Influencer app Node's $13 million sale shows how central tech and AI have become to talent management

• Talent firm Dulcedo Group acquired influencer-marketing app Node in July at a $13 million valuation.
• The company bought Node for its technological expertise and micro-influencer relationships.
• The deal shows how central influencer-marketing tech has become in the industry.

The talent-management agency Dulcedo Group acquired the influencer-marketing app Node in a July deal that valued the company at around $13 million, Node's cofounders told Business Insider.

Node is a mobile app that matches small businesses with micro and nano influencers for sponsored content opportunities. The company has worked with around 2,000 businesses across a roster of around 10,000 creators who post promotional content in exchange for gifted products, free in-person experiences, or cash. Cofounders Armin Faraji and Mackenzie Dérival launched the app in 2019. Node raised around a million dollars from angel investors and firms like Techstars and startup accelerator Alchemist, Faraji said.

The deal shows how important tech products, including artificial-intelligence tools, have become in the talent and marketing industries. M&A deals in the category have been bustling over the past 12 months as traditional ad agencies like Publicis Groupe and Stagwell have similarly added influencer startups to their company portfolios. Stagwell specifically called out Leaders' AI tech in its announcement around the deal.

Founded in 2008 as an agency for more traditional media talent, Montreal-based Dulcedo Group has recently been on a buying spree, announcing in November it acquired creator talent agency Influence+All and PR firm Sundae Creative.

Node began looking for a buyer in 2023 after it needed cash and ran into a challenging fundraising environment . It shrunk its company headcount to four staffers and hoped that joining a larger agency could help it win deals with bigger brands.

"We realized that agencies are the gatekeepers," Dérival said. "We would rather join them and help them with technology and that would help us with monetization and provide value for our investors."

The cofounders ultimately connected with Dulcedo Group, which put in an offer to acquire Node. Dulcedo Group was drawn to the company's technological expertise and roster of micro influencers, Faraji told BI.

"A lot of agencies are actually acquiring technology from a defensive position," Faraji said. "They're doing it because they are either losing customers to an influencer platform that's a tech startup, or their customers are coming to them and saying, 'Hey, do you guys have any technology? The way you're collecting data or the way that you're running these campaigns is inefficient,'" he said. "What drew us towards Dulcedo is that they're actually making acquisitions so that they can be offensive, not defensive. It's not just about protecting market share with them, it's about expanding market share and also addressing new customer segments within the creator economy."

One area of focus for Node post-acquisition is AI. The company said it's developing AI tools to improve social listening and data analysis, and streamlining the process of identifying new talent to work with.

"AI automates the manual labor when it comes to influencer marketing," Faraji said. "At the end of the day, relationships still rule the industry. Agencies will work with creators that they have relationships with, and creators will make compromises to work with agencies and brands that they love."