Patreon

The Information's in-depth reporting about Patreon.
Follow this topic to get the latest updates from The Information reporters and subscribers.

Recent Articles about Patreon
OpenAI's Sam Altman and recently departed Jan Leike and Ilya Sutskever. Photos via Getty and YouTube/Towards Data Science.
AI Agenda

What Altman Will Do to Make OpenAI Live Up to Its Name Again; Why You Should Care About Stability’s Implosion

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 20, 2024 7:36am PDT
In classic OpenAI fashion, big drama dropped on Friday. Jan Leike, who formerly co-led OpenAI’s superalignment team with Ilya Sutskever—the co-founder and chief scientist who temporarily ousted CEO Sam Altman in November—explained on X why he left the company. Altman & Co. failed to give superalignment, which aimed to be a check on OpenAI... In classic OpenAI fashion, big drama dropped on Friday. Jan Leike, who formerly co-led OpenAI’s...
Art by Clark Miller
The Top 5

The Best New Power-Dining Spots Specialize in Fishy Bliss

By Ryan Sutton · May 11, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments
On the bottom floor of a luxury high-rise in San Francisco’s SOMA district—a few blocks away from Slack’s headquarters—a newly relocated counter spot sends out puffy milk toast with toro and golden osetra caviar. It sears blackthroat sea perch and tops it with onion jam. Welcome to Akikos, where dinner runs $250, or more... On the bottom floor of a luxury high-rise in San Francisco’s SOMA district—a few...
Art by Shane Burke.
AI Agenda

Developers Push to Build AI Models Native to Non-English Languages

By Kalley Huang · May 9, 2024 8:06am PDT
¿Habla español? Parlez-vous français? You might, but today’s large language models may not speak either Spanish or French very well. It’s a shortcoming that many developers are trying to address, especially since making LLMs available in more languages may attract more users. To give a sense of the issue, Meta Platforms said in a blog post... ¿Habla español? Parlez-vous français? You might, but today’s large language models may not speak...
AI generated images of Katy Perry and Rihanna circulated on social media. Screenshots via X and Instagram
The Met Gala Had An AI Problem, Not A TikTok One
By Kaya Yurieff · May 7, 2024 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment
AI generated images of Katy Perry and Rihanna circulated on social media. Screenshots via X and Instagram
Creator Economy

The Met Gala Had An AI Problem, Not A TikTok One

By Kaya Yurieff · May 7, 2024 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment
Ahead of Monday night’s Met Gala, you had to wonder whether TikTok’s first-time sponsorship of the high-profile fashion and fundraising event would set up an awkward dynamic given the app’s uncertain future in the U.S. Instead, the Met Gala had an artificial intelligence problem, not a TikTok one. Ahead of Monday night’s Met Gala, you had to wonder whether TikTok’s first-time sponsorship of...
Art by Clark Miller
The Top 5

Our Favorite Interior Designers…for Rescuing a Boring Office

By Annie Goldsmith · Apr 27, 2024 5:00am PDT · 2 comments
When Molly Martell, vice president of brand at San Francisco venture capital firm Headline, was tasked with revamping the company’s offices in 2021, she sought out a design that “felt like the antidote to Zoom” and could fulfill a mandate for a “cozy” space that wasn’t “cold, gridded boxes,” she... When Molly Martell, vice president of brand at San Francisco venture capital firm Headline, was...
Photo via Shutterstock.
Dealmaker

A Fresh Sign Creator Startups Haven’t Hit Bottom

By Kate Clark · Apr 16, 2024 3:08pm PDT
These days, when I think of startups in the “creator economy,” a subsector propelled by the rise of TikTok and influencers, I think of pricey disappointments like Cameo and Clubhouse, or one of several smaller ventures that shuttered in recent months. And I struggle to come up with any big winners, beyond giants like ByteDance and Instagram,... These days, when I think of startups in the “creator economy,” a subsector propelled by the rise...
Olympian Tobin Heath at The Information's Creator Economy Summit.
Creator Economy

