AI marketing and micro-influencers specialist Statusphere bags $18 million in Series A funding
Statusphere, an AI marketing platform that works with retailers and consumer brands in the micro-influencers space, has secured $18 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to date to $27 million. Volition Capital led the round, with participation from HearstLab, 1984 Ventures, and How Women Invest.
Brands such as Parlux, Kendo Brands, Express, and LG H&H use Statusphere. It will use the cash to expand its social SEO, generative engine optimisation (GEO) and reporting capabilities to improve product discovery across AI powered search for brands while also building next-generation tools for creators.
“Human generated content is quickly becoming the most valuable driver of brand discovery, but influencer marketing solutions weren’t built to scale for the enterprise,” says Kristen Wiley, CEO and Founder at Statusphere.
“After years of testing different platforms, I built Statusphere to solve that challenge by giving brands a smarter, more automated way to activate creators at scale without sacrificing authenticity. As discovery moves toward AI driven and agentic search, Statusphere is built for this moment. Our Series A positions us to accelerate what’s next.”
Statusphere enables brands to run large, complex creator programmes by automating previously manual workflows such as creator sourcing and vetting, product fulfillment, compliance, performance reporting, and rights management.
“Volition invests in companies that are not just leading emerging categories, but defining them with data and proven automation,” says Larry Cheng, Managing Partner and Co-founder at Volition Capital.
“Statusphere is creating infrastructure that addresses a fundamental shift in how consumers discover and trust brands. With a depth of insight that’s hard to replicate, this platform compounds in value as it scales. The company’s rapid growth over the past year reflects strong market adoption, and we’re excited to partner with the Statusphere team as they build the future of marketing.”
RTIH AI in Retail Awards
RTIH proudly presents the first edition of its AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by VenHub Global, 3D Cloud and EdTech Innovation Hub.
As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers' businesses.
With 2026 set to be the year when AI and especially gen AI shake off the ‘heavily hyped’ tag and become embedded in retail business processes, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.
Our 2026 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.
Winners will be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January. This will kick off with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.
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