Scott McNealy’s Denver-based social media startup Wayin has raised at least $12.1 million in a Series C round, according to a recent SEC filing.
McNealy, the co-founder and longtime CEO of Sun Microsystems, and other Sun alumni launched Wayin in 2011, and McNealy is its chairman. The startup’s software collects social media postings from sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and displays the media in real time on a client’s website, mobile app, or—in the case of its clients that are professional sports teams—scoreboards.
An example is this site that Wayin unveiled Monday that it developed for the U.S. Soccer team, which is currently playing in the World Cup. The site allows visitors to view videos produced by U.S. Soccer and also track what fans say about players and the game on social media.
Wayin does more than just aggregate material, though. Its software allows brands and companies to filter the posts to make sure the content is appropriate for the customers it wants to reach. Wayin also tracks user engagement in real time so brands can understand how their campaigns are doing, which followers or fans have the most influence, and how to “activate” the audience to achieve the brand’s goals.
Wayin has raised about $32.5 million over the past three years, and its investors include U.S. Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based firm that also backed Sun. The amount might grow a little, as the SEC filing says $1 million worth of shares remain to be sold.
A spokesperson representing Wayin said the company was not ready to discuss the round at this time.
Earlier this year Wayin bought Comenta TV, a social media analytics startup based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for an undisclosed price.
In addition to its Denver headquarters, Wayin has offices in New York City, San Francisco, and Palo Alto, CA, as well as international offices in Asia and South America.
