partnrUP.ai - Comprehensive Analysis Report

Summary

partnrUP.ai, formerly known as gen.video, is an award-winning influencer marketing company headquartered in New York City, United States. Founded by Bill Hildebolt and Jessica Thorpe, the company operates as a video marketing and syndication platform specializing in creator commerce solutions. Its core mission is to empower brands to build, scale, and optimize their engagements with creators, fostering meaningful connections with audiences and driving business impact through creator content. partnrUP.ai positions itself as a leader in connecting creativity and commerce globally through its innovative technology and bespoke agency services.

1. Strategic Focus & Objectives

Core Objectives

partnrUP.ai's main business objectives include simplifying and enhancing the content collaboration process between brands, agencies, and creators. The company aims to streamline influencer discovery, outreach, content creation, content approval, and performance tracking, with a strong emphasis on video content and its syndication for sales impact.

Specialization Areas

The company specializes in providing comprehensive influencer marketing solutions, leveraging technology and bespoke agency services to drive e-commerce outcomes. Its unique value proposition lies in its early focus on video-centric influencer marketing and direct-to-commerce impact tracking. This includes integrating influencer management with e-commerce performance analytics to provide tangible ROI metrics.

Target Markets

partnrUP.ai targets brands of all sizes, from large enterprises to direct-to-consumer businesses, seeking to inspire shopping through creator content across various social media platforms and retail channels.

2. Financial Overview

Funding History

gen.video, now partnrUP.ai, has raised a total funding of $15.2 million over 8 rounds. Its first funding round was in June 2005. The largest funding round was a Series B round for $6 million in December 2006. Notable institutional investors include Prism Venture Partners, Gotham Ventures, and Masthead Venture Partners.

3. Product Pipeline

Key Products/Services

partnrUP.ai: This is the company's next-generation influencer marketing software, powered by AI Agents, designed to streamline influencer discovery, outreach, and reporting. It is built for the creator economy to help brands and creators connect with trust and scale.
Bounty: A Shopify application acquired by gen.video (now partnrUP.ai) that transforms customers into creators. It allows shoppers to earn rewards by sharing authentic product reviews on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, enabling brands to unlock trusted user-generated content at scale.
Backstage: partnrUP.ai's e-commerce platform dedicated to measuring the sales impact of influencers and paid social. It incorporates affiliate links, shoppable landing pages, and commission payouts to track every click, view, and sale across various channels.
Proprietary Full-Funnel Influencer Measurement Technology: This technology underpins partnrUP.ai's bespoke agency services, combining creativity with consumer insights to produce effective campaigns and measure their impact on sales both in-store and online.

4. Technology & Innovation

Technology Stack

partnrUP.ai distinguishes itself through a suite of proprietary technologies and platforms designed to optimize influencer marketing and content-to-commerce strategies. This includes partnrUP.ai, powered by AI Agents for streamlined discovery, outreach, and reporting. The company also leverages Bounty, a Shopify application for user-generated content, and Backstage, an e-commerce platform for measuring sales impact. Its proprietary full-funnel influencer measurement technology combines creativity with consumer insights. The company emphasizes responsible AI and proven technology as core tenets of its platform.

5. Leadership & Management

Executive Team

Jessica Thorpe: CEO and Co-Founder. Jessica has been instrumental in charting new waters for the company, focusing on social shopping innovation across YouTube, TikTok, and Meta Platforms. She has guided the development of creative strategies that drive commerce.
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicathorpe
Bill Hildebolt: Co-Founder & Executive Chairman. Bill co-founded gen.video in 2004 and shares insights on influencer marketing and the development of efficient campaigns across retailers.
Becky Young: Senior Vice President of Agency Operations. Promoted to this role in May 2024, Becky brings over two decades of expertise. She previously served as the Vice President of Client Services. She spearheads key initiatives critical to the growth of the company, including leading strategic marketing efforts, building new capabilities for brands and agencies, and overseeing the creator relationship division and Strategy Development team. Her focus includes innovation in measurement and AI.
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckyyoungofficial

Recent Leadership Changes

In September 2025, gen.video and Lionize officially rebranded to partnrUP.ai. In May 2024, Becky Young was promoted from Vice President of Client Services to Senior Vice President of Agency Operations.

6. Talent and Growth Indicators

Hiring Trends and Workforce

As of July 1, 2024, gen.video (now partnrUP.ai) had an employee count of 11-50. The company's launch of partnrUP and the acquisition of Bounty, coupled with the rebranding to partnrUP.ai, indicate a period of growth and expansion. These strategic moves suggest an ongoing need for talent in platform development, AI, content collaboration, and client services within the influencer marketing and creator economy space.

