The archive · AI & Models · Product decision · 2024–2026
Clouted bets AI clipping plus 100k gig editors can engineer virality; $7M seed
Founded 2024, Clouted pairs AI distribution with 100,000+ freelance editors to make short videos go viral; Slow Ventures leads a $7M seed in 2026.
Clouted
What the business is
Clouted is short-video marketing infrastructure for consumer and entertainment brands: outsourced editors cut clips, while AI handles distribution strategy and platform placement and automatically tests what content can go viral.
Starting capital：$7M seed round in May 2026, led by Slow Ventures, with participation from Gold House Ventures, Weekend Fund, Peak XV Surge, AppWorks, a16z Speedrun, and others.
How it started
In 2024, Filipino founders Justin Banusing and Adriel Yong founded Clouted and entered the a16z Speedrun accelerator the same year. Banusing himself is a DJ and first used the company's own technology to bring the Manila electronic music festival &Friends to 20,000+ attendees, validating that clipping plus distribution had a real market.
What happened
The platform connects to a network of 100,000+ freelance editors to perform clipping, while AI continuously tests different formats, channels, and audiences, accumulating distribution data on what content will go viral. It has already run distribution campaigns for brands such as Lionsgate and Zedd. In May 2026, it closed a $7M seed round led by Slow Ventures.
How it ended up
Still operating: in August 2026, it was named to Forbes Asia 100 to Watch (Enterprise Technology/AI category), with headquarters in Manila and Los Angeles, and benchmarks itself against marketing infrastructure companies such as CreatorIQ and Hightouch.
Background
Clouted started from founders' own business: Justin Banusing, a Filipino DJ, co-founded with Adriel Yong in 2024, entering a16z Speedrun. He used the tech to promote Manila's &Friends festival, attracting 20,000+ attendees, becoming the first customer and validation.
The product solves short-video marketing pain: cutting long content into clips and distributing is costly and luck-dependent. Clouted uses 100,000+ freelance editors for clipping, while AI decides segments, recipients, and platforms, testing formats to accumulate virality data—described as penetration testing of algorithms.
Capital followed: in May 2026, closed $7M seed led by Slow Ventures, with Gold House, Weekend Fund, Peak XV Surge, AppWorks. Ran campaigns for Lionsgate and Zedd; in August 2026 named to Forbes Asia 100 to Watch. Benchmarks against CreatorIQ and Hightouch, which crossed $100M ARR.
What has to be true
- Outsourced clipping is a real pain point: brands rely on scattered creators to cut clips, management is difficult, and results are uncontrollable, leaving a clear gap for scalable operations.
- Turn mysticism into data: continuously testing formats, channels, and audiences turns virality from luck into a compounding distribution capability.
- The founders bring their own scenario: DJ and music festival experience gave the product a real customer before pursuing generalization.
- Benchmarking a large market: CreatorIQ and Hightouch have reached the $100M ARR scale, proving that the marketing infrastructure space is large enough.
What can be applied
Use it yourself first, then sell it. Clouted's cold start was the founders' own music festival, proving the product and collecting data before external sales.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-01: Clouted continues to operate with dual headquarters in Manila and Los Angeles, providing short-video clipping and distribution for consumer and entertainment brands; it closed a $7M seed round in May 2026 and was named to Forbes Asia 100 to Watch in August. No shutdown or pivot has been observed.
Sources
- Clouted wants to take the guesswork out of making short videos go viral
- PH startups in Forbes Asia's 100 to Watch list
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