By Jennifer Matthews
TikTok’s most followed creator Khaby Lame sold his company to Rich Sparkle Holdings in a $975M million all stock deal that includes the rights to build an AI digital twin of his likeness
The Khaby Lame deal signals that influence itself is becoming an asset class
When a Senegalese-born creator can get detained by ICE, removed from the country, and still close a nearly billion-dollar deal for his AI avatar, we are in a new era. Khaby Lame, the 25 year old “Gen Z Charlie Chaplin” who built a 160 million follower empire without saying a word, sold his company to Rich Sparkle Holdings. The deal grants his brand 36 months of exclusive rights, including an AI digital twin that mimics his face, voice, and mannerisms across languages and time zones. Projected revenue…Four billion annually.
Why This Matters
The Khaby Lame deal signals that influence itself is becoming an asset class, raising urgent questions about who owns the upside as AI reshapes creative labor, especially for Black creators who drive cultural adoption but historically lag in ownership and equity. A digital version of a Black man, generating billions while the actual man doesn’t have to be in the room. Sound familiar? From Motown artists who sold millions yet died in poverty to Black songwriters paid $25 for full ownership of songs while white counterparts negotiated six figures, extracting Black genius without equitable compensation is not new.
What is new is the technology. Today, Black influencers earn 34% less than their White counterparts and represent just 5.3% of the creator economy despite driving outsized cultural engagement. Lame’s deal is both blueprint and warning: own your IP, protect your likeness, and know your worth before someone automates your genius while you sleep.
Situational Awareness
For Black founders and creators exploring AI, blockchain, and digital licensing, this is the moment. AI avatars are not coming, they are here. China’s livestream e-commerce model already generates billions through virtual influencers, and Rich Sparkle is betting Lame’s deal can take that playbook global. Creators who move now, investing in IP protection, learning deal structures, and leveraging blockchain for provable ownership, will define whether this next wave finally includes us at the equity table. The question is not whether your likeness has value. It is whether you will own it when it does.
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Source Name : culturebanx
