This article was published on July 11, 2012

Tout video app gets ready to rumble with $13m Series B funding round, and strategic WWE tie-up


Tout video app gets ready to rumble with $13m Series B funding round, and strategic WWE tie-up

We first reported on Tout way back in April 2011, an app that lets people share real time video status updates. And now we’ve learned that the tech startup that spun out from SRI (Stanford Research Institute) has secured a whopping $13.4m series B funding round.

The cash injection comes from new investors such as WWE, 819 Capital, Gordon Crawford, and Stan Shuman & Jack Schneider from Allen & Co., who join previous investors including SRI, Horizons Ventures, and Seavest Ventures.

The capital will be used to support the rapid growth of the company and further invest in new product development and international expansion.

“We’ve assembled a powerful group of enthusiastic, hands-on investors who recognize the paradigm shift we’re seeing from a text-based to a visual – particularly video-centric — online experience,” says Michael Downing, CEO, Tout.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Tout’s mobile and Web apps enable real-time video status updates that can be shared instantly with friends and family through the usual social channels, or published to your own site via the Tout Widget and API.

It’s a perfectly simply idea in that it transforms your smartphone into a real-time video network, delivering 15-second clips with each shot. Media companies and well-known names have used the platform, including CBS, National Geographic Channel, CNBC’s ‘Fast Money’, C-SPAN, ESPN and even presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The company claims 23 million users.

In addition to this, WWE (yes, the wrestling organization) has announced a strategic partnership with Tout in addition to its investment, that will leverage WWE’s assets, including TV, live events, digital, print and 100m+ social media followers, to market and expand Tout’s platform for real-time video status updates.

This is a huge development for Tout, and one that will see it gain significant traction.

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