The Clout Kitchen team
Clout Kitchen, a consumer AI startup with operations in Los Angeles and Manila, has announced a US$4.45 million seed funding round.
a16z SPEEDRUN and Peak XV’s Surge co-led the round, which also saw participation from AppWorks, Antler, Hustle Fund, Founders Launchpad, Orvel Ventures, Gabby Dizon (YGG), Kun Gao (Crunchyroll), Voyboy, Jankos, and Perkz.
With this financing round, Clout Kitchen looks to scale its team, establish its US office, and build its shared internal tech stack for future creator-powered game companion apps and experiences.
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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.
The startup is led by serial gaming and creator economy builders Justin Gorriceta-Banusing (CEO) and Marcel Feldkamp (CBO).
Gorriceta-Banusing earlier founded and scaled the campus gaming programme AcadArena to Series A and exited while in college. Meanwhile, Feldkamp (CBO), a League of Legends pro/creator, founded the gaming talent agency Prime, which later joined United Talent Agency via Press X.
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 favourite creator. Since launching early access testing in June, the product claims to have hit over 45,000 waitlist signups.
Pricing starts at US$4.99 monthly for each creator “buddy,” who earns from every subscription. Backseat AI’s buddies roster continues to expand with streamer & cosplayer Emiru and pro player Jankos – with more top creators lined up in the coming months.
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“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 of Clout Kitchen. “We grew up in this space, so it’s our way of giving back.”
“As a creator myself, I know how difficult it is to keep your community and business growing,” said Marcel 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.”
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