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Retrograde develops an AI platform as a talent agent for content creators, specializing in brand deals. Its core offering is an AI assistant automating partnership securing and management, encompassing pitching, negotiation, and contract review. This technology offers a scalable, intelligent alternative to traditional talent management.
Grace Beverley, Jake Browne, and Gary Meehan co-founded Retrograde. Their insight arose from creators' difficulties navigating brand collaborations and securing representation. They sought to democratize the creator industry, leveraging AI to deliver sophisticated management services to a broader range of creators.
The platform assists creators seeking to professionalize brand partnerships and maximize commercial potential. Retrograde empowers them with AI tools streamlining complex business operations. The company's vision is to become the foremost AI-powered solution for creator monetization, enabling all creators to effectively manage and expand commercial engagements.
Retrograde has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
Retrograde has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Retrograde has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in September 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2024 | $2M Seed | — | Elkstone, Aniq Kassam | Announced |
Retrograde is an AI-powered talent agency for content creators, founded to democratize the creator economy by automating talent management tasks like email responses, brand deal negotiations, invoicing, and partnership tracking.[1][2] It serves influencers and creators primarily in the USA, UK, and Europe who rely on brand deals and sponsorships, solving pain points such as missed opportunities from unresponsive human agents and high commissions (Retrograde charges 10% vs. industry-standard 20%).[1][2] Each creator gets a personalized "AutoPilot" AI agent with a unique name, avatar, voice, and adaptive tone, available 24/7 via SMS/WhatsApp, with full human oversight on approvals.[1][2] Trusted by over 5,000 creators and 2,500 brands, it recently raised €1.8M ($2M) in pre-seed funding from Europe's most active VC and entrepreneurs from Wayflyer and Ceartas, showing strong early momentum since its July 2024 launch.[2][4]
Retrograde was co-founded in 2024 by Grace Beverley (TALA founder and lifestyle creator), Jake Browne (ex-founder of Peblo, an instant payment platform for influencers sold in 2022), and Gary Meehan (software engineer and founder of travel app WhereTo AI).[1][2][3] The idea emerged from Browne's Peblo experience, where he saw millions of creators outpacing scarce human talent agents; a pivotal moment was his friend losing a $50,000 brand deal due to an agent's forgotten email reply.[1][2] Beverley joined after Browne pitched her, calling it "exactly what the industry was crying out for," while Meehan brought technical expertise from their prior collaboration.[1][3] Launched July 28, 2024, from Dublin, it quickly hit waitlists, secured funding, and gained traction with automated features born from creators' frustrations.[1][2][3][4]
(Note: Retrograde Technologies at retrogradetechnologies.com appears unrelated, focusing on app development/marketing.[5])
Retrograde rides the explosive growth of the creator economy—millions now earn from content amid AI advancements enabling scalable personalization—timing perfectly with post-2024 AI adoption in services.[1][2][3] It addresses talent agent shortages in a market flooded with creators but starved for management, amplified by remote work and social platforms' dominance.[1] Favorable forces include falling AI costs, creator frustration with human errors/high fees, and brand demand for efficient partnerships (2,500+ already engaged).[2] By lowering barriers (10% fees, no contracts), it influences the ecosystem via democratization, referral programs, and funding traction, potentially reshaping influencer management like fintech did payments—pushing traditional agencies toward hybrid models.[1][2][4]
Retrograde is poised to scale aggressively with its $2M war chest, targeting more creators via waitlist conversions and geographic expansion beyond USA/UK/Europe.[2][4] AI agent refinements (e.g., deeper voice adaptation, multi-language support) and ecosystem integrations (e.g., direct platform ties) will drive retention, while trends like generative AI ubiquity and creator monetization tools (e.g., instant payouts) amplify its edge.[2][3] Influence may evolve from niche disruptor to industry standard, pressuring incumbents and inspiring AI in adjacent creative fields—ultimately empowering creators to capture more value in a $100B+ economy, bridging the agent gap Browne first spotted.[1][2]
Retrograde has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Retrograde's investors include Elkstone, Aniq Kassam.
