• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechZeroing In

Goldman Sachs Backs Social Media Management Software

By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 17, 2016, 7:00 AM ET
Courtesy of Sprout Social

Sprout Social, a six-year-old Chicago company specializing in social media management software, has more than doubled its venture backing with a $42 million infusion led by the merchant banking division of Goldman Sachs.

The Series C round, which also included previous backer New Enterprise Associates, brings total funding to $60 million. Sprout Social co-founder and CEO Justyn Howard declined to discuss the valuation.

Part of the new investment will be devoted to building new features such as reporting and data analytics that are aimed at improving Sprout Social’s appeal for larger accounts—especially among customer service teams, Howard said. “Most of our efforts from a product perspective are around more sophisticated use cases.”

And more of that focus involved how to use social analytics for customer support rather than just for marketing. “More brands are embracing social as a customer service channel,” Howard said.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily technology newsletter.

Roughly 16,000 companies use Sprout Social’s software, which allows employees to monitor and share curated feeds of comments appearing on social networks such as Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Of that number, 8,000 are considered small businesses and 3,000 are agencies. However, Sprout Social added more larger brands as accounts last year than in the past four years combined, Howard said. That list includes Hyatt, Marvel, Microsoft, Uber, Zendesk and Zipcar.

How women are shaping social campaigns.

Traditionally speaking, Sprout Social competes with companies such as Hootsuite, which has raised close to $250 million in outside funding and claims 800 of the Fortune 1000 as customers; and Sprinklr, backed by about $123 million and worth more than $1 billion as of its valuation in March 2015. More often than not, organizations use Sprout Social’s platform to correlate multiple social feeds, Howard said.

Sprout Social currently employs around 200 people, but its product development aspirations could see it add another 60 to 80 this year, he said.

 

About the Author
By Heather Clancy
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

The billionaire Anthropic cofounder who majored in literature says knowing how to ask the right questions beats knowing how to code
SuccessTech
The billionaire Anthropic cofounder who majored in literature says knowing how to ask the right questions beats knowing how to code
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezApril 14, 2026
3 hours ago
TOKYO, JAPAN - FEBRUARY 3: Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a talk session with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at an event titled "Transforming Business through AI" in Tokyo, Japan, on February 03, 2025. SoftBank and OpenAI announced that they have agreed a partnership to set up a joint venture for artificial intelligence services in Japan today. (Photo by Tomohiro Oh
CybersecuritySam Altman
From Molotov cocktails to data center shutdowns, the AI backlash is turning revolutionary
By Eva RoytburgApril 14, 2026
4 hours ago
Dow COO Karen Carter wearing a white lab coat and sitting while smiling
C-SuiteNext to Lead
Dow’s CEO pick elevates a seasoned insider at a pivotal moment for the chemical giant
By Ruth UmohApril 14, 2026
6 hours ago
Anthropic’s Mythos reveals a growing security gap: AI finds flaws far faster than companies can patch them
AIEye on AI
Anthropic’s Mythos reveals a growing security gap: AI finds flaws far faster than companies can patch them
By Sharon GoldmanApril 14, 2026
6 hours ago
Sam Altman’s attacker had a kill list of AI executives. Experts warn this is just the beginning
AIchief executive officer (CEO)
Sam Altman’s attacker had a kill list of AI executives. Experts warn this is just the beginning
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezApril 14, 2026
8 hours ago
Nava founders Brianna Montgomery and Vyas Krishnan pose for a photo
CryptoCryptocurrency
Nava raises $8.3 million in seed funding to keep AI financial agents from going off the rails
By Jack KubinecApril 14, 2026
10 hours ago

Most Popular

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated again—a week after gifting millions to a college, she's just given $70 million to Meals on Wheels America
Success
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated again—a week after gifting millions to a college, she's just given $70 million to Meals on Wheels America
By Fortune EditorsApril 13, 2026
1 day ago
Retirees are facing a $345,000 bill they never saw coming — and most aren't prepared
Commentary
Retirees are facing a $345,000 bill they never saw coming — and most aren't prepared
By Fortune EditorsApril 14, 2026
14 hours ago
He was coding at 12 like Elon Musk and became one of Google’s youngest-ever CMOs—but now says Gen Z is better off ice skating than learning to code
Success
He was coding at 12 like Elon Musk and became one of Google’s youngest-ever CMOs—but now says Gen Z is better off ice skating than learning to code
By Fortune EditorsApril 14, 2026
17 hours ago
Current price of gold as of April 13, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of April 13, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 13, 2026
1 day ago
Anthropic is facing a wave of user backlash over reports of performance issues with its Claude AI chatbot
AI
Anthropic is facing a wave of user backlash over reports of performance issues with its Claude AI chatbot
By Fortune EditorsApril 14, 2026
15 hours ago
‘I’m not going to force you’: Duolingo CEO backs off from evaluating employees on their AI usage 
Workplace Culture
‘I’m not going to force you’: Duolingo CEO backs off from evaluating employees on their AI usage 
By Fortune EditorsApril 13, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.