Parade’s Cami Tellez announces new creator economy marketing platform, $4M in funding

San Francisco: Cami Tellez, founder of the viral undergarments brand Parade, has launched a new company called Devotion. This AI-powered influencer marketing platform helps large brands manage and scale their relationships with creators.

Tellez and former TikTok executive Jon Kroopf created Devotion to solve problems brands face when working with many influencers. The platform uses artificial intelligence to automate tasks like finding creators and analyzing posts. Humans still review the AI decisions to make sure everything is correct.

The company raised $4 million in funding led by Basecase and Will Ventures. Devotion has already worked with more than ten clients and made more than one million dollars in revenue during its testing phase. The platform helps brands pay creators and scores how well each creator matches the brand’s style.

Tellez explained that the way social media algorithms work has changed dramatically. Instead of reaching many followers automatically, content now depends on how interesting it is to each person. This means everyday people like nurses can have the same reach as famous creators. Brands need to work with hundreds or thousands of influencers to succeed in this new system.

The platform is different from other creator economy agencies because it builds customized strategies for each brand. Tellez said brands want to connect authentically with real people from all backgrounds. The company plans to hire more engineers to improve their technology and create more AI tools.