio Moby Ventures, and virtual experience builder Umi Games.
Through its sprawling operation and its consistent support for creators’ needs, Whalar has built a client roster that includes more than 300 creators, including Ali Abdaal and Jesus Nalgas. Since 2016, the company’s payouts to creators have totaled more than $300 million.
Whalar’s prominent position in the creator economy has drawn interest from the entertainment and tech sectors — two industries that are eager to get in bed with influencers and their ilk. Recent deals that have linked creators to Hollywood include Skybound’s recent acquisition of Nine Four Entertainment and Propagate Content’s majority stake in Parker Management.
The investors who are buying into Whalar will help the company serve the ambitions of its creator partners. Moritz, a producer for the Fast and the Furious
film franchise, gives Whalar an in with Hollywood studios. Other post-investment priorities include the development of AI-powered creator tools — a recent area of emphasis for Salesforce — and increased ecommerce capabilities.Whalar’s union with the ecommerce firm that powers thousands of creator storefronts brings it full circle. A press release from Whalar notes that the company was incorporated shortly after its founders won Shopify’s Build A Business competition in 2015.
“This investment validates that we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible,” said Whalar Co-Founder and Co-CEO Neil Waller in a statement. “We’re doubling down on building infrastructure that lets creators operate like major entertainment companies, but with the agility to rapidly adopt new ways of thinking and creating that give them a distinct competitive advantage. The future isn’t just about content, it’s about creators building the next generation of entertainment and media powerhouses.”
Whalar previously facilitated its early growth with a seed round. Its latest investment is much more substantial, and the alliance with the likes of Benioff and Moritz will put Whalar — and its creator roster — in a powerful position.
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