Sports Influencers Are Having a Moment

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 3, 2024 4:48pm PDT
Our Creator Economy Summit in Los Angeles was a success yesterday, with wide ranging discussions about how creators are running startups and how everyone is viewing two of the biggest news stories—a potential TikTok ban and the rise of generative AI. One of the most interesting discussions was around sports. As we’ve written, professional... Our Creator Economy Summit in Los Angeles was a success yesterday, with wide ranging discussions...
Art by Clark Miller
How the CEO of Kim Kardashian’s Skims Dodged Retail Armageddon
By Ann Gehan and Annie Goldsmith · Mar 29, 2024 9:28am PDT · 2 comments
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

How the CEO of Kim Kardashian’s Skims Dodged Retail Armageddon

By Ann Gehan and Annie Goldsmith · Mar 29, 2024 9:28am PDT · 2 comments
When Skims co-founders Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede were recently considering where to put their very first physical store, they knew right away that New York and Los Angeles wouldn’t work well. Their retail unicorn had previously held pop-up shops in those cities, and they had attracted enormous crowds that limited any chance to observe... When Skims co-founders Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede were recently considering where to put their...
Linktree co-founders, from left to right: Nick Humphreys, Alex Zaccaria, Anthony Zaccaria
Creator Economy

Linktree Jumps Into Social Commerce With Sephora

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 6, 2024 2:33pm PST
Linktree, the largest and best known among the dozens of startups offering link-in-bio tools—the landing pages that link creators’ social media accounts to product pages, podcasts and videos—is expanding into social commerce. The seven-year-old startup is testing an affiliate marketing program with Sephora, Revolve and Urban Outfitters.... Linktree, the largest and best known among the dozens of startups offering link-in-bio tools—the...
Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images.
Creator Economy

What to Expect at SXSW; ByteDance’s Soaring Revenue

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 5, 2024 2:25pm PST
Later this week, I’m heading to South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin. If you’ll be in town, let’s get coffee or some BBQ! I’d also love to see you at The Information’s cocktail party on Friday night here, and our Saturday brunch and panel here. (Be sure to RSVP today, space is limited!)Creators have increasingly become... Later this week, I’m heading to South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin....
Photo via FanFix. Left: Fanfix CEO and co-founder Harry Gestetner. Right: Passes CEO Lucy Guo. Photo by Celia D. Luna for The Information.
Creator Economy

A Startup’s Lawsuit Places Blame on VC Subsidies

By Kalley Huang · Jan 24, 2024 5:45pm PST · 2 comments
Careful readers of this newsletter may recall that Fanfix, which helps creators earn money directly from their followers through subscriptions and paid messaging, sued Passes, another fan subscription company, in Los Angeles County Superior Court earlier this month. I spent some time looking into the case this week. It shows just how far... Careful readers of this newsletter may recall that Fanfix, which helps creators earn money...
Creator Now co-founder Airrack at the 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards. Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images.
Startup Co-Founded by YouTuber Airrack Sells to VidIQ
By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 23, 2024 2:05pm PST
Creator Now co-founder Airrack at the 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards. Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images.
Creator Economy

Startup Co-Founded by YouTuber Airrack Sells to VidIQ

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 23, 2024 2:05pm PST
New year, new M&A in the creator economy! VidIQ, an analytics provider for creators, is acquiring Creator Now, a Los Angeles-based online education startup for aspiring creators, The Information is first to report. New year, new M&A in the creator economy! VidIQ, an analytics provider for creators, is...
Sofia Richie Grainge. Photo by AP.
Creator Economy

TikTok’s Beauty Craze Turns to M&A

By Ann Gehan · Jan 17, 2024 2:31pm PST
Hi - it's Ann. I write about e-commerce and retail for The Information. Before we get into today's column, some breaking news: YouTube is laying off around 100 employees focused on supporting content creators and other partners. The layoffs come amid a reorganization of many of YouTube’s business teams and broader cuts this month at YouTube’s... Hi - it's Ann. I write about e-commerce and retail for The Information. Before we get into...
Pro subscription required icon Pro subscription required icon Pro Weekly: For Creator Startups, Money Doesn't Always Equal Success
Pro Weekly

