Hype
Hype is a creator-economy platform offering link-in-bio pages, payment facilitation, and audience growth tools to individual creators, gyms, coaches, and athletes, now integrated into the MMA.inc ecosystem following a February 2026 acquisition.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Hype does
Hype (legal entity Hype Kit, Inc.) is a US-incorporated, private SaaS platform headquartered at 440 N Barranca Ave #5616, Covina, California. Founded in 2016 with 11-50 employees, the company built a creator-economy toolkit centered on link-in-bio landing pages, lead generation, audience growth tools, and payment facilitation for individual creators, influencers, gyms, coaches, and athletes. The technology stack includes a hosted Creator Pages product, a JavaScript and native WordPress Plugin distributed via the wordpress.org marketplace, an iOS mobile application, and the Hype App Marketplace for premium features.
Hype monetizes through a hybrid model: transaction fees of 2% on Contributions (tips, donations) and 5% on Purchases (one-time or recurring content/product/service transactions), plus tiered subscription fees for premium features including plugin activation, advanced design tools, multi-page creation, and messaging credits. Payments are processed through a third-party payment processor. Distribution is primarily self-serve product-led growth via hype.co, app.hype.co, the WordPress plugin marketplace, and the Apple App Store. Compliance posture covers GDPR, CCPA, COPPA, and LGPD, supporting cross-border creator commerce.
In February 2026, Hype was acquired by MMA.inc and is being repositioned as the tooling layer of a broader ecosystem serving the global Martial Arts and MMA community. This was followed by an April 2026 exclusive global distribution partnership with K Wave Media Ltd. (KWM) covering K-pop artists including BTS, SEVENTEEN, and LE SSERAFIM, with stated ambitions of over $100M in annual sales through Hype's distribution channels. The company has raised approximately $20M across three rounds (2019, 2021, 2023) from investors including Bloomberg Beta, Bullpen Capital, King River Capital, Precursor Ventures, Sterling Road, Tapestry VC, Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Bossa Invest, Fourth Realm, Gaingels, Stripe, and Village Global.
Hype firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hype
- Legal name
- Hype Kit, Inc.
- Website
- https://hype.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hype is a creator-economy platform offering link-in-bio pages, payment facilitation, and audience growth tools to individual creators, gyms, coaches, and athletes, now integrated into the MMA.inc ecosystem following a February 2026 acquisition.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hype industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Creator Economy Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cameo-Style Personalized Content & Shoutouts (MPACAFAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Live Shopping & Commerce Streaming Platforms (MPACACAD), Live Shopping & Streaming Creator Activations (MPAAAHAM)
Keywords
Where Hype is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Hype business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees - Contributions: Hype retains 2% of Contributions (tips, donations, contributions) made by users to creators
- Transaction Fees - Purchases: Hype retains 5% of Purchases (one-time or recurring access to content, products or services) made by users
- Creator Subscriptions: Monthly subscription fees for accessing premium features including Plugin activation, advanced design tools, multiple Creator Pages, and messaging credits. Payments processed through third-party vendor.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Creator Access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium Subscription Tiers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels1 record
Hype product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hype is a software platform that enables creators, gyms, coaches, and athletes to consolidate their social media presence into a single link-in-bio landing page, accept payments and contributions, manage subscriber relationships, and grow their audience. The platform charges a 2% fee on contributions and 5% on purchases, plus monthly subscription fees for premium features such as the Hype Plugin, advanced design tools, multiple Creator Pages, and messaging credits. Following the February 2026 acquisition by MMA.inc, the platform is transitioning into the broader MMA.inc ecosystem serving the global Martial Arts community.
Product overview
Hype is a creator economy platform offering a unified suite of tools for link-in-bio pages, lead generation, and growth management. The core product consists of Creator Pages (hosted landing pages) and the Hype Plugin (available as JavaScript or WordPress integration). Additional paid features are available through the Hype App Marketplace, offering subscription tiers for advanced design customization, multi-page creation, messaging credits, and Plugin activation. In February 2026, Hype became part of MMA.inc to expand its ecosystem serving the global Martial Arts community. The platform supports both free basic functionality and paid subscription models.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Hype Platform A unified creator economy platform offering link-in-bio pages, lead generation, growth tools, and payment facilitation for individual creators, influencers, gyms, coaches, and athletes.
- Creator Pages Custom hosted landing pages on the Hype Site that allow creators to display content, offer subscriptions, sell products or services, and receive contributions from subscribers and customers.
