Klout Raises $8.5 Million to Enable Everyone to Understand and Leverage Their Influence

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Klout, the leader in online influence measurement, announced today that it has raised $8.5 million in a funding round led by the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer (KPCB) sFund™ and participation from Greycroft Partners.  Prominent angel investors, including ff Asset Management, Paige Craig, Howard Lindzon, Thomas McInerney, Bobby Yazdani, and others, also participated in the round, which brings Klout's funding to more than $10 million to date.

"It's been amazing seeing the passion the social media community has for their Klout Scores," says Joe Fernandez, CEO and co-founder of Klout. "We have a lot of work ahead of us, though. We intend to invest heavily in increasing the performance of our system to deliver the accuracy, clarity and actionability commensurate with being the standard for influence.  To do so, we will need to greatly expand the number of services that are analyzed in calculating the Klout Score and provide a much richer consumer experience."

KPCB partner William "Bing" Gordon, a preeminent visionary on the future of the social web, will join Joe Fernandez, John Frankel and Allen Morgan as a member of Klout's board of directors.

"People are hungry to get even more meaning from their daily social media use, and Klout is creating an important and new standard measure of relevance," says Gordon. "I hope everyone who reads this shares this message so my Klout score goes up!"

"In a very short period, Klout has established itself as a generic noun in the lexicon of the web," says Alan Patricof, managing director and founder of Greycroft. "We believe Klout will continue to grow and be the standard measurement of influence."

About Klout

Klout measures influence across the social web. Using its core technology, Klout analyzes social network user data and identifies influential individuals based on the impact of their opinions, links, recommendations and other online content. Klout makes this data available in a variety of ways.  The Klout.com consumer site is a popular consumer destination while the Klout API powers over 1000 companies.  Klout also provides innovative tools to allow companies, including major brands such as Disney, Audi and Fox, to interact with interpret this valuable influencer data. Klout is a privately held company based in San Francisco, Calif.

About Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has backed entrepreneurs in over 500 ventures, including AOL, Amazon.com, Citrix, Compaq Computer, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Lotus, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, Verisign, and Xilinx. KPCB portfolio companies employ more than 250,000 people. More than 150 of the firm's portfolio companies have gone public. Many other ventures have achieved success through mergers and acquisitions.

About Greycroft

Greycroft Partners is a venture capital partnership formed to invest in promising digital media companies, including both business and consumer-focused ventures. The firm's $130.7 million fund includes participation from leading corporate executives around the world.

Greycroft invests between $500,000 and $5 million at inception, increasing on a staged basis to double that amount over time. We invest alone or alongside other firms, and will accept a board seat when appropriate, although this is not a prerequisite when syndicating with others.

Our portfolio companies benefit from active, hands-on assistance in all phases of expansion, including marketing, financing, and management development. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, we also leverage an extensive network of media and technology industry connections to help our investees gain visibility, build strategic relationships, and successfully bring their products to market.

SOURCE Klout