A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SECOND-HAND AUTO

• Online marketplace for used cars Beepi raises $70M from SAIC Motor Corporation. Link.
• New car content and used car dealer listing platform Cartrade raises $145M from Temasek and March Capital, with participation from Warburg Pincus. Link.
• Used car listing platform CarDekho secures $15 million from Google Capital. Link.
• P2P used car listing platform Truebil raises $5M in Series A funding from Kalaari Capital, Inventus Capital and Tekton VenturesLink.

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Carsnip (Bingham, 2014) – A used car search engine. Crawls websites of online dealers offering used cars and aggregates this data on the portal.
Carbonoak (Ottawa, 2015) – An online dealer of premium and luxury used cars. Offers personal shoppers for buyers.

LEADER BOARD – SECOND-HAND AUTO

Horizontal
Autohome (2008, Beijing, IPO) – Used car/new dealer listing and auto-content portal. Went Public in 2013 and has a market cap of $3.7B.
Carsdirect (1998, El Segundo, $280M, Acq.) – New car content, used car listing portal and car loans aggregator. Acquired by KKR in 2014.
Cartrade (2009, Mumbai, $188M) – Offers new cars price, reviews, comparisons, used car listings from dealers. Backed by Temasek, Warburgpincus.

Dealer’s Tech
Youxinpai (2011, Beijing, $460M) – A platform connecting used car dealers to buyers. Inspects, certifies and offers warranty on cars sold through the platform. Backed by Baidu.
Truecar (2005, Santa Monica, IPO) – Offers car valuation services. Connects certified used car dealers to buyers. Went public in 2014. Has a market cap of $530M.
Cheyipai (2009, Beijing, $185M) – A B2C and B2B used car bidding platform. Backed by Renren, Sequoia.
Skencar (2014, Seoul, $126M) – A web and mobile B2C used car listing and auction platform. Backed by Carsales.com.

P2P listings
Renrenche (2014, Beijing, $110M) – A P2P used car listing portal with inspection, valuation services. Backed by Tencent.
Credr (Mumbai, 2014, $15M) – A P2P used bike listing platform. Backed by Eight Road Ventures.

Consignment
Beepi (2013, Menlo Park, $149M) – A P2P used car consignment provider with a 30-day sale guarantee. Backed by Foundation Capital and Sherpa Ventures.
Shift (2013, SF, $74M) – A P2P used car consignment provider. Maintains inventory, handles paper work and provides delivery service to the buyers. Backed by Goldman Sachs.

Online dealership
Vroom (2013, NYC, $183M) – An online dealer of used cars. Buys, maintains inventory and sells used cars with a 7-day full refund warranty. Backed by Catterton partners.
Auto1 (2012, Berlin, $118M) – A C2B online dealer of used cars. Values and buys used cars from individual sellers, stores in inventories and sells them to registered dealers. Backed by DST global, Piton Capital.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Auto feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – FOODTECH

• Online ordering and delivery service provider, Olo raises $40M from the Raine Group. Link
• Mobile wine app company, Vivino announces a $25M Series B round led by SCP Neptune International. Link
• Technology provider for food waste management, Winnow raises a $3.3M round led by Mustard Seed and D-AX.Link
• Food delivery startup, Grain raises an undisclosed amount in a Series A round led by NSI Ventures. Link
• Michelin acquires online reservations system BookaTable. Link
• Rocket Internet sells food takeaway operations in Spain, Italy, Brazil, Mexico for $140M to JustEat. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Urban Steep (2015, NYC) – Market place for speciality coffee. It helps users discover and connect to roasters.
Sipreme (2015, Auckland) – Makes nutritionally rich powdered food for adults.
Brew Crew (2015, San Jose) – Subscription based coffee delivery service. Delivers from Starbucks, Philz and Peets.

LEADER BOARD – FOODTECH

Ordering & Delivery 
GrubHub (2004, Chicago, IPO) – Online and mobile platform for ordering food. Went public in 2014.
JustEat (2001, London, IPO) – Online ordering service. Take-away only. Went public in 2014.
DeliveryHero (2010, Berlin, $1.4B) – Online food ordering service. Backed by Rocket Internet and Insight Ventures.

Discovery
Zomato (2008, Gurgaon, $224M) – Online and mobile restaurant discovery service. Currently in 22 countries. Backed by Sequoia.

Table Booking
Open Table (1998, SF, IPO, Acq) – Online marketplace for restaurant reservation. Offers table-booking management system to restaurant owners. Went public in 2009. Acquired by Priceline in 2014.
BookaTable (2006, London, $63M, Acq) – Real time table booking. Provides marketing, database management and technical support to Restaurants. Acquired Swedish company 2Book in 2014. Backed by Balderton. Acquired by Michelin in 2016.
Reserve (2014, NYC, $15M) – Curates list of vetted restaurants based on user specifications and secures reservation. Backed by Sherpa Ventures.

