Klout operates a social reputation scorecard that computes a Klout score based on activity across Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. Its core product surfaces influence metrics and Klout-determined areas of expertise for individuals. The company is aiming to expand into search through a product and business relationship with Microsoft’s Bing team. Under the Bing integration, Klout scores appear in the “People Who Know” section of search results and users must sign in with Facebook to access the feature. Bing search behavior and clicks will begin contributing to Klout rankings, and Klout will boost users who have associated Wikipedia entries when those entries are shown and clicked in search. The article notes Klout receives funding and revenue as part of the relationship, though exact financial terms are not disclosed. Klout evaluates users' influence across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Foursquare, Google+ and other social apps using complex ranking algorithms and semantic analysis. The company offers Perks—exclusive offers or experiences—awarded based on users' Klout scores. Klout is launching Brand Squads, dedicated brand pages that surface top influencers, let brands monitor conversations and offer Perks; Red Bull is the launch partner. The company says it has indexed more than 100 million public profiles, handles about 12 billion API calls (up from 100 million in January 2011), and has over 5,000 API partners (up from ~100 in early 2010). Those traction metrics support its commercial push to give brands a centralized place to engage influencers and reward them with merchandise and experiences such as trips to the X-Games. Klout recently raised around $30 million in funding from Kleiner Perkins and others, and Kleiner partner Chi‑Hua Chien has joined Klout’s board. Klout builds a product to measure individuals' influence online; CEO and founder Joe Fernandez describes it as a human version of PageRank. The team decided not to flip and instead to try to build a big company around measuring influence. The decision accompanied internal debate over whose money to take and how the cash would be used. Klout raised a surprisingly large $8.5 million in the reported funding round. The article does not detail specific product roadmaps or operating metrics. TechCrunch published a video interview with Fernandez about the round and the team's strategic choice. Klout evaluates Twitter users’ influence and authority using complex ranking algorithms and semantic analysis of content. Since launching in 2008, it has registered over 250,000 users and more than 300 API partners, including CoTweet, HootSuite, and Tweetup, and is handling millions of API calls per day. The company recently released a new API to enable third-party integrations and has gained traction in third-party Twitter clients. Klout secured $1.5 million in Series A funding to scale product development and to launch a more consumer-focused web app. The funding comes from a syndicate including Allen Morgan of Mayfield Fund, ff Asset Management, Bobby Yazdani, Nova Spivack of Lucid Ventures, Zelkova Ventures, Paige Craig, Tom McInerney, Michael Yavonditte of Quigo Technologies, and Ofer Ronen. Near term plans focus on product scaling and building a consumer web presence while leveraging its broad API partner network.

Total raised

$40M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Apr 2012