Backplane

Backplane believes that the future of social networking does not lie in an all-encompassing network, but in niche networks with purpose. Backplane empowers organizers to create authentic communities around interest, affinities, and movements by helping people contribute and share in meaningful ways.

Backplane has raised a total of $18.9M in funding over 3 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Mar 6, 2015 from a Convertible Note round.

In 2015, Backplane changed their name to Place.

Founded in 2011, Backplane powers online communities and built Lady Gaga's fan site LittleMonsters.com. It had ambitions to replicate the success of Little Monsters with big-name brands, including festival Burning Man, but failed to gain the hoped-for user numbers, Techcrunch reported.

Google Ventures, Menlo Ventures and Greylock were among other investors as $18.9 million (£13.2 million) was raised but refused to invest further.

It is expected the new owners will try to revive the social network and continue to work with the pop star. Boss Scott Harrison said: "Partners like Gaga will become paying clients and not simply strategic partnerships."