Alcohol Delivery
Jiuxian (2010, Beijing, $310M) – An e-commerce liquor retail chain. Specializes in sales of high grade wine. Backed by Sequoia.
9bianli (2010, Zhengzhou, $61M) – Online retailer and O2O service provider for liquor. Backed by Legend Holdings.
Lot18 (2010, NYC, $44.5M) – Online marketplace for wine. Backed by Accel.

Internet First Restaurants 
Munchery (2011, SF, $117M) – Internet first gourmet meal delivery service. Backed by Shepra Ventures.
Sprig (2013, SF, $57M) – Mobile based food ordering service (healthy organic meals). Delivery within 15 mins. Launched in Chicago in June 2015. Backed by Greylock.
Spoon Rocket (2013, Berkeley, $13.5M) – Delivers healthy high quality meals within 15 mins. Plans to expand services to college campuses. Backed by Foundation Capital and General Catalyst.

Groceries
Ocado (2002, Hatfield, IPO) – Online grocery retailing company. Entered into a partnership with Morrisons in 2014, became profitable for first time in 2015. Went public in 2010.
Instacart (2012, SF, $275M) – Marketplace for same day grocery delivery. Calls in a personal shopper for picking items from local supermarkets. Backed by Sequoia and Khosla Ventures.
Womai (2008, Beijing, $330M) – Healthy food ordering and delivery service in China. Backed by COFCO, Taikang, Baidu and SAIF.
Fresh Direct (2002, NYC, $91M) – Grocery delivery service that offers organic and local produce. Backed by CIBC.

Recipe Box
Hello Fresh (2012, Berlin, $278.5M) – Weekly subscription based service that provides 3-4 recipes and relatedgrocery. Sources seasonal and local organic food. Backed by Rocket Internet.
Blue Apron (2012, NYC, $193M) – Delivers meal kits, including pre-measured ingredients and recipes, in refrigerated boxes. Backed by Fidelity.
Plated (2012, NYC, $56M) – Offers a subscription box service that contains meal ingredients and recipes by partnered chefs. Backed by Greycroft.

Food Substitutes 
Impossible Foods (2011, Redwood City, $183M) – Sustainable food company focusing on plant based meat substitutes. Backed by Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures.
Hampton Creek (2011, SF, $120M) – Food technology company making plant based egg substitutes. Backed by Khosla Ventures.
Soylent (2013, LA, $21.5M) – Makes meal replacement shakes. Offers DIY to customers to make the drink. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit FoodTech feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – CROWDFUNDING

• BitGiving, an India-based crowdfunding platform, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a cluster of angel investors. Link
• StartEngine, an equity crowdfunding platform, filed with SEC to register as a Funding Portal under Title III of the JOBS Act 2012. Link
• Patreon, a rewards-based crowdfunding platform for musicians and artists, raised $30M Series B funding round led by Thrive Capital. Link
• Indiegogo CEO, Slava Rubin has stepped down from the role after eight years as CEO and his position will be taken up by COO, Dave Mandelbrot. Rubin will remain on the board as Chief Business Officer. Link
• KaiStart, a China-based projects crowdfunding platform, secured a series A+ funding round led by Matrix Partners and Vision Capital. Link
• Property Moose, a Liverpool-based property crowdfunding platform, raised $633K in equity funding from The North West Fund. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Landlord (2015,NY) – A real estate crowdfunding platform that enables investors to build a portfolio of properties globally.
CrowdSeekr (2015, Oklahoma) – An aggregator of real estate crowdfunding investment opportunities from multiple platforms.

LEADER BOARD – CROWDFUNDING

Equity – Real Estate
Realty Mogul (2012, LA, $45M) – Online marketplace for investors to purchase equity in real estate projects. Backed by Sorenson Capital, Canaan Partners.
Fundrise (2010, Washington, $40M) – Equity crowdfunding platform for real estate. Backed by Renren, Guggenheim Partners.
CoAssets (2013, Singapore, IPO) – An equity crowdfunding platform for real estate projects. Went public in 2015.

Equity – Private Companies
CircleUp (2011, SF, $53M) – An equity crowdfunding platform for consumer brands. Backed by Google Ventures, Canaan Partners, Union Square Ventures, Collaborative Fund.
Angel List (2010, SF, $24M) – A syndicate platform for investments in startups. Backed by Google Ventures, KPBC, Kauffman Foundation, Atlas Ventures.
Symbid (2011, Rotterdam, IPO) – An equity crowdfunding platform for startups and SMEs. Went public in 2013.

