Passes

Passes Inc. is a privately held American creator-economy and social-media platform founded in 2022 by Lucy Guo, who previously co-founded the artificial-intelligence company Scale AI. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and provides infrastructure for creators who want to convert audiences on larger social networks into direct, recurring business relationships. The platform is designed for creators with established followings, with eligibility described as generally beginning at approximately 100,000 followers on other social-media services. Rather than relying primarily on advertising or algorithmic distribution, Passes enables creators to sell access and services directly to fans. Its monetization features include recurring subscriptions, gated posts, direct messaging, livestreams, one-on-one video calls, tipping, and digital merchandise. Creators can establish multiple subscription tiers and use analytics and customer-relationship-management tools to monitor audience activity, engagement, and spending behavior. Passes positions itself as a business-management layer for online personalities rather than merely another public-facing social network. The company has described creators as small businesses that can use fan relationships and paid communities to build more durable income streams. This approach addresses a common problem in the creator economy: creators may have large audiences on platforms such as TikTok or Instagram but limited control over distribution, monetization, customer data, or the commercial relationship with followers. Passes offers a more private and niche environment for material that creators may not want to publish on highly algorithmic, broadly visible services. The company’s product scope extends across lifestyle creators, streamers, athletes, and other public personalities. Platform tools include automated sales messaging, livestreaming, audience analytics, subscription management, and content-protection measures such as anti-screenshot and anti-screen-recording technology. Passes earns revenue through a revenue-sharing model that retains a variable portion of creator earnings; some services may also involve transaction fees. Passes raised $9 million in seed financing in 2022 in a round led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from 11:11 Media, Jake Paul’s Anti Fund, and Eventbrite co-founder Kevin Hartz. In 2023, it acquired Fanhouse, another creator-monetization service, expanding its user and product base. In 2024, Passes completed a $40 million Series A led by Bond Capital, with additional participation from Crossbeam Ventures and Skims co-founders Emma and Jens Grede. Reference material reports that the company had raised approximately $50 million in venture funding by 2025 and had paid more than $100 million to creators, although these figures are period-specific and privately reported rather than public-company disclosures. The company also expanded into the name, image, and likeness market in 2024, seeking to serve athletes and other individuals whose personal brands generate commercial opportunities. At the same time, Passes faced serious child-safety and content-moderation scrutiny. Reporting in 2024 alleged that an account involving a 12-year-old selling bikini photographs remained available until the New York Times sought comment, after which it was removed. In 2025, a creator sued Passes and Guo, alleging that sexually abusive material involving her as a minor had been distributed through the platform. Passes denied the allegation and stated that the people involved were not its authorized representatives. These matters are significant to the company’s reputation and governance but do not establish the truth of the allegations.

Passes emerged in 2022 during the expansion of the creator economy, when online personalities increasingly sought alternatives to advertising, sponsorships, and platform-controlled revenue sharing. Founded by Lucy Guo, a co-founder of Scale AI, the company was built around the idea that creators should be able to treat their audiences as direct customers and operate their online presence more like a small business. Its initial model centered on subscription-based creator pages. Passes allows qualifying creators, generally those with at least 100,000 followers elsewhere, to charge for recurring access and premium interactions. The product combines features associated with creator subscription services, social networks, livestreaming platforms, and customer-management software. Depending on the creator’s configuration, fans may receive subscriber-only posts, direct messages, livestream access, one-on-one video calls, and other paid experiences. Tipping and digital merchandise add transactional revenue beyond subscriptions. A central part of Passes’ proposition is the provision of operational tools rather than only a payment page. Creators can use tiered memberships, automated sales messaging, analytics, and CRM functionality to understand audience behavior and spending. The platform also promotes content-protection features, including anti-screenshot and anti-screen-recording technology. This positions Passes as an infrastructure provider for personal brands, with the stated goal of helping creators build businesses around direct fan relationships. The company attracted early venture backing in 2022. Its $9 million seed round was led by Multicoin Capital and included 11:11 Media, Jake Paul’s Anti Fund, and Kevin Hartz. The financing connected Passes to prominent participants in technology, entertainment, and online influence. In July 2023, Passes acquired Fanhouse, a competing creator-monetization platform. The transaction expanded Passes’ presence in the paid-community market and represented an early consolidation move in a sector containing several subscription and fan-engagement services. Passes raised a further $40 million in Series A financing in 2024. Bond Capital led the round, with additional participation from Crossbeam Ventures and Skims co-founders Emma and Jens Grede. Reference material states that total venture funding reached roughly $50 million by 2025 and that more than $100 million had been paid to creators. Because Passes is private, these are reported operating and financing figures rather than audited public-company disclosures. In 2024, the company broadened its strategy into name, image, and likeness services. The expansion allowed Passes to address athletes and other public figures whose commercial value extends beyond conventional influencer content. This move was consistent with the company’s wider effort to support multiple creator categories, including lifestyle personalities, streamers, and athletes. Passes’ development has also been accompanied by substantial safety and governance controversy. In 2024, reporting alleged that the platform hosted an account involving a 12-year-old who was selling bikini photographs, even after another platform had banned the account. The account was reportedly removed only after the New York Times sought a response. In 2025, another creator filed a lawsuit alleging that Passes and Guo had distributed sexually abusive material involving her when she was a child. Passes rejected the allegation and said the relevant individuals were not authorized representatives. The allegations and the company’s response highlight the moderation, age-verification, and platform-liability risks that accompany services designed to monetize intimate or personalized creator-fan interactions. Passes remains an active private company. Its long-term position depends on attracting high-reach creators, maintaining fan payment activity, differentiating its tools from rival services, and demonstrating effective safeguards for minors and other vulnerable users.

