UTA And Former Backer Investcorp Form Venture To Invest In The Creator Economy, Web3 And Other Emerging Sectors – Deadline

United Talent Agency and alternative investment firm Investcorp, a former stakeholder in UTA, have created a strategic partnership to invest in startups in emerging areas of culture and technology like the creator economy and Web3.

Along with the creator economy, which YouTube and other large-scale platforms have brought to prominence, and the decentralized internet framework known as Web3, the partnership will also target what a press release called “new technologies driving the production, distribution and consumption of content.”

The venture will be called UTA.VC and its formation follows the establishment several years ago of the UTA Ventures division. Since 2014, the unit has invested in venture capital-backed companies like Cameo, Consensys, Masterclass, Patreon, Pietra and others. Leading UTA.VC will be Investcorp’s Anand Radhakrishnan and UTA’s Caroline Jacobs, Clinton Foy, and Sam Wick.

“As content creators and entertainers recognize the opportunity to monetize their influence in shaping consumer behavior and culture, we believe that UTA has a robust pipeline of investment ideas and a clear vision for the future of the Creator Economy, Web3 and Entertainment on which we look forward to working with them,” said Radhakrishnan, head of Investcorp’s North American technology partnerships and UTA.VC Managing Director.

“UTA.VC is the next evolution of UTA’s venture platform,” UTA.VC Managing Directors Wick and Foy added. “The strategic partnership builds on our successful previous investments in companies – such as Pluto.TV, Radish, ART19 and others – and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to invest and partner with the next generation of companies in this space.”

Investcorp originally invested in UTA in 2018 and sold its stake last July, with the parties describing it as a “highly successful exit.” As Investcorp cashed out, private equity firm EQT took a stake in UTA, becoming the largest outside investor in the company.