In Conversation With Maslin Edwin, CEO, Donatuz

In an era where the creator economy is redefining how people work, earn, and connect, Maslin Edwin, CEO of Donatuz, is building what he calls a “super app for creators.” With India’s creator ecosystem expanding at lightning speed—millions of creators influencing hundreds of billions in consumer spending—Maslin sees both enormous potential and deep structural flaws. Fragmented platforms, exploitative revenue models, and the unchecked use of creator content for AI training have left many creators struggling to claim their fair share of value.

Donatuz, positioned as an AI-native creator platform, aims to change that. It brings together every major monetization channel—subscriptions, live experiences, tipping, and more—into one seamless ecosystem while embedding blockchain-based content ownership and transparent licensing for AI use. For Maslin, this isn’t just about building another creator tool; it’s about reshaping the power dynamics of the digital economy so that creators, not algorithms or intermediaries, own their future.

In this conversation, Maslin shares the vision behind Donatuz, the challenges facing India’s creators, and why he believes the next wave of the creator economy will be driven not just by creativity, but by AI, transparency, and sustainable income models.

Q1. The creator economy in India is already buzzing with platforms. What gap did you see in the market that convinced you to build Donatuz as a super app?

Creators today are stretched thin. To make money properly, most juggle between four and ten different platforms, one for subscriptions, another for tips, and a different one for live streams. It’s messy and exhausting. On top of that, in this new AI era, their content is often scraped and used to train systems without credit or payment. There’s no proper licensing framework to protect them. Donatuz was designed to solve both problems, unifying all monetization tools into one app, and giving creators ownership and transparency over how their work is used.

Q2. A recent Donatuz release mentions that India’s creator economy generates only a fraction of its potential revenue. What structural challenges do you think creators face today?

India’s creators influence consumer spending worth hundreds of billions every year, but only a small fraction of that translates into direct income for them. In fact, less than 10 percent of the value they generate actually reaches their pockets. The issue is structural: many creators get dazzled by one-off brand deals, chasing short-term payouts while missing the bigger opportunity of recurring, sustainable income streams. Subscriptions, fan communities, and direct digital sales are far more powerful in the long run. If we can shift the focus, creator revenues in India could multiply fivefold by 2030.

Q3. Donatuz positions itself as “AI-native.” Can you explain what that means in practice for creators using your platform?

For us, AI-native has two sides. On one hand, we’re giving creators cutting-edge tools, AI-powered agents, avatars, and immersive formats that open entirely new ways to engage fans and monetize content. On the other hand, we’re building a licensing system that ensures creators are compensated when their content is used in AI training. This is already a pressing issue; marketers are adopting generative AI at scale, which means a lot of creator content is feeding those systems without any compensation. Donatuz is designed to make sure creators don’t get left behind in this new economy.

Q4. Many creators are concerned about losing ownership of their content on existing platforms. How does Donatuz ensure transparency and protection of intellectual property?

Ownership is at the core of how we’ve built Donatuz. Every upload is hashed and recorded on a blockchain ledger, which creates a transparent and tamper-proof record of who owns the content and how it’s being used. If a piece of content is licensed or repurposed, there’s a public trail that shows exactly where it went. For creators, that means real control over their IP in a way that other platforms simply don’t provide.

Q5. With features like AI-powered agents, avatars, and immersive experiences coming up, do you see creators in India ready to adopt such advanced tools, or will this be more of a global play?

India is more than ready. There are already a couple of million active creators here, and together they influence well over 30 percent of consumer spending. What’s more interesting is that this influence isn’t just in metros, it’s expanding into smaller towns and older demographics. Fans want more access to their favorite creators, and creators want ways to scale that intimacy. AI is the bridge. Whether it’s avatars that can interact with fans around the clock or immersive live experiences, these tools will be adopted here quickly because they directly strengthen the fan-creator bond.

Q6. A transparent 12% take rate is significantly lower than what other platforms charge. How sustainable is this model as you scale?

Most platforms today take 40 to 50 percent of creator earnings. That’s huge. They argue it’s to subsidize free users, but the ones who get squeezed in the process are the creators themselves. Our approach is different. We charge 12 percent, flat. It’s transparent, sustainable, and creator-first. Because we’re focused on creators whose audiences are already ready to pay, our growth scales with theirs. And it gives us enough room to keep reinvesting in AI tools that expand how creators can monetize.

Q7. Since your beta launch, you’ve already onboarded 12,000 users and 70 creators. Can you share some early success stories or trends you’ve observed among Indian creators?

One clear shift is happening: creators are waking up to the risks of short-term deals. For years, many relied on brand tie-ups or even questionable partnerships that offered fast cash but undermined their brand and left them with no recurring income. In fact, a majority of creators in India still make less than a quarter of their income from social media. That’s changing. With restrictions on areas like iGaming, creators are now turning to healthier models, subscriptions, paid calls, and private communities. On Donatuz, we’re already seeing early adopters report more consistent monthly income than they ever managed on fragmented platforms.

Q8. Looking ahead, what is your vision for Donatuz by 2030, especially given the projections of $1 trillion in creator-influenced consumption?

By the end of this decade, creator-driven consumption in India is expected to cross the trillion-dollar mark, with direct creator revenues growing fivefold. The question is whether creators themselves will benefit or whether most of that value slips through their hands. Our vision is to make Donatuz the backbone of this economy, a platform that not only provides advanced AI-native monetization tools but also protects creator IP in an era where it’s more vulnerable than ever. The principle is simple: if creators are driving this trillion-dollar economy, they should also be the ones who capture its upside.