Publicis Groupe is ramping up its investment into the influencer space with the acquisition of end-to-end influencer marketing platform Captiv8.

Captiv8 boasts a network of 15 million creators globally, claiming to cover 95% of influencers with more than 5,000 followers. The platform is powered by AI technology and includes a social commerce suite, processing over 2.5 billion social posts annually and operating in 120 countries.

It follows the French holding company's acquisition of influencer marketing platform Influential last year, with the two solutions set to be integrated to create a unified, powerful platform anchored in Epsilon's connected identity.

Global CEO of Publicis Groupe, Arthur Sadoun, said: "Through this acquisition, we are further reinforcing our Category of One, building the world’s most powerful influencer platform by connecting the scale and service of Influential with Captiv8’s unrivalled technology, grounded in Epsilon’s connected identity."

The combined platform aims to connect brands to more than 15 million creators, covering 95% of influencers with 5,000 or more followers and 90% of influencers with over 1 million followers. It will offer AI-powered tools to unify, deploy, and control creator strategies across social platforms, media channels, and markets.

Captiv8 Co-Founder & CEO, Krishna Subramanian, said: "Captiv8 was built to unify the fragmented creator economy - turning influence into a commerce engine that drives real ROI. Publicis Groupe shares that vision for a fully connected, data-powered future. Together, we’re not just scaling creator marketing, we're transforming it into a global growth channel that delivers measurable impact from first impression to final purchase."

CEO of Influential, Ryan Detert, said: "We look forward to combining the power of Captiv8’s award-winning influencer platform with Influential and providing best-in-class capabilities to all of our clients. As two leaders in the influencer marketing space, together, we bring unrivaled expertise, innovation, and transformation for our clients. We’re excited to collaborate with Krishna and Sunil to co-author the future of global influencer marketing at Publicis."