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§ Private Profile · Los Angeles, CA, USA
AI-powered creator tech startup building gaming experiences and interactive apps for fans, focused on content scaling.
Clout Kitchen is a Los Angeles-based consumer technology company with operations in Manila that develops AI-powered, creator-led gaming experiences and interactive applications. The company's flagship product, Backseat AI, functions as an in-game companion for League of Legends players, providing real-time gameplay tips using voice clones of popular content creators. Operating with a 16-person team, the startup has generated early traction by accumulating 45,000 waitlist signups for its initial early access launch. The organization has raised $4.45 million in seed funding through a round co-led by a16z SPEEDRUN and Peak XV Surge, with additional backing from Crunchyroll founder Kun Gao. The platform currently features licensed AI voice models from prominent esports personalities, including Tyler1, to deepen fan engagement and scale creator content. Clout Kitchen was founded in 2024 by Justin Gorriceta-Banusing, Marcel Feldkamp, and Gabriel.
Clout Kitchen has raised $4.0M across 1 funding round.
Clout Kitchen has raised $4.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Clout Kitchen has raised $4.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $4.0M Seed in October 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2024 | $4M Seed | — | 500 Global, 6TH MAN Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, AppWorks, Browder Capital, Framework Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Lightbank, Multicoin Capital, North Island Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Polygon Labs, Portal Ventures, Sunset Ventures, Y Combinator, Maroof Ahmed, Regan Bozman, Yusuf Sherwani | Announced |
Clout Kitchen has raised $4.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Clout Kitchen's investors include 500 Global, 6th Man Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, AppWorks, Browder Capital, Framework Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Lightbank, Multicoin Capital, North Island Ventures, Octopus Ventures.
Clout Kitchen is a Los Angeles-based technology startup founded in 2024 that builds AI-powered interactive experiences for gaming and pop culture, initially focusing on creator-voiced gaming companions like Backseat AI for League of Legends, which provides real-time gameplay coaching from AI versions of popular creators such as Tyler1.[1][2][3][5] The company serves gaming content creators, their fans, and game developers by enabling scalable fan engagement through digital twins and AI clones, solving the problem of limited creator availability while enhancing player experiences and creator monetization; it has raised $4.45M in seed funding and pivoted toward broader virality distribution tools for brands and creators, generating over 200M monthly views with 7x organic growth and 1/5th the CPM of traditional media.[1][3][4] This positions Clout Kitchen at the intersection of AI, gaming, and the creator economy, with strong early traction via partnerships with streamers like Emiru and Jankos.[3]
Clout Kitchen was co-founded in 2024 by Justin Gorriceta-Banusing (CEO), a serial entrepreneur who previously founded and exited AcadArena—a Series A campus gaming platform in Southeast Asia and Latin America—while in college, and also produced the CONQuest Festival with 100K attendees; Marcel Feldkamp (CBO), a former professional League of Legends player, creator, and founder of gaming talent agency Prime (acquired by United Talent Agency); and Gabriel Lopez (CTO), a startup veteran who founded and sold MedHyve (Philippines' first venture-backed Gen Z startup) and worked on AI at G2 Crowd.[1][3][5] The idea emerged from Banusing's gaming background and Antler support, starting with AI gaming buddies to coach players using creators' voices, launching Backseat AI in collaboration with Tyler1 (5M Twitch followers) despite high initial AI costs that prompted a pivot as models became cheaper and more capable.[2][3][5] Early traction included rapid creator sign-ups and seed funding co-led by a16z SPEEDRUN and Peak XV Surge, with backing from AppWorks, Antler, and Hustle Fund, fueling US expansion from Manila/LA roots.[2][3]
Clout Kitchen rides the AI-driven creator economy wave, where cheap large-language models enable "digital twins" for infinite scaling of fan interactions, timed perfectly with post-2023 AI cost drops making consumer apps viable after earlier infeasibility.[2] Market forces like explosive gaming creator growth (e.g., Twitch stars with millions of followers), demand for personalized AR/VR/gaming experiences, and brands' shift to UGC/influencer virality favor its model, competing with motion-capture tools like RADiCAL or DeepMotion but uniquely tying AI to creator IP for engagement.[1][2] It influences the ecosystem by empowering creators with new revenue (beyond streams), aiding game devs with retention tools, and accelerating AI adoption in culture/entertainment, bridging Southeast Asia/US markets via founder expertise.[3][5]
Clout Kitchen's seed funding and pivot signal aggressive scaling: expect expanded creator rosters, new companion apps beyond League of Legends, US office growth, and deeper Mass Content Ops for brands amid AI virality trends.[3][4] Rising AI efficiency, gaming AI integration (e.g., real-time coaching in more titles), and creator economy maturation (projected $500B+ by 2027) will propel it, potentially evolving into a full "virality distribution" leader influencing how culture scales digitally. This builds on its gaming roots, turning creator clout into ubiquitous AI presence.