Google Buys Social Media Marketing Company FameBit

Google has acquired FameBit, a company that connects brands with social media influencers — the pop culture icons of today’s youngest consumers.

FameBit was founded three years ago by Agnes Kozera and David Kierzkowski to provide a scalable, self-service marketplace in which brands could connect with influential YouTubers, Instagrammers and tweeters, and leverage their devoted followings to help sell product. Terms were not disclosed.

In an interview earlier this year, Kozera said that FameBit came about due to an inefficiency that she noticed while trying to enlist social media influencers at a previous company. She said FameBit’s platform essentially removes the middle man and allows brands to develop fruitful relationships with creators who don’t always have to have the biggest fan bases to be successful pitchmen or women.

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“Our hope is that FameBit’s democratized marketplace will allow creators of all sizes to directly connect with brands, as well as provide a great technology solution for companies like multichannel networks and agencies to find matches for their creators and brand partners,” Google said in a statement announcing the deal. “We look forward to seeing FameBit and the entire branded content space thrive as we continue to support the success and creativity of the creator community.”

In a blog post on its site, FameBit promised its users that the platform would “work just like it has” and would remain a standalone entity.

“With Google’s relationship with brands large and small, and YouTube’s partnership with creators around the globe, we hope to connect even more brands to creators, engage more audiences, and make brand marketing more creative and authentic than ever,” it said.

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Also in the post, FameBit said that it had helped brands and creators collaborate on more than 25,000 videos that have generated more than 2 billion minutes of cumulative watch time. FameBit has raised $1.5 million in capital from six investors, including incubators Science and 500 Startups, according to Crunchbase.