Startup company StreamElements used to be a growing company that was considered promising. It raised over $110 million from financial institutions such as Menora Mivtachim and Mivtach-Shamir, and from venture capital funds such as MoreTech, Pitango, Glenrock and Yitzhak Mirilashvili and Ron Rofe’s Rainfall Ventures. One of the main investors was Softbank, which saw great promise in StreamElements during the technological bubble of 2021, but which is known for its aggressive behavior towards companies that stray from the growth path.

It now seems that StreamElements has indeed strayed into the danger zone. According to the GamesBeat website, an employee of the company in Israel responsible for sponsorship management notified creators and web influencers of the possible closure of the company, in a post on the Discord social network. According to the employee, StreamElements’ services will remain open for at least a month and users are called upon to save their digital assets and are assured that they will receive full payment under any sponsorship deal signed with StreamElements in the past.

The company was founded a decade ago by former Face.com CEO Gil Hirsch, Or Perry, and Reem Sherman, known for his popular podcast Geekonomy which he set up together with another founder Doron Nir, who left the company in 2023. The four, all keen gamers, sought to set up a system that would enable influencers to generate income from partnerships and sponsorships on video platforms such as YouTube, Discord, and Amazon Twitch.

In recent years however, the influencer sponsorship market on the platforms on which StreamElements is active has not grown as expected, and sponsorship money on Twitch became distributed among a wider range of products in the web. The company’s business model involved sharing income from sponsorships and as far as possible avoiding charges to users, which adversely affected its financial position. At the same time, the company was forced to compete with solutions of rival companies such as Streamlabs and internal developments by YouTube (Google) and Twitch (Amazon).

After the confession by the employee on Discord, StreamElements rushed to release a declaration at the weekend, stating: "We’re in positive discussions with potential acquirers and working to find the best path forward for creators, customers, and our team. We’ll share more updates soon. We’ve spent over a decade building for creators and will do everything we can to keep supporting this community."

The company refused to provide more details or explanations to "Globes", and simply referred us again to the official announcement. Even if the company is eventually sold, it’s hard to believe that it will be an exit that will yield any gains to the investors. The company has a loyal customer base and technology that serves a community of influencers, but it is far from being profitable, and its activity has shrunk considerably over the years.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 17, 2026.

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