MrBeast has been on a hiring spree as he builds a platform to match brands with creators for sponsorship deals — and diversify his company beyond YouTube.
His company, Beast Industries, recently hired a team from the creator-commerce startup Pietra, including its CEO and cofounder Ronak Trivedi, Business Insider has learned.
Trivedi, who worked at Uber before helping found Pietra, is playing a key role in developing the yet-to-be-named creator platform, a Beast Industries spokesperson confirmed. The rep didn’t share the number of hires but called it “significant.”
Pietra has raised $36 million to date from Andreessen Horowitz and others, according to Crunchbase. It helps creators develop their own consumer product lines by connecting them with product designers, suppliers, warehouses, and fulfillment companies. The MrBeast spokesperson said Pietra would continue to operate under a new CEO.
Elsewhere, Beast Industries recently hired a chief product and tech officer, Google and Uber vet Shiva Rajaraman for the company. Beast Industries said it has also opened a product and engineering office in San Mateo, California, to work on the creator platform and a planned membership program.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been expanding beyond his YouTube channels for a while, into merchandise, a snack line called Feastables, financial services, and more. Donaldson recently announced plans for a membership program and a mobile phone venture. The company has hinted at a potential IPO.
Jeffrey Housenbold, CEO of Beast Industries, spoke about the creator platform onstage at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in December, describing it as a way to connect creators with Fortune 1,000 marketers. A February 2025 investor deck said it was a way to help creators replicate Donaldson’s success by giving them “data-driven opportunities” to grow their channels and viewership.
As YouTube’s biggest creator, Donaldson offers credibility in matching creators and marketers. He already serves brands and creators with the YouTube analytics platform Viewstats and Vyro, a clipping service that gives brands access to a large creator network.
Marketers have been shifting budgets from traditional media to social media creators. The Interactive Advertising Bureau estimated in November that advertisers would spend $43.9 billion on creators in the US in 2026, almost doubling their 2023 spend. Donaldson would be entering a crowded field, as holding companies, tech platforms, and independent agencies already offer similar services to varying extents.
The Pietra hirings come at a time of change for Beast Industries’ tech staff. Several people have recently left Viewstats and Vyro, including Nagesh Nagpal, who was COO at Viewstats.
The company spokesperson said those departures were unconnected to the planned creator platform and that Viewstats and Vyro would continue to operate as separate units.
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