Credit: Luca Bravo
Creative tech company Talenthouse was on the brink of collapse last month. It is now said to have secured a lifeline for investors to continue the restructuring.
The company provides artists with design commissions for major brands and connects clients with brands such as Netflix, Coca-Cola, Nike and others. But a report from The guard Last month revealed The British company faced legal action from its creditors and likely laid off most of its workforce. Another report from the Observer showed that contributors to Talenthouse projects were not compensated for their work on those projects completed months earlier.
“Some had worked on high-profile assignments, including designing posters, advertising campaigns and social media posts for clients such as DreamWorks, Nationwide and Snapchat.” The Guardians report revealed. “At the time, Roman Scharf, co-founder of Talenthouse, apologized and said the company was ‘working on a long-term, robust solution’ that would benefit creatives and would be announced soon.”
This robust solution involved a reorganization and the closure of the UK office through which artists were signed. Now parent company Talenthouse AG says it has secured a new lifeline for investors to stay afloat.
“On Friday evening, Garage Italia Finance Sarl, Luxembourg (Garage Italia: Investor) informed Talenthouse AG that it had entered into agreements to acquire almost 32% of the voting rights in the company (of which around 5% via a convertible loan). Garage Italia is the announced new investor Talenthouse AG on May 14, 2023.”
“As previously mentioned, the company is in a restructuring phase to deal with its critical financial situation. Talenthouse G, the investor and the company’s auditors are working on best-practice solutions, including the previously announced capital increase.”
Founded in 2000, Talenthouse has since burned $80 million and left many contractors unpaid. “All I get from Talenthouse is, ‘We’ll do what we can,'” said a contractor from the Philippines who is owed £3,200 by the now-defunct British company. “It’s all automated responses. Nobody really seems to care.”