Cherry Ventures backs Tano with $4M to challenge the traditional influencer agency model

Creator advertising platform Tano has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Cherry Ventures, bringing its total funding to $5 million following earlier backing from Seedcamp and The Players Fund. Founded by Will Caplan and Sagar Shah, Tano develops an AI-powered platform designed to help brands manage creator partnerships and turn influencer marketing into a more scalable and measurable advertising channel. As consumer attention increasingly shifts towards content creators, brands are investing more in influencer marketing to reach audiences and drive sales. However, managing large numbers of creator partnerships remains complex and resource-intensive, requiring brands to identify suitable creators, coordinate campaigns, manage payments and measure performance. Traditional agency models can make smaller partnerships particularly expensive, limiting opportunities to work with a broader network of creators. Tano aims to address these challenges by combining AI agents with crea