Passionfroot raises $15 million to expand its B2B builder marketplace to the US

Passion fruitA German startup building a marketplace that connects creators between businesses and brands said Wednesday it has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Insight Partners.

Passionfroot is well-positioned at a time when innovators are specializing and AI companies are looking for more visibility, said Rebecca Liu Doyle, managing director at Insight Partners.

“Passionfroot has the perfect dynamics on both sides to ensure a real market for B2B creators. On the demand side, there is an increasing consumption of the way B2B brands go to market. This is a product, in part, of AI technology that requires evangelism, narrative building, and education. And on the supply side, there are people with real experience, who deeply understand the market, and want to create high-quality content,” she told TechCrunch over a phone call.

With this funding, the Berlin-based startup’s co-founder and CEO, Jin Fan, will move to New York, where Passionfroot is opening an office to expand its US operations. The company is also opening an office in São Paulo, expanding its current headcount of 15 employees.

As AI makes it easier to build products, companies are focusing on using creatives to improve brand recall and recognition, Fan said.

“Every CMO or growth leader I talk to really says the same thing: AI is commercializing software and flooding every category with new products, features, and launches. It’s incredibly crowded and noisy. That’s why B2B buyers turn to channels like LinkedIn, a creator’s Substack, or YouTube podcasts to discover new products and tools,” she said.

Over the past year, the company has increased its revenue by 13 times, joining clients such as ElevenLabs, Figma, Replit, Framer and Gamma, Fan said.

Since its last fundraiser in 2024, the company has released an AI agent called Zest, which helps brands create, execute and monitor campaigns. Passionfruit claims that Zest can also help businesses find the right on- and off-platform creators that are right for their marketing strategy.

The startup says it uses a proprietary builder graph based on data on reach and performance from thousands of campaigns. There’s also a wallet that businesses can use to pay creators around the world and measure their spending.

Passionfroot claims to have paid out at least $10 million to creators on its platform over the past 18 months.

The company says it is working to help its clients measure the impact of a campaign on AI citations, and how their brand appears in AI-powered answers. The startup also plans to build AI features for creators, such as helping them with monetization tips and content ideas.

The funding comes as creator platforms like Substack and Beehiiv move to help creators find better monetization opportunities. Beehive took off New community and advertising marketplace last weekand Substack has Offer perks to newsletter subscribers only.

Passionfroot’s Series A also saw participation from existing investors Creandum, Supernode Global, and s16vc. The company has raised more than $21 million to date.