Investors and VCs funding startups for YouTube, Instagram influencers

• As the influencer industry has grown, with new creator-led startups and content production companies emerging, so has the need for capital from investors. 
• Business Insider is recognizing 14 venture capital and investment players who are fueling startups that are shaping the creator economy.
• These investors are innovating and driving growth in the industry in 2020. 
• Send your influencer industry tips to the authors at dwhateley@businessinsider.com and aperelli@businessinsider.com.
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As the influencer business grows with new creator-led startups and other companies that help with content production, so has both the interest and need for capital from investors. 

Both traditional and upstart investors are making bets on the creator category, where influencer marketing alone is expected to grow into a $15 billion industry by 2022. 

Many successful social-media stars work with a variety of third-party companies to support content and partnership growth. 

“I’m a big believer in that the biggest consumer companies in the future will be built around creators because they have so much distribution,” said Blake Robbins, a partner at Ludlow Ventures, a Detroit-based venture firm that has invested in the gaming organization and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves. “There are some really interesting opportunities within consumer, whether that’s software or physical goods. There’s going to be a lot of interesting companies that emerge here, and I also think there’s this rising middle class where even if you’re not making millions of dollars a year as a content creator there’s still opportunity to make a real living.”

In this new list, Business Insider is putting a spotlight on venture capital and investment professionals innovating and driving growth in the creator industry.

These power players are helping influencers and content creators build larger businesses in 2020, and tapping into direct-to-consumer opportunities that have emerged as digital creators have shown they can drive product sales through their personality-based brands.

Whether adapting existing business services used by legacy TV or print media to the specific needs of a digital creator, or inventing new business lines that are unique to the social-media landscape, a slew of companies in the creator space are popping up to meet the needs of a new generation of digital stars.

This list was determined by Business Insider based on our reporting and factors like the success of the companies they’ve invested in and their impact on the influencer business as a whole.

Here are the 14 investors and firms, listed in alphabetical order: 

For more on the business of influencers, check out these power lists on Business Insider Prime: