OnlyFans in exclusive talks to sell majority stake to Architect Capital
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OnlyFans, a U.K.-based subscription platform that connects creators directly to fans, is in talks to sell a majority stake to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm with a focus on tech companies, sources confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: The deal would value OnlyFans at around $5.5 billion, making it worth more than other creator subscription platforms like Substack and Patreon.
Yes, but: That's far less than the bigger publicly traded social media companies, such as Meta, Snap or Reddit
Zoom in: The deal talks — which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal — are exclusive, but an agreement has not yet been finalized, sources confirmed to Axios.
- As part of the discussions, Architect Capital would take a 60% stake in the company worth around $3.5 billion.
- OnlyFans, which is owned by Ukrainian-American billionaire and businessman Leonid Radvinsky, was reportedly seeking an $8 billion valuation when looking for investment partners earlier this year.
- Architect Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zoom out: OnlyFans' business is extraordinarily lucrative, but the existence of adult content on the platform has at times posed investment risks and concerns from payment vendors.
- The company tried to get ahead of those challenges in 2021 by saying it would ban "sexually explicit" material. But it later reversed that position, following backlash from adult content creators.
By the numbers: OnlyFans in its fiscal year 2024 generated $7.22 billion in gross revenue, and a pre-tax profit of $684 million.
- By comparison, companies like Snapchat and Reddit made $5.46 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively, during their fiscal years 2024. Snapchat was not profitable during that period, and Reddit earned $298 million in pre-tax profit.
What to watch: Architect Capital believes OnlyFans has a path to going public in 2028, per the Journal.
