US-based chipmaker Intel’s corporate venturing unit has reportedly backed the youngest entrepreneur in its history, investing in the $4.5m round raised by US-based social loyalty marketing company 500Friends.
Justin Yoshimura, 500Friends’ founder, is the youngest chief executive ever backed by Intel Capital and venture firm Crosslink Capital, which also took part in the series A round, news provider TechCrunch said. His business helps e-commerce retailers market on social networks.
Yoshimura grew a lemonade business to 25 locations and he dropped out of school at 15, when one of his start-ups made $1m in revenue, which led to his parents forcing him out of his house, TechCrunch said.
Marc Yi, managing director of Intel Capital, said: "We believe the next generation of e-commerce will be defined by solutions at the intersection of social networking, e-commerce and data analytics. We look forward to collaborating with the company and working with its team in building the next generation social loyalty solution."
500Friends was on angel investor YCombinator’s programme in 2010.