Nixar, a startup incubated at UPTEC, the Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, has secured an investment from Angels Way to expand its artificial intelligence-based influencer marketing platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
As reported by UPTEC, the startup operates on a performance-based business model. Companies only pay when sales are generated through the platform, with no initial investment required. Content creators receive a 50% share of the revenue, which, according to the statement, is higher than traditional agency margins.
Nixar’s AI agents analyze thousands of creator posts to assess aesthetics, audience demographics, engagement patterns, and past brand collaborations, enabling precise matching between brands and creators based on more than 50 data points. The platform also uses historical data to predict campaign performance before launch.
According to ECO, Angels Way is a community of 436 angel investors and one of the funds under management by OW Ventures. The fund focuses on early-stage technology startups, investing up to €50,000 per company, with the objective of allocating €1 million across 20 Portuguese startups with technological impact.
Before investing in Nixar, Angels Way had backed Granter, MEDgical, Dojo AI, Purrmi, Courtmaster, Curiouz, WiseWorld, and ByTheLaw.
Founded in 2024, Nixar has developed a platform that uses AI to match brands with content creators worldwide, targeting SMEs that want to run influencer marketing campaigns with lower upfront risk.
“We launched Nixar at a time when the social commerce and influencer marketing market is growing rapidly,” said Luís Roque, co-founder of Nixar, as cited by UPTEC.
He added that more consumers are purchasing directly through social networks and that brands continue to increase investment in digital sales and promotion channels.
Recent industry data supports this view. The global influencer marketing sector now exceeds $30 billion and is expected to continue growing steadily through 2026, as platforms mature and brands increasingly rely on data-driven creator partnerships.
Influencer marketing is also shifting from experimental spending to a fixed component of digital budgets, with more than half of marketers reporting year-on-year budget increases due to stronger returns compared to many traditional paid channels.
At the same time, influencer-driven social commerce continues to expand, with in-app purchases becoming a central metric for campaign performance and return on investment.
With this funding, Nixar plans to continue developing its platform and accelerate its international expansion. Roque said the company is preparing to enter the United States market in the second half of 2026, supported by a U.S. investor, while also strengthening its presence in the United Kingdom.
Nixar is currently focused on SMEs in the fashion sector. Its expansion plans include entering other European fashion hubs, such as Paris and Milan, and hiring additional staff as operations scale.
Featured image: Photo courtesy of Nixar
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