When a startup founder pitched eco-friendly deodorant to YouTube personality Caspar Lee via LinkedIn, he nearly ignored it. But that message — about a brand called Wild — ended up unlocking one of the most successful exits in Lee’s investing career. Thanks to a nudge from his cousin Sasha Kaletsky, then an investor at Bridgepoint, Lee and a few fellow creators joined the seed round. Just over five years later, Wild was acquired by Unilever for a whopping £233 million (around $286 million).
That early win became a springboard. In 2019, Lee and Kaletsky launched Creator Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on consumer internet startups. Fast-forward to 2025, and they’ve now closed their second fund with $45 million — more than double the size of their first.
A New Chapter for Consumer Internet VC
Creator Ventures isn’t just riding on one success story. The firm made early bets on fast-rising companies like Eleven Labs, now valued at $3.3 billion, and Runna, a fitness app that was recently acquired by Strava. They’ve also backed Beehiiv, a popular newsletter platform, and led the seed round for AI language learning app Praktika.
With Fund II, the team is doubling down on what’s worked — but with a sharper focus on AI. According to Kaletsky, consumer AI is entering a breakout phase, driven by the massive scale of mobile app marketplaces. “There’s a trillion dollars of spend that goes through iOS and Android app stores every year,” he said. “If even a small share of that shifts toward AI-powered apps, it’ll create a new generation of unicorns.”
Kaletsky is also closely watching trends emerging from Asia, particularly microdrama streaming apps. Long popular in China and Korea, these bite-sized TV apps are now catching fire in the U.S. For example, DramaBox and ReelShort have seen explosive growth, earning $99 million and $152 million this year alone — up over 200% from the same period last year, according to Appfigures.
“The craziest part,” Kaletsky added, “is that people are paying $20 a week for these apps — more than a Netflix subscription — and they don’t even realize it.”
Betting on the Strange and Viral
Some of Creator Ventures’ most interesting bets blur the line between the bizarre and the brilliant. One standout is Status, a new social platform where users post updates to an audience made up entirely of AI bots. Think “The Sims meets Instagram.” No human followers, just bots who may praise your post — or cancel you. Despite its odd premise, Status has gained over 1 million users since launching earlier this year.
Lee, who rose to fame as an early YouTube creator, sees a natural overlap between founders and creators. “More and more consumer founders are acting like creators — they’re building audiences, storytelling on social, and connecting directly with users. That’s something I deeply relate to,” he said.
The new fund is backed by major names in VC, including Level, Sequoia, Cendana, Vintage, Isomer Capital, and others. Kaletsky noted that some of these investors hadn’t touched consumer-focused funds in a decade — a shift he believes signals a comeback for the category.
“We’re finally seeing people wake up to the potential of consumer in this new AI-driven era,” he said.
For Lee, there’s something uniquely fulfilling about investing in companies that friends and family can actually use. “It’s nice to back things that show up in people’s everyday lives,” he said. “It makes what we do feel real.”
