Lightricks acquires Popular Pays in deal valued at tens of millions of dollars
Lightricks acquires Popular Pays in deal valued at tens of millions of dollars
The Israeli unicorn believes that the combination of its creator suite and Popular Pays’ tools for connecting, collaborating, and tracking partnerships between brands and creators will set the standard for the next generation of the creator economy
Lightricks, which develops a platform for content creators and developers of leading photo and video editing tools, announced the acquisition of Popular Pays, a Chicago-based software company that connects brands with creators. The sum paid by Lightricks was not revealed but is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
“This announcement is a first step in Lightricks’ strategy to become a single resource for creators and brands alike, bringing together advanced tools and monetization opportunities for creators and providing brands access to the largest community of content creators across the globe, large and small,” Lightricks said in a statement.
The company believes that the combination of Lightricks’ creator suite and Popular Pays’ tools for connecting, collaborating, and tracking partnerships between brands and creators will set the standard for the next generation of the creator economy.
Brands and agencies use Popular Pays’ network of creators to produce content for any channel, leverage their software to streamline and scale their work and tap their customer service professionals to guide their brand's strategy.
"This is an exciting moment for us, and an important step toward building a streamlined, one-stop platform that supports creators in all stages of their journey to create and monetize their content,” says Zeev Farbman, Co-Founder and CEO of Lightricks. “This acquisition is an important step for us, and will help change the game for creators. They will reach new levels of success and connect easily with brands through the combination of Popular Pays’ exceptional platform and team with the strength of Lightricks’ creative tools and understanding of the creator community."
Fresh from a $130 million Series D round, a new partnership with the D’Amelio family, and the launch of LinkInBio, Lightricks is helping creators monetize their content while creatively engaging with fans. With the Popular Pays acquisition, Lightricks brings tens of millions of creators a direct connection from within its portfolio of apps to world-class brands. Similarly, Lightricks will offer brands access to a wide pool of creators who can provide top-tier, user-friendly content that corresponds with a brand's values.
“We couldn't be more thrilled to be joining forces with Lightricks," said Corbett Drummey, Co-Founder and CEO at Popular Pays. "Our vision is to lead an agile transformation in advertising, and we believe that creators will power that evolution. Together, we will have the largest opt-in creator community of any competitive offering. Our products, teams, and strengths are extremely complementary, and the resources and scale that Lightricks brings to the table will enable new and bold strategies that I believe will change our industry. We are excited to get to work on them together.”