7. Social Media Presence and Engagement

Digital Footprint

partnrUP.ai maintains an active presence across multiple social media platforms:
LinkedIn: The company's LinkedIn page serves as a hub for corporate announcements, industry insights, and job postings. It showcases thought leadership through articles and posts related to influencer marketing and the creator economy.
Twitter/X: The company utilizes Twitter for sharing news, industry trends, and interacting with the broader marketing community.
YouTube: The YouTube channel features content related to influencer marketing strategies, platform demonstrations, and interviews with industry experts.

The company's messaging consistently highlights its expertise in connecting creativity with commerce and its advanced technological solutions for influencer marketing. Recent content includes discussions on alternative TikTok options, mastering the short-form video landscape, and the impact of the creator economy.

8. Recognition and Awards

Industry Recognition

In May 2024, gen.video (now partnrUP.ai) was awarded two Silver distinctions at the 2024 US Partnerships Awards:
Best Influencer Marketing Partnership
Best Content Partnership
These awards recognized campaigns focused on showcasing how technology fuels creativity and commerce, including work done in collaboration with Lenovo and Microsoft for the "Creativity as Progress" TikTok campaign.

9. Competitive Analysis

Major Competitors

partnrUP.ai operates in the competitive influencer marketing and video marketing platform space. Competitors include other influencer marketing platforms and agencies that connect brands with influencers, manage campaigns, and provide analytics. Companies like SuperAwesome, FERMAT, and Hashtag Paid are identified as competitors. The broader landscape also includes platforms offering AI video generation and content creation tools.

10. Market Analysis

Market Overview

The influencer marketing market is experiencing significant growth, with an estimated global market size of $486.2 million in 2024, projected to reach approximately $8,547.9 million by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 33.2% from 2025 to 2034. North America leads this market, capturing over 45.2% share in 2024.

Key trends shaping the market include:
Dominance of Video Content: Short-form video is particularly effective, with 79% of Instagram Reels viewers reporting product purchases after exposure. Social media platforms increasingly prioritize video content in their algorithms.
Growth in Creator Economy: There is an insatiable demand for more video content, with consumers seeking personalized and relevant content, and creators needing tools to streamline production.
AI Integration: AI video generation is revolutionizing influencer marketing by making content creation faster, cheaper, and more personalized.
Platform Shifts: TikTok has become the most widely used channel for influencer campaigns, adopted by 69% of brands, ahead of Instagram at 47%.
Focus on Performance: Brands are increasingly seeking performance-based influencer marketing with a focus on measurable e-commerce outcomes.
Trust in Micro and Nano Influencers: Niche-focused creators, particularly micro and nano influencers, deliver stronger audience interaction and higher engagement.

11. Strategic Partnerships

The acquisition of Bounty, a User-Generated Content (UGC) marketplace, and the subsequent rebranding of gen.video and Lionize to partnrUP.ai, represent significant moves to offer a more robust and integrated platform for creator commerce. This integration is aimed at providing brands with a comprehensive suite of social commerce tools to facilitate content collaboration, incentivize creators, and provide full-funnel measurement of influencer marketing efforts.

12. Operational Insights

partnrUP.ai's operational strategy is built around offering a hybrid model of technology and agency services. Its competitive advantage stems from its early focus on video-centric influencer marketing and direct-to-commerce impact tracking. By integrating influencer management with e-commerce performance analytics (through platforms like Backstage), the company provides tangible ROI metrics that differentiate it from competitors focused solely on awareness. The recent launch of partnrUP.ai, powered by AI Agents, and the acquisition of Bounty, further strengthen its position by addressing critical pain points in content collaboration and user-generated content automation, thereby offering a more comprehensive and efficient solution for brands navigating the complexities of the creator economy.

13. Future Outlook

Strategic Roadmap

partnrUP.ai is strategically poised to capitalize on the continued growth of the creator economy and the increasing demand for video-first marketing content. The integration of AI agents within partnrUP.ai for discovery, outreach, and reporting indicates a strong future direction towards advanced automation and efficiency in influencer marketing. The company's focus on simplifying content collaboration and centralizing data from social and commerce platforms through partnrUP provides a significant opportunity for expansion across various market segments, including direct-to-consumer brands that prioritize measurable sales impact. By offering a comprehensive toolkit that combines agency expertise with scalable technology, partnrUP.ai is well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of marketers seeking to leverage creators for full-funnel marketing objectives and drive sales in a rapidly changing digital landscape.