15 Celebrities Who Invested in Tech Startups

Image via Complex Original

Startup(s): Stipple, Miso Media, Myspace

When not reading scripts, bum-rushing the SNL stage, or chilling with Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake lends his celebrity (and money) to startups focused on the arts. He's invested in Stipple, a site that allows photographers to sell their images, and Miso Media, a website devoted to revolutionizing music education through technology like apps and interactive programs.

Most recently, he's been apart of the rebirth of Myspace. After the ailing social network was purchased by Chris and Tim Vanderhook, Timberlake has invested his money, time, and image in helping the rechristened social site become a hopeful home to musicians. 

Startup(s): Viddy

Sports bars, basketball teams, liquor, clothes—Jay-Z has his and in a lot of pots. Most recently, he's turned his attention to the tech world. He's invested money in Duracell's Powermat division and also signed on as the brand's spokesperson. But Hov's also shown love to the little companies. Earlier this year it was reported that Jay, along with Will Smith, invested money in the video-sharing app Viddy.

Startup(s): Facebook

Did you know Bono owns a private equity firm called Elevation Partners? Neither did we. Turns out Elevation Partners manages around $2 billion in assets and manages investments in companies like Yelp and Palm Inc. (Hey, they can't all be winners.) But in 2009, Elevation invested $90 million into Facebook for a 1.5% stake in the growing social network. When Facebook went public was valued at $100 billion, Elevation's, and therefor Bono's, stake in the company was valued at a cool $1.5 billion, making Bono one of the richest, if not the richest, rock star of all time.

Startup(s): Airbnb, LikeALittle

The newest member of Two and a Half Men is heavy in the tech world. After investing in big Brands like Skype, Kutcher turned his sights to startups. He was a big supporter of the popular social lodging site, Airbnb, and put money behind social flirting site, LikeALittle. He recently took his investing one step further and founded a technology investment fund called A Grade with investment big wigs Ron Burkle and Gary Oseary.

Startup(s): BackPlane

Shortly after his departure from the Apple Board of Directors, Google's former CEO, Eric Schmidt, announced that he would be backing a new social venture with none other than Lady "30 million Twitter Followers" Gaga. When the news first broke, BackPlane was pegged as a social networking site for celebrities, a place where they can communicate on a more focused level about their work, causes, and whatever else it is celebrities need to talk about. However, the site, which has yet to officially launch, says it's a "canvas for self-expression," that "unites people around interests, affinities, and movements." Sounds like every other social network to us. 

Startup(s): Mobli

We're not sure how Leonardo DiCaprio has time to become a full-time advisor to a startup, but that's exactly the role he plays at Mobli: a venture that enables people to tag phone photos with certain events and categories. Or, as Leo put it: "Mobli allows people from all over the world to share moments." Yeah, we don't get it, either. But Leo threw up $4 million, so there's that.

Startup(s): ShoeDazzle.com

With a mildly successful boutique under her garter, Kim K thought it was time to expand her entrepreneurial reach to the Internet. And, to be fair, ShoeDazzle.com is much better than we expected from the former Mrs. Humphries. Woman logon, take a quick survey, and the company's stylists recommend shoes and handbags the customer can rent. It's like Netflix for designer shoes. This is a much better look than that diet pill her and Khloe were hawking.

Startup(s): Funny or Die

Out of all the startups funded by big name stars, Will Ferrell's may be the best. Founded by Ferrell's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions, Funny or Die has brought us some of the funniest skits we've seen on TV or the Internet. It's so good, HBO decided to give Ferrell and his partner Adam McKay some money in 2008 for a 10% stake in the company.

Startup(s): Crowdrise  

Before Sean Parker founded Causes, Edward Norton was backing Crowdrise, a site that allows people to start fundraisers for a variety of causes and display the development of their philanthropic work. The site stresses that helping others can be fun if done correctly.

Startup(s): WireDoo

MC Hammer is a hustler at heart. After his rap career petered out, Hammer tried his hand at Thoroughbred racehorses, mixed martial arts, books, and now, technology. The Oakland native's first digital venture was DanceJam.com, a website devoted to dancing videos. After that fizzled out Hammer moved on to WireDoo, a "deep search engine" that will take a different approach to web search by conducting what Hammer referred to as "relationship searches". The venture, which was announced at the 2011 Web 2.0 Summit, is still in the private with no known launch date.

Startup(s): 38 Studios

The only thing Curt Schilling likes more than being a Republican, is being a gamer. The makers of EverQuest II made him his own special character for the game. After retiring from Major League Baseball, the six-time All-Star founded 38 Studios, a gaming company that rocks under the creative leadership of Todd McFarlane and R.A. Salvatore. Unfortunately, in May of this year, 38 Studios defaulted on a $75 million loan from the state of Rhode Island and was forced to lay off the entire staff.

Startup(s): Global Grind 

Before its launch, Russell Simmons dubbed Global Grind the "Huffington Post of Hip-Hop". While it didn't turn out to be quite that, the site has grown into a successful digital multimedia company with a nice mix of celebrity bloggers. 

Startup(s): GLOBAL 14

Launched in 2011 in conjunction with Crown Royal, GLOBAL 14 is an online destination for the So So Def founder to share his lifestyle with the world. But it's more than just a blog for the platinum producer; at least he hopes it is. JD sees GLOBAL 14 as a social network different from the many that already populate the Net. GLOBAL 14 users—or "Lifers", as JD calls 'em—can create their own groups and forums for specific topics. Can JD compete with the big dogs? Not a chance. In November of last year the site had only 28,000 lifers. Let's see what happens in 2012.

Startup(s): Honest Company

When she couldn't find organic, non-toxic diapers and cleaning products for her two children, Jessica Alba decided to create a place to sell them. The result is the Honest Company, a store that allows people to have safe baby products delivered to their doorstep each month. Brian Lee, the guy who helped Kim Kardashian get ShoeDazzle.com off the ground, is a co-founder.