Cameo, a Chicago startup that reached unicorn status with its $1 billion valuation in 2021, is ready to start its next chapter.
Now a permanent fixture in Chicago's tech startup scene, Cameo wants to make its celebrity-fan interactions longer and more personal and give fans more scheduling control than ever before.
Founded in 2017, Cameo changed the way celebrities can interact with their fans. The startup provides fans with the opportunity to request personalized video messages from their favorite celebrities and now its newest feature — Cameo Live — lets fans connect with their idols for longer, during the time and day that works best for them.
With the new feature, fans can book 10-minute live video calls with one of thousands of athletes, actors, musicians, comedians, creators and more that they can also invite up to nine friends and family members to join in on.
Cameo Live is just one component of what the startup calls Cameo 2.0, as it hopes to evolve beyond celebrity shout-out videos to enable more personalized and authentic fan experiences for its users.
After testing the new feature over the past few months, Cameo is ready to unveil it to the masses.
In a year when tech startups exploded across Chicago, Cameo stood tall in 2021 and was named one of 50 companies recognized by Chicago Inno's Fire Awards for its fast-growing, game-changing platform.
In just over five years, the company has helped celebrities and fans interact in unique ways ranging from birthday and good luck messages to marriage proposals and other direct fan interactions.
This isn't the first time the company has added new features to its growing platform either. It recently added Cameo direct messages, which lets fans send messages to their favorite celebrities directly, and physical merchandise through its acquisition of Represent.
Cameo for Business also launched in 2020, providing companies with thousands of celebrities and influencers to use in ad campaigns. In 2021, Cameo for Business worked with more than 12,000 companies that incorporated thousands of celebrities on Cameo's platform to serve as spokespeople.
