gen.video Acquires Lionize; Unites Creator Discovery with Commerce, all in One AI-Powered Influencer Marketing Platform

Streamlining influencer discovery and creator collaboration for brands. Tracking not just engagements but outcomes across TikTok Shop, Amazon, Walmart and more.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, June 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- gen.video, a leader in video-powered commerce and influencer marketing, has acquired Lionize, the AI-driven influencer recruitment platform known for automating creator discovery and contracting across TikTok and Instagram. The deal also includes Creator Opportunity - a free tool for creators to engage as a community, apply to brand deals and get paid for high-performing content. The acquisition strengthens gen.video’s creator-commerce flywheel - unlocking a scalable system for brands to deliver trusted content, drive measurable sales, and reward creators throughout the journey.

As the creator economy gathers in Anaheim for VidCon, this acquisition brings together two complementary technologies built for a new era of influencer marketing. Lionize’s AI-powered platform has analyzed over 30 million creator profiles with the help of its proprietary AI agent “Lilly” to streamline recruitment, evaluation, and contracting.

“We built technology that provides brands and agencies with a virtual influencer manager to ease the workload for brands to source and manage creator partnerships,” said Chris Buetti, CEO and co-founder of Lionize. “This acquisition unites two teams that believe influencer marketing should be both intelligent and measurable.”

What This Means for Brands

1) AI-Powered Creator Discovery & Recruitment: Access to over 30 million creator profiles to pair brands with the right influencer based on relevance, reach, and past performance, plus the ability to find and contract new ones for each campaign based on demographic and hyper-local geographic needs globally.

2) Commerce Intelligence Built-In: Full-funnel analytics to track and measure impact of affiliate programs, national launches and channel specific campaigns for Shopify DTC sites and key retailers to answer the ROI question and understand how influencer content drives real sales.

3) Faster Workflows, Custom Branded Experience: White labeled collaboration workspaces to manage content approvals, usage rights, and reporting giving brands an end-to-end solution that drives efficiency, authenticity, and actual sales.

What This Means for Creators

This acquisition also includes Creator Opportunity which is a rapidly growing platform with over 120,000 active users, designed to help creators boost their visibility and income. It's the first of its kind to offer paid placements that promote creators directly to brands, much like paid search ads. Users also gain early access to brand campaigns before they’re released to the broader creator community. While all users can browse and apply to live opportunities, premium members receive priority placement, profile highlights, and early access to the most competitive campaigns.

“It’s not just another creator portal. Creator Opportunity is giving us real access to brands that value long-term relationships,” said Connor “Pugs” Flannery.

Together, these products form a connected system. This move builds on gen.video’s recent momentum, including the launch of partnrUP, a mobile-friendly creator collaboration platform; the earlier acquisition of Bounty, a Shopify app that drives loyalty and community advocacy; and now Lionize, which brings powerful AI discovery to the table. Together, they form a strategic flywheel for the creator economy. The goal is to deliver a platform where outcomes matter, creators thrive, and content earns trust at every stage of the buying journey.

Deal terms were not disclosed.

About gen.video

gen.video is the influencer marketing platform built for outcomes. By combining content collaboration tools with best-in-class retail attribution and AI-powered discovery, gen.video helps brands generate measurable results across every stage of the funnel. With integrations across Amazon, Walmart, TikTok, Instagram, Shopify, and more, gen.video enables creators and marketers to drive content that converts.

About Lionize

Lionize is a leading AI-powered influencer marketing platform, revolutionizing how brands source, recruit, and manage influencers. With advanced algorithms and a vast network of vetted creators, Lionize delivers high-performance campaigns that scale effortlessly, saving brands time and money while driving impactful results.

RockWater Industries served as exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to Lionize, Foley Hoag acted as legal advisor to Lionize, and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz acted as legal advisor to gen.video.

Jessica Thorpe
gen.video
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