Creative Market, the operator of an US-based online design marketplace, spun out of design software provider Autodesk on Wednesday with $7m in series A funding.
Venture capital firm Accomplice led the round, investing together with VC firm Palm Drive Capital and angel investors Patrick Lor, Don Parker and Gabriel Hammond. Autodesk will retain a minority stake in the company.
Creative Market is an online marketplace where users can buy and sell design assets such as photos, templates, themes, fonts, graphics and icons. It has a community of more than 22,000 creators that sells to more than 3.5 million members.
The company will use the capital to expand its marketplace, grow its workforce and launch new products. Creative Market was founded in 2012 and acquired by Autodesk in 2014 for an undisclosed sum.
Prior to the acquisition, Creative Market had raised $1.3m in a 2012 round backed by SV Angel, CrunchFund, Longworth, Ludlow Ventures, Atlas Ventures, Morado Ventures, 500 Startups, Seraph Group, Zelkova Ventures and undisclosed other investors.
Aaron Epstein, co-founder and chief executive of Creative Market, said: “The future of work is moving beyond the borders of the traditional 9-5 office job.
“With just an internet connection and their design talent, more and more independent creators are using Creative Market to venture out on their own and earn a living from anywhere in the world.”