Clout Kitchen seeks to use the funds to scale its team, establish US offices, and build an internal shared tech stack.
Clout Kitchen, a consumer AI startup with operations in Los Angeles and Manila, today announced its $4.45 million seed funding round. The round was co-led by a16z SPEEDRUN and Peak XV’s Surge, with participation from VCs like Antler and Hustle Fund, plus founders like Gabby Dizon (YGG) and Kun Gao (Crunchyroll).
Established in 2024, Clout Kitchen builds creator-powered interactive experiences in gaming and pop
culture that unlock new ways for top creators to engage and expand their fan base, and is led by serial gaming and creator economy builders.
Clout Kitchen’s first product is Backseat AI, an in-game “buddy” for League of Legends co-built with
Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp, one of the world’s biggest gaming content creators with over 20 million
followers. Backseat AI is Riot-compliant and guides players on how to best play the game in real-time –
from what characters to pick to which items to buy, all by an AI voice twin of their favorite creator. Since launching early access testing in June, the product has hit over 45,000 waitlist signups.
“Our thesis at Clout Kitchen is to build things that grow the pie and add value for fans, creators, and game developers alike,” said Justin Banusing, CEO, Clout Kitchen. “We grew up in this space, so it’s our way of giving back.”
Feldkamp, CBO, Clout Kitchen. “It’s easy when you’re starting and have all the time in the world – but it
gets harder to keep giving the same love to everyone as you scale. We want to solve that problem.”
With this financing round, Clout Kitchen looks to expand Backseat by scaling its team, establishing its US office, and building out its shared internal tech stack for future creator-powered game companion apps and experiences.
“As a gamer and a creator myself, I’m excited to support Justin and Team Clout Kitchen in their journey to unlock new frontiers for our community,” said Jamie Lin, Chairman & Partner, AppWorks,“ Justin and
the founding team showcased exceptional hearts, heads and hands from the moment we met them, the very traits we look for in founders.”
“At a16z, we believe in the transformative power of technology and games to reshape how we connect,
create, and experience the world. Clout Kitchen embodies this vision wholly, and we are thrilled to
support their journey as they pioneer new ways for fans to engage with the creators and games they
love,” said Jack Soslow, Investment Partner, A16Z GAMES.