• 2025

  Reported creator payouts exceed $100 million

  [1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reported that Passes had paid more than $100 million to creators by 2025.

• 2024

  Series A financing

  [1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  The company completed a $40 million Series A led by Bond Capital.

• 2024

  Expansion into NIL services

  [1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Passes expanded into name, image, and likeness monetization, including opportunities connected to athletes.

• 2023

  Fanhouse acquisition

  [1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Passes acquired competing creator-monetization service Fanhouse.

• 2022

  Passes is founded

  [1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Lucy Guo founded Passes as a creator-monetization and direct-to-fan platform.

• 2022

  Seed financing

  [1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Passes raised $9 million in seed funding led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from 11:11 Media, Anti Fund, and Kevin Hartz.

A direct-to-fan monetization and business-management platform for established creators, influencers, streamers, athletes, and other public personalities.

• Creator monetization platform · 2022

  Passes creator subscription pages

  The core Passes service gives eligible creators a branded destination for paid fan relationships. Creators can offer recurring subscription tiers, premium posts, direct messaging, livestream access, and other benefits. The model is intended for personalities with substantial audiences on other social networks and gives them a way to monetize fans without depending entirely on advertising or third-party algorithms.

• Digital services · 2022

  Paid fan interactions

  Passes supports paid direct messaging, one-on-one video calls, livestreams, tipping, and subscriber-only communication. These tools let creators sell access to personalized attention and live engagement in addition to static premium content.

• Creator business software · 2022

  Creator analytics and CRM

  The platform includes analytics and customer-relationship-management functions that help creators track audience activity, engagement, and spending patterns. Automated sales messaging and subscription-tier controls are intended to help creators manage fan relationships as an ongoing commercial operation.

• Creator and athlete monetization · 2024

  Name, image, and likeness services

  Passes expanded into name, image, and likeness monetization in 2024. The offering broadened the platform’s potential customer base to athletes and other public figures whose commercial opportunities depend on personal identity, audience access, and controlled fan engagement.

• 2025

  Lawsuit over alleged abusive material involving a minor

  A creator sued Passes and Lucy Guo, alleging that sexually abusive material involving her as a child had been distributed. Passes denied the allegation and stated that the people involved were not authorized representatives. The claims remained allegations rather than established findings in the supplied material.

  Source

• 2024

  Account involving a 12-year-old

  Reporting alleged that Passes allowed an account featuring a 12-year-old selling bikini photographs after the account had been banned by another platform. The account was removed after the New York Times requested comment, prompting scrutiny of age verification, moderation, and child-safety controls.

  Source

Read more

• 2024

  Enter the name, image, and likeness marketStrategy

  Background

  Passes sought to extend beyond lifestyle and influencer subscriptions into markets where athletes and public figures monetize their identities and audiences.

  Action taken

  The company expanded its operations to support name, image, and likeness opportunities.

  Aftermath

  The move broadened Passes’ target market to include athletes and other public personalities.

  Source

• 2023

  Acquire FanhouseM&A

  Background

  Passes operated in a competitive creator-subscription market and sought to expand its community, technology, and direct-to-fan presence.

  Action taken

  The company acquired Fanhouse, a competing creator-monetization platform.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition strengthened Passes’ position in paid creator communities and broadened its platform footprint.

  Source

• 2024

  Passes expands into name, image, and likeness monetization[1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company expanded its operating scope to include name, image, and likeness opportunities, including services relevant to athletes and other public figures.

• 2024

  Passes completes a $40 million Series A[1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Passes completed a Series A financing led by Bond Capital, with participation from Crossbeam Ventures and Emma and Jens Grede.

• 2023

  Passes acquires Fanhouse[1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Passes acquired Fanhouse, a competing creator-monetization platform, strengthening its position in direct-to-fan subscriptions and paid creator communities.

• 2022

  Passes raises $9 million in seed funding[1]Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Passes secured a $9 million seed round led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from 11:11 Media, Anti Fund, and Kevin Hartz.

1. 1Passes Inc.en.wikipedia.org