Backplane, the startup co-founded by Lady Gaga manager Troy Carter and therefore branding it as the “Lady Gaga startup” forever, has raised $4.5 million from the most elite investors in the Valley and will probably raise a series B soon. The round includes Sequoia Capital, Greylock Discovery Fund, Battery Ventures, Formation 8 and Advance/Newhouse Investment Partnership, reports the Wall Street Journal. Existing investors include Google Ventures, Founders Fund Angel, Menlo Ventures, SV Angel, i/o Ventures, and some angel investors. TomorrowVentures, Eric Schmidt’s fund, was also a seed stage investor.
CEO Matthew Michaelson told the WSJ that the Palo Alto and L.A.-based company has spent less than $1 million getting to its beta launch for Little Monsters, Lady Gaga’s social network and the first product from Backplane. From the outside, the company seems tight; a representative apologized repeatedly for the state of the beta, begging us to remember it’s a work in progress. But when we checked out the site, it looked pretty damn smooth. If you need an additional vote of confidence, notorious bubble-buster Philip Kaplan (FuckedCompany) congratulated the team.
It already has revenue, Mr. Michaelson said, although he didn’t say how. The money will be used to woo top talent and a series B could occur “rather quickly,” he said.