Partnered lands $1.6M to facilitate connections between startups and established brands

Y Combinator graduate Partnered, service that matches startups with big brands for business development opportunities, has announced the close of $1.6 million in Seed funding. According to reports, investors in the round included Rothenberg Ventures, Structure Capital, Kima Ventures, Slow Ventures, Sherpa Ventures, and Gary Vaynerchuk. The San Francisco-based company’s platform enables startups to create a standardized partnership offering, and then lets brands search among the various startups to find partnerships that will be a good fit.

Originally called ‘Sponsorfied,’ it was founded in 2012 by CEO Baldwin Cunningham and Cullen Wilson, and was focused on connecting brands with event sponsorships. The team participated in Y Combinator’s Summer 2012 class.