Fixated says it’s focusing on creator subscriptions with acquisition of Elevate

Fixated has announced another acquisition as part of its $50 million plan to put together “the Avengers” of the digital content space.
Launched in 2024 by music industry veteran and former FaZe Clan President/COO Zach Katz and longtime content creator Jason Wilhelm, Fixated took in a $50 million investment last December, and told us it plans to use a chunk of that money for “targeted” mergers & acquisitions.

In January it bought Ellify, a Canada-based digital talent management company that reps nearly 200 creators, mostly across the Roblox, Minecraft, and Pokémon niches. The idea with that acquisition was to get “authentic access to younger audiences” where “gaming has become one of the most important cultural verticals in the world.”

Now it’s going after a different part of our industry: subscription businesses, where creators turn their audience members into recurring revenue.

To do that, it’s acquiring Elevate, a talent management and creator monetization company that Fixated says specializes in community growth and brand-safe direct-to-fan revenue models. Elevate has a team of ~18 staffers that currently reps 35+ creator clients, including Taalia Vess, CrazyJamJam, and MaisieLynnie.

Kai Plunk co-founded the company in 2023, after spending seven months as a Creative Producer for MrBeast. His goal with Elevate is “putting people over profit and choosing the decisions that make the most sense for our creators in the long run,” he said at VidCon 2025.

One of the ways it does that is through the aforementioned creator subscription businesses, where it focuses on building recurring revenue for lifestyle creators.

In a press release, Fixated says the Elevate acquisition (financial details not disclosed) “marks a key evolution in the creator economy, as more creators are finding ways to engage directly with their superfans through memberships, messaging, and exclusive access, building both deeper connections and predictable, recurring revenue.”

“At its core, direct-to-fan monetization is about putting the fans first,” Plunk said in a statement. “The biggest driver isn’t just content, it’s conversation. Creators are building real communities that center around authenticity and connection. Joining Fixated allows us to scale that model while giving creators the strategic support they need to grow long-term.”

Katz, Fixated’s CEO, added, “Creators are increasingly thinking like entrepreneurs, not just talent. They want predictable revenue, direct access to their audience and platforms that align with their personal brand. Elevate has built best-in-class systems around community and subscription monetization, and this acquisition meaningfully expands our ability to help creators build sustainable businesses through owned fan relationships.”

As part of the acquisition, Plunk will co-lead Fixated’s Community division alongside Chris Michael, Fixated’s Head of Community.

“Community monetization works best when there’s a clear strategy behind it,” Michael said. “Elevate has quietly become one of the most effective operators in this space. Together, we’re building a creator-first approach that helps talent uplift and diversify their revenue with a premium connection to their most ardent supporters.”

Meanwhile, Elevate’s creator roster will get access to Fixated’s talent management, brand partnerships, content services, and distribution arms, the duo said.

Our take here is that Fixated’s M&A binge is part of an overarching wave of consolidation across the entire creator industry. Our space has experienced enormous growth over the past years, and has spawned hundreds of startups looking to capitalize on the creator boom. It’s only natural for that growth to be followed by a period of consolidation.

As Sam Gutelle wrote last July, we saw a noticeable uptick in creator economy M&As in the first half of 2025 (52, compared to 30 in the first half of 2024). That trend is likely to continue–and companies like Fixated, which manage to scoop up significant VC funding, will be the ones that end up as umbrellas.