Pro Weekly: For Creator Startups, Money Doesn't Always Equal Success

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 12, 2024 8:00am PST
We published our latest quarterly and annual funding data from our Creator Economy Database this week. The upshot: Funding for creator startups is down, unless of course, the business has an artificial intelligence angle. In total, the 525 creator-centric startups in our database have raised more than $13.8 billion since 2021. As you would... We published our latest quarterly and annual funding data from our Creator Economy Database this...
The Tadpole webcam from Opal Camera.
Creator Economy

The Webcam Startup That Bucked the Funding Drought

By Kalley Huang · Jan 10, 2024 3:24pm PST
When most people think about the creator economy, they aren’t thinking about hardware. Yet creators are heavy users of cameras and other video production gear. That may explain why  webcam maker Opal Camera has gained a following among creators and managed to raise money during last quarter’s funding drought.In October, the three-year-old... When most people think about the creator economy, they aren’t thinking about hardware. Yet...
Chart by Shane Burke
Funding For Global Creator Economy Startups Plunged 58% In 2023
By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 8, 2024 2:39pm PST · 1 comment
Chart by Shane Burke
Creator Economy

Funding For Global Creator Economy Startups Plunged 58% In 2023

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 8, 2024 2:39pm PST · 1 comment
Funding for global creator economy startups continued its downward spiral in 2023, falling nearly 58% to about $1.7 billion compared to the year before, according to the latest update from The Information’s Creator Economy Database. Funding for just U.S. startups plunged 62% to $1.03 billion year-over-year. A once white-hot sector for... Funding for global creator economy startups continued its downward spiral in 2023, falling nearly...
The Man Who Fights X's Battles
The Weekend

The Man Who Fights X's Battles

By Jon Steinberg · Dec 23, 2023 6:00am PST
Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Hard to believe it’s been 14 months since Elon Musk walked into Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco with his infamous "let that sink in" wash basin. Feels like 14 years, to be honest. In the time since, at least three-quarters of the company has been fired or has voluntarily departed. Those ranks include almost... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Hard to believe it’s been 14 months since Elon Musk walked into...
Serena Kerrigan. Photo by Katie Lovelace.
Creator Economy

The Second Act of Serena F–ing Kerrigan

By Kalley Huang · Dec 13, 2023 2:46pm PST · 1 comment
During the pandemic, Serena Kerrigan livestreamed her dates on Instagram every week, introducing a new prospective mate each time. Over the course of 2020, she dated 50 people. The series, called “Let’s F—ing Date,” won her an audience that now totals 600,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 200,000 on Instagram. In September of that year,... During the pandemic, Serena Kerrigan livestreamed her dates on Instagram every week,...
James Hoffman. Photo by Anil Mistry.
Creator Economy

X Has its OpenAI Moment; Interview With a Coffee Influencer

By Kalley Huang · Nov 21, 2023 4:31pm PST · 1 comment
After the surprise ouster of Sam Altman from OpenAI over the weekend, X was atwitter—pun intended—with real-time updates about what was happening. Our feeds were flooded with heart emojis, cryptic messages about what’s next, posts saying “OpenAI is nothing without its people” and, of course, total speculation.“See, Twitter’s not dead,” comedian... After the surprise ouster of Sam Altman from OpenAI over the weekend, X was atwitter—pun intended...
X CEO Linda Yaccarino. Photo by Getty
Hashtag Activism Returns to X
By Erin Woo · Nov 2, 2023 5:04pm PDT
X CEO Linda Yaccarino. Photo by Getty
Creator Economy

Hashtag Activism Returns to X

By Erin Woo · Nov 2, 2023 5:04pm PDT
Hashtag activism is back.Dozens of trans users of X have been posting their stories on the app formerly known as Twitter as a way of protesting conservative video maker PragerU, which purchased one of X’s most prominent advertising spots to promote a documentary arguing that gender-affirming care is dangerous for transgender youth. The... Hashtag activism is back.Dozens of trans users of X have been posting their stories on the app...