GigaStar Wins 2025 Chicago Innovation Award

GigaStar clinched a prestigious Up-And-Comer award in recognition of its innovation and position to transform the Creator Economy.

CHICAGO, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- GigaStar, the startup bringing YouTube Creators and Investors together, was named one of the top 20 award winners out of 315 nominees for the 24th Annual Chicago Innovation Awards. GigaStar took home an Up-And-Comer Award at the November 13th ceremony held at UIC Forum in Chicago.

The Up-And-Comer Award honors fast-growing startups with industry-shaping innovation. GigaStar earned the distinction for its SEC-registered crowdfunding portal, which enables fans to invest in Creators and share in their future YouTube ad revenue, helping democratize the Creator Economy.*

GigaStar is pioneering a way for Creators to securitize future revenue. Since launching in 2023, Creators have raised over $6 million in funding on GigaStar Market, while keeping full ownership of their channels, and distributing nearly $1 million in YouTube revenue to investors.*

Additional milestones ahead include the planned launch of its broker-dealer platform and secondary market digital asset trading system (ATS) to enable the trading of digital asset securities tied to Creator revenue, a component that will fulfill GigaStar's vision of an end-to-end investor ecosystem.**

"Chicago has a long history of innovation in finance and technology," said Sarah McNabb, Chief Marketing Officer of GigaStar. "We're proud to build what we believe will be the 'Wall Street of the Creator Economy' right here in this city."

The Chicago Innovation Awards, now in their 24th year, celebrate the most impactful new products and services across the region. Alumni include some of the Midwest's most influential growth companies.

*Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including the risk of loss of the entire investment. 

**Securities purchased in GigaStar Market must be held for 12 months before trading in the secondary market. There is no guarantee of an active or liquid secondary market, and investments are subject to market risk and fluctuation in value.

About GigaStar
GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing Creators and Investors together. GigaStar provides Creators with an intuitive platform to raise capital from thousands of Investors who share in the channel's potential future YouTube revenue while supporting a Creator's journey. Learn more at gigastar.io.

Creator Networks, Inc. (dba GigaStar) is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market). GigaStar Market is an SEC-registered funding portal and a member of FINRA offering securities under Reg CF. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve risks, including the risk of loss of the entire investment. The past performance of an offering, security, or channel is not a guarantee of future results. The content herein does not constitute a solicitation of an offer to buy security(ies).

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SOURCE GigaStar