- Hype Plugin A website plugin available via JavaScript or as a native WordPress Plugin that enables creators to install the Hype platform on custom third-party websites for lead generation and payment facilitation.
- Hype App Marketplace A marketplace within the Hype app offering subscription models and advanced features including Plugin activation, design customization tools, multiple Creator Pages creation, and messaging credits.
- Hype iOS Mobile App An iOS mobile application providing push notifications, location-based services, and on-the-go access to the Hype creator platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Millions of contacts and dollars flowed through the platform
Companies that use Hype
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Hype technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature4 records
Hype partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and flagship.
- K Wave Media Ltd. (KWM)majorExclusive global distribution partnership for K-pop artists including BTS, SEVENTEEN, and LE SSERAFIM. The partnership targets over $100 million in annual sales through Hype's distribution channels. KWM announced this as a strategic partnership leveraging Hype's global reach.
- Hype FightingcoreRussian MMA promotion that added Arman Tsarukyan and Jean Silva to events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hype Brazil announced events featuring UFC fighters in submission-only grappling matches. Tensions included Mitchell accusing Silva of sending 'legions of demons.'
- MMA.incflagshipHype is now part of MMA.inc ecosystem, transitioning to serve the global Martial Arts community with integrated tools for martial arts and MMA. This move integrates Hype's platform into a bigger ecosystem designed for helping gyms grow, athletes connect, and fans engage.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Hype competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Linktree: Leading link-in-bio platform serving creators and influencers globally. Directly comparable to Hype's core link-in-bio, landing page, and payment offering for creators, with broader generalist positioning.
- Stan Store: Creator commerce platform enabling creators to sell products, digital downloads, and bookings via a single landing page. Closely comparable to Hype's Creator Pages with subscription, purchase, and contribution features.
- Beacons: All-in-one creator platform offering link-in-bio, storefront, email, and media kits. Direct competitor in the same creator tooling category with overlapping monetization features.
- Koji: Creator commerce platform offering link-in-bio with embedded mini-apps for selling, tipping, and subscriptions. Comparable in enabling creator monetization through a unified profile page.
- Bento: Free link-in-bio and creator page platform with monetization and audience tools. Competes directly with Hype's basic link-in-bio and Creator Pages offering for SMBs and creators.
Broad incumbents
- Patreon: Established creator membership and subscription platform with payments, tiers, and community features. Comparable to Hype's subscription and contribution functionality at much larger scale.
- Cameo: Marketplace for personalized video shoutouts from creators and talent. Comparable to the contributions/tipping portion of Hype's offering where fans pay creators directly.
- Shopify: Broad commerce platform serving creators and SMBs with storefronts, payments, and apps. Comparable as a larger-scale commerce infrastructure provider behind the KWM-style distribution use cases.
Others
- Stripe: Payment processor and investor in Hype. Comparable as the underlying payment rail Hype relies on for transaction fees, subscriptions, and creator payouts.
- MMA.inc: Parent ecosystem that acquired Hype in February 2026, designed for the global Martial Arts community. The combined entity defines Hype's forward trajectory and target vertical.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Hype social profiles
Digital presenceHype compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Hype financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hype leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Hype funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors13 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hype M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hype
What does Hype do?
Hype is a software platform that enables creators, gyms, coaches, and athletes to consolidate their social media presence into a single link-in-bio landing page, accept payments and contributions, manage subscriber relationships, and grow their audience. The platform charges a 2% fee on contributions and 5% on purchases, plus monthly subscription fees for premium features such as the Hype Plugin, advanced design tools, multiple Creator Pages, and messaging credits. Following the February 2026 acquisition by MMA.inc, the platform is transitioning into the broader MMA.inc ecosystem serving the global Martial Arts community.
Is Hype a public or private company?
Hype is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Hype founded?
Hype was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hype based?
Hype is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hype make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees - Contributions are the primary driver. The others are transaction Fees - Purchases and creator Subscriptions.
Who are Hype's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Linktree, Stan Store, Beacons, Koji and Bento. Broad incumbents are Patreon, Cameo and Shopify. Others are Stripe and MMA.inc.
Does Hype have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hype.
What industry is Hype in?
Hype's product category is Creator Economy Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAFAI, Cameo-Style Personalized Content & Shoutouts, with a secondary code of MPACACAD, Live Shopping & Commerce Streaming Platforms. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.