The hosts dive into the booming creator economy, spotlighting Patreon's impressive rise to a $4 billion valuation. They discuss Box's significant $500 million investment and the evolving tech landscape. Clubhouse garners attention with a new tipping feature for creators, igniting discussions about its competition with Twitter. MasterClass also makes headlines as it soars to a $2.5 billion valuation, thanks to its engaging, celebrity-driven content. The mix of edtech innovations and market shifts highlights the ongoing evolution of these industries.
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insights INSIGHT
Patreon's Growth
Patreon, a creator economy stalwart, tripled its valuation to $4 billion after raising $155 million from Tiger Global.
They take a 5-12% fee plus payment processing, averaging 18-19% total.
insights INSIGHT
Clubhouse Monetization
Clubhouse launched a no-fee tipping feature for creators, generating excitement among its dedicated users.
This move mirrors tipping practices common in Asian livestreaming platforms.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Clubhouse Acquisition Rumors
Clubhouse is reportedly in talks to raise funding at a $4 billion valuation, up from $1 billion just a month prior.
Twitter, which is developing its own Clubhouse competitor (Spaces), is also considering acquiring Clubhouse.
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Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.
Natasha and Danny and and Grace were all here to chat through the week’s rigamarole of news. Alex took some well-deserved time off, but that meant we got to poke a little fun at him and create a Special Edition segment to start off the show.
Jokes aside, this week was yet another spree of creator economy, edtech, and new fund announcements, with fresh and unexpected news hailing from Natasha's home state, New Jersey.
Here's what we got into:
Box got a lifeline in the form of a $500 million check from KKR, and as Danny mentions, Box CEO Aaron Levie shifts his role a bit, too.
Patreon, an early startup in the creator economy space, has tripled its valuation to $4 billion. Another, not-so-old startup with the same reported valuation? Clubhouse. We threaded the line between the two, and gave some color on a new monetization feature rolled out.
MasterClass raising new funding at $2.5 billion valuation. That is up from a $800 million valuation just last year, and shows that aspirational teaching packaged as celebrity-taught Youtube-like videos with Netflix-like quality is enough to be considered edtech.
The show closed with two early-stage funding rounds you don't want to miss - Walnut and Real - as well as a conversation on the future of telehealth.
What a show! We'll be back with the full trio next week, and until then, stay safe and thank you for listening.
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Equity