Shaker provides a 3-D virtual nightclub and meetup spot layered on Facebook where users gather around music and shared experiences. The company positions music as a social lubricant and has partnered with Live Nation and BandPage for its North American launch on June 8th. New users signing up receive remixed classic album-cover images using their Facebook photos and data as part of promotional activity. Shaker has run online parties for New Year’s Eve and the NBA All-Star Game and hosted a peace conference featuring Hillary Clinton. It has attracted tens of thousands of requests from people wanting to set up their own online gathering places. Financially, Shaker raised a $15 million Series A led by Menlo Ventures, with several high-profile investors participating. Shaker builds a Facebook-integrated virtual social space where a user’s Facebook profile becomes a walking avatar and photos populate virtual room walls. Users can choose the room music, buy virtual drinks, and interact via proximity-based chat, a Tweet wall, and a smartphone social-discovery tool. The product uses Facebook data and color-coding to show connections and friends-of-friends and surfaces shared profile attributes (same birthday, mutual band likes) to help people meet. The team alpha-tested the app in its Tel Aviv homebase and says the response was viral, prompting them to block invitations. After blocking invitations the company reported roughly 80,000 monthly active users. Shaker launched at TechCrunch Disrupt (including a special Disrupt-themed room) and is explicitly betting on a synchronous social model; it has raised about $3 million to date.

Total raised

$18M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

May 2012