- Published on
Passionfroot raises $15M to expand its B2B creator marketplace to the US
- Authors
- Name
- DeepHorus
Passionfroot, a German startup building a marketplace connecting B2B creators with brands, announced on Wednesday it has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Insight Partners. The Berlin-based company is using the capital to expand its operations to the United States, opening a new office in New York. Co-founder and CEO Jen Phan is relocating to New York to lead the expansion, while a second office in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil, is also in the works. The company currently employs 15 people and plans to grow its headcount.
The startup operates a marketplace that matches B2B creatorsâindividuals who produce content about business software and servicesâwith brands seeking to improve visibility and credibility. As artificial intelligence makes it easier to build products, companies are increasingly relying on creators to cut through the noise. Phan explained that B2B buyers now discover new tools through channels like LinkedIn, Substack newsletters, and YouTube podcasts, rather than traditional advertising.
Over the past year, Passionfroot has achieved significant growth, increasing its revenue by 13 times. It has onboarded notable clients including ElevenLabs, Figma, Replit, Framer, and Gamma. The company claims it has paid at least $10 million to creators on its platform over the last 18 months. Since its previous fundraise in 2024, Passionfroot released an AI agent called Zest, which helps brands create, execute, and monitor campaign performance, as well as find suitable creators both inside and outside the platform.
Rebecca Liu-Doyle, managing director at Insight Partners, highlighted the favorable market dynamics for Passionfroot. 'On the demand side, there is increasing consumerization of the way B2B brands go to market. Thatâs a product of, in part, AI technology requiring evangelism, narrative building, and education,' she said. On the supply side, she noted the presence of experts who deeply understand markets and want to create quality content.
The funding round also saw participation from existing investors Creandum, Supernode Global, and s16vc, bringing Passionfrootâs total raised to over $21 million. The startup uses a proprietary creator graph based on data from thousands of campaigns to match creators with brands. It also provides a wallet for global payments and expenditure tracking.
Passionfroot is currently working on helping clients measure how a campaign impacts AI citations and brand appearance in AI-powered answers. The company is also planning to build AI features for creators, such as monetization tips and content ideas. This focus on AI comes as creator platforms like Substack and Beehiiv introduce new monetization tools, including ad marketplaces and subscriber perks.
With the new funding and expansion plans, Passionfroot aims to strengthen its position in the B2B creator economy. The opening of offices in New York and SĂŁo Paulo signals its ambition to capture a larger share of the growing market for specialized content marketing. As AI continues to transform software and business tools, the demand for creators who can educate and evangelize is expected to rise.
