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§ Private Profile · Brooklyn, NY, USA
Online marketplace for peer-to-peer camera gear, lights, lenses, VR equipment, and drone rentals for filmmakers. Includes instant rental insurance.
KitSplit, based in New York City, NY, operates a marketplace facilitating peer-to-peer rentals of camera gear, lights, lenses, VR equipment, and drones for content creators. The platform connects over 30,000 members, offering equipment 30-50% cheaper than traditional rentals and with instant rental insurance. Its customer base includes production companies like NBC, Vox, and National Geographic, plus individual filmmakers and over 100 rental houses. It secured $2.1M in seed funding in 2018, with investors including HearstLab and Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger. Founded in 2015 by Kristina Budelis, Lisbeth Kaufman, and Ken Amarit, KitSplit acquired competitor CameraLends in 2017 and launched a mentorship program for women in film. Its business model centers on commission-based marketplace fees from peer-to-peer equipment rentals, plus revenue from instant rental insurance.
KitSplit has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
KitSplit has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
KitSplit is a peer-to-peer marketplace that lets photographers, videographers and creative professionals rent and lend camera and production equipment, positioning itself as an “Airbnb for camera gear” that also aggregates existing rental houses and adds delivery and insurance services to transactions[1][2].
High-Level overview
KitSplit is a marketplace product that connects equipment owners (individual pros, studios, rental houses) with renters in film, photography and immersive/VR production, offering listings that range from basic video kits to high-end cinema cameras and specialty gear[1][2]. KitSplit’s customers are freelance creatives, production companies and media organizations that need flexible, lower‑cost access to gear without capital purchase; the platform solves underutilization of expensive equipment by enabling owners to monetize idle assets while giving renters more choice and convenience through delivery and integrated insurance[1][2]. The company has grown beyond a single city launch into multiple U.S. markets and reported thousands of members and millions of dollars’ worth of listed equipment in earlier reporting, signaling early traction with both individual pros and enterprise customers such as media companies[1].
Origin story
KitSplit was founded to address founders’ frustration with traditional rental houses and the capital cost of equipment ownership; early coverage describes the service launching in New York and expanding into Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston as it scaled[1]. The platform’s early investors included media- and tech‑adjacent angels and corporate backers—examples cited in press included HearstLab (which made an investment tied to Hearst), Broadway Video Ventures, Joanne Wilson and executives from JustWorks and Blue Apron—indicating both industry endorsement and strategic relationships with media partners[1]. Early pivotal moments highlighted in reporting were rapid member growth (reported memberships in the thousands) and listings totaling tens of millions of dollars in equipment value, plus adoption by larger media companies that validated the marketplace model[1].
Core differentiators
Role in the broader tech and media landscape
KitSplit rides multiple converging trends: the gig economy and asset‑sharing marketplaces that increase capital efficiency, the booming demand for content production (video, VR/AR) that requires flexible access to costly hardware, and digital logistics/insurance integrations that make peer rentals trustworthy for professional customers[1][2]. Timing mattered as production budgets and independent content creation expanded, creating demand for on‑demand gear without heavy capital expenditure; KitSplit’s model addresses that by unlocking underused equipment and offering production teams a more convenient procurement channel[1][2]. By lowering the barrier to access specialized equipment and providing enterprise-friendly features (delivery, insured rentals), the company influenced how freelance crews and small houses source gear and how owners monetize idle assets in the creative economy[1].
Quick take & future outlook
KitSplit’s immediate opportunity is to deepen marketplace liquidity in major production hubs, expand enterprise integrations with studios and media companies, and enhance logistics and insurance features that professional users require—moves that would make the platform a default procurement channel for production teams[1]. Longer term, success depends on maintaining trust and ease of use (reliability of insured delivery, quality control of listings), expanding into new geographies or niche gear categories (e.g., immersive production, specialized cinema lenses), and potentially offering value‑added services (asset management, subscription rentals) that increase recurring revenue and stickiness[1][2]. If KitSplit continues to scale supply and enterprise demand, it can materially improve equipment utilization economics for owners while shaping how the creative sector procures hardware for production[1][2].
KitSplit has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in February 2018.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2018 | $2M Seed | — | 01 Advisors, Craft Ventures, Hawkshead Capital, Independent, IVP, Pareto Holdings, UpHonest Capital, Bryan Bulte, Dean Bartosh, Narendra Rocherolle, Mike Krieger, 3311 Ventures, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Chris Wilkes, NYU, Western Technology Investment | Announced |
KitSplit has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
KitSplit's investors include 01 Advisors, Craft Ventures, HawksHead Capital, Independent, IVP, Pareto Holdings, UpHonest Capital, Bryan Bulte, Dean Bartosh, Narendra Rocherolle, Mike Krieger, 3311 Ventures.