Insurer-backed StreamElements raises $100 million

Tel-Aviv based provider of engagement and monetization tools for live and Video on Demand (VOD) content creators StreamElements announced it has raised $100 million in funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. It also includes participation from PayPal Ventures, MoreTech, and existing investors State of Mind Ventures, Pitango First, Menorah, and Mivtach Shamir, among others.

StreamElements was founded in 2017 to help content creators turn their passion into a profession. This involves taking a platform-agnostic approach and providing production tools and services, such as overlays, alerts, chatbots, merchandise stores, and tipping. The new round of funding will expand the company’s reach to a broader swath of creators, including those who focus more on uploading videos to YouTube and livestreamers on Trovo.

“Since launching StreamElements in 2017, it has become the leading platform in the creator economy by building great products and providing legendary service to content creators of all sizes while helping them collectively generate over a hundred million dollars. With this additional funding we are bolstering our staff to strengthen and broaden our ability to enable content creators across multiple platforms to make a living doing what they love. YouTube currently has over 40 million active gaming channels, making it the largest gaming platform in the world. The bulk of this content are on demand videos which lack the real-time engagement functionality that has driven the success of the livestreamed market. We are focused on infusing on demand videos with dynamic interactive features to strengthen the communities around this type of content.” – Gil Hirsch, CEO and co-founder of StreamElements.

“As online entertainment continues to develop as an immersive experience, the demand for authentic creator-driven content has grown exponentially. Through a suite of broadcasting and engagement tools, StreamElements is helping creators deliver an enriched experience for audiences while monetizing content from the most popular social video platforms. This creates an exciting, new digital market between creators and fans, and we’re thrilled to be working with the company in building engagement across an ever-widening global community.” – Nahoko Hoshino, a senior investor for SoftBank Investment Advisers.