Patreon

Patreon, Inc. operates a monetization platform on which creators such as video makers, podcasters, musicians and illustrators run paid memberships and sell individual digital products to their fans. It was founded in May 2013 in San Francisco by musician and YouTube creator Jack Conte and developer Sam Yam, and earns a commission on creator income plus payment processing fees. Over time it has added the membership tools business Memberful (acquired 2018) and the ticketed livestream startup Moment (acquired 2023).

The company raised $2.1 million in August 2013 from venture firms and angels. In June 2014 it closed a $15 million Series A led by Danny Rimer of Index Ventures, with angels including Alexis Ohanian, Sam Altman, David Marcus and Joshua Reeves. Thrive Capital led a $30 million Series B in January 2016, joined by Allen and Company, Charles River Ventures (CRV), Index Ventures, Accomplice and Freestyle Capital, bringing total funding to $47.1 million. TechCrunch reported a $90 million raise at a $1.2 billion valuation in September 2020, and in April 2021 Patreon raised $155 million led by Tiger Global, with Woodline Partners, Wellington Management, Lone Pine Capital and New Enterprise Associates participating, at a $4 billion valuation. A Form D filed with the SEC reports the 2021 equity sale at $154,999,991, and a later Form D reports $10.6 million of equity sold in October 2023.

Patreon remains private. In its December 2024 year in review it reported more than 300,000 active creators, 10 million paid memberships, 60 million free memberships and $8 billion earned by creators since 2013. The company has also cut staff in several rounds, laying off 13% of employees in April 2020, 36 people in April 2021 and about 80 people (17%) in September 2022, when it closed its Dublin and Berlin offices.

Patreon illustrates a creator economy business funded across a full venture cycle. Seed and Series A investors such as Index Ventures, CRV and Freestyle Capital entered in 2013 and 2014, and by late 2014 patrons were sending more than $1 million a month to creators, Thrive Capital led the growth stage, and crossover investors led by Tiger Global set the 2021 peak price. More than a decade after founding, the company has had no IPO or sale, so early backers' returns remain unrealized on paper.