Passionfroot, a Berlin-based startup connecting B2B creators with brands, announced on Wednesday it has secured $15 million in a Series A round led by Insight Partners.
The market shift
Rebecca Liu-Doyle, managing director at Insight Partners, told TechCrunch that the company is positioned well as creators specialise while AI firms seek visibility. She noted that B2B brands are increasingly consumerising their approach. This shift stems partly from the need for AI technology evangelism, narrative building, and education.
On the supply side, she said, there are individuals with deep market expertise who want to produce quality content.
Expansion plans
Jen Phan, co-founder and CEO, is moving from Berlin to New York to open an office and expand U.S. operations. The company is also opening a location in Sao Paulo and increasing its staff from 15 employees.
Phan explained that as AI makes product building easier, companies are turning to creators to improve brand recall and recognition.
Every head of marketing or growth leader I’m talking to is saying really the same thing: AI is commoditizing software and flooding every category with new products, features, and launches. It’s incredibly crowded and noisy. That is why B2B buyers are going to channels like LinkedIn, a creator’s Substack, or a podcast on YouTube to discover new products and tools.
Over the last year, revenue grew 13 times. Clients onboarded include ElevenLabs, Figma, Replit, Framer, and Gamma.
Tools and payments
Since its last fundraise in 2024, the company released an AI agent called Zest. This tool helps brands create, execute, and monitor campaign performance. It also assists companies in finding suitable creators both inside and outside the platform.
The startup uses a proprietary creator graph based on reach and performance data from thousands of campaigns. A built-in wallet allows companies to pay creators globally and track expenditure.
Passionfroot states it has paid at least $10 million to creators on its platform in the last 18 months.
Future features
The company is working on measuring how campaigns impact AI citations and brand appearance in AI-powered answers. It is also planning AI features for creators, such as monetization tips and content ideas.
This funding arrives as platforms like Substack and Beehiiv move to help creators find better monetization opportunities. Beehiiv launched a new community and ad marketplace last week, and Substack has introduced subscriber-only perks within newsletters.
Investors
Existing investors Creandum, Supernode Global, and s16vc participated in the round. The company has raised more than $21 million so far.
What it means
For the people making content, the shift means moving away from generic product pages to trusted voices who can explain complex software. Brands are paying directly for that trust through a platform that tracks performance and handles payments. Creators now have access to tools that help them find work and manage their income, while brands get data on how their messages appear in AI search results.