Rewards
KickStarter (2009, Brooklyn, $10M) – Rewards based crowdfunding platform. Backed by Union Square Ventures, Betaworks.
IndieGoGo (2008, SF, $56.5M) – Online crowdfunding platform for reward based campaigns. Backed by Khosla Ventures, KPBC, Insight Venture Partners.
Teespring (2012, SF, $57M) – Pre-order based crowdfunding platform for custom t-shirts and apparel. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Fuel Capital, FundersClub, Y Combinator.
Patreon (2013, SF, $47.1M) – Crowdfunding platform used by musicians and artists to launch campaigns for continued monthly funding from their fans in return for rewards. Backed by Freestyle Capital, SV Angel, Atlas Venture, CAA Ventures.
Betabrand (2009, SF, $23M) – Pre-order based crowdfunding platform for apparel. Backed by Foundry Group, Morgan Stanley, Morado Venture Partners, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures.

Donations
GoFundMe (2008, San Diego, undisclosed) – Crowdfunding platform enabling individuals to raise money for life events. Backed by Accel, Stripes Group.
CrowdRise (2010, Detroit, $25M) – Online fundraising website for charitable purposes. Backed by Union Square Ventures.

Technology
Tilt (2012, SF, $67M) – White label solution provider for crowdfunding. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Sean Parker, Silicon Valley Bank.
Classy (2006, San Diego, $18M) – White label platform provider for crowdfunding campaigns. Backed by Mithril Capital Management.
Invested.in (2010, Santa Monica, $1.76M) – Provides white-label crowdfunding software solutions. Backed by Karlin Ventures, Canyon Creek Capital, Amplify.LA.

Aggregator
Crowdnetic (2011, NY, $1.9M) – Real-time global data infrastructure provider for the crowdfunding industry. Backed by Crowd Capital Ventures, Crowdfund Capital Advisors.
investUP (2012, London, $270K) – Platform that aggregates debt and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

Enablers
FundAmerica (2011, LA, $2.3M) – Provides technological solutions to crowdfunding portals such as escrow & ACH, broker-dealer services, payment processing, accredited investors confirmations.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Crowdfunding feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – MOM AND BABY CARE

• Kidaptive, a gamified platform for kids, raised $8M in equity financing. Link
• TotSpot, a marketplace to buy and sell kids’ clothes, closed a $1.5M seed investment led by Seven Seas Venture Partners. Link
• San Diego-based Thrive Feeding, a baby feeding tech company, has secured $500K in funding. Link
• Ratan Tata invested an undisclosed amount in India’s baby and maternity products retailer, FirstCry. Link
• Flipkart invested an undisclosed amount in Bangalore-based parenting platform, TinyStep. Link
• Gurgaon-based parenting platform, MyCity4Kids, raised $3M in Series A round from SIDBI Venture and YourNest. Link
• MyChildApp, an application to check a child’s growth, secured $100K in seed round from 500 Startups. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Girls on Greenwich (2015, NYC) – Pre-loved luxury kids and clothing consignment shop offering clothes from brands like Bonpoint, Chlo, and more.
Smart Lumies (2015, Zagreb) – Creates luminous cubes that light up at the child’s touch and helps in boosting children’s early stage development.

LEADER BOARD – MOM AND BABY CARE

Online Retail- Horizontal
Windeln (2010, Munich, IPO) Retailer of baby and toddler products in Germany, Austria, China, and Switzerland. Went IPO in May 2015.
Zulily (2009, Seattle, IPO, Acq.) Daily deal sites for mom and kids offering discounts on apparel, toys, and gears. Went IPO in 2013 and then acquired by Liberty Interactive in 2015.
Miya Baobei (2011, Beijing, $232M) Retailer for imported infant care products. Backed by Baidu, Zhenfund, Sequoia Capital and more.

Online Retail- Essentials
Wzhouhui (2013, Shenzhen, $278M) An online retailer of imported baby and maternal products. Backed by Globalegrow E-commerce.
Honest (2011, Santa Monica, $222M) Monthly subscription service of customized eco-friendly family product bundles. Backed by Glade Brook Capital Partners, Wellington Management, Institutional Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners and more.

Online Retail- Apparel
Aden and Anais (2006, Brooklyn, $57M) Muslin products seller for babies. Backed by Swander Pace capital.
Lollywollydoodle (2009, Lexington, $23M) Designs and manufactures personalized monogrammed children’s wear. Backed by First Mark capital, Revolution LLC and more.

Online Retail- Gears
4moms (2005, Pittsburgh, $60M) Innovative robotic baby products. Backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Innovation Works and more.

Online Retail- Toys
Totsy (2009, NYC, $52M, Acq.) Online private sale of toys, accessories, and gears for babies and kids. Backed by Rho Ventures, Gotham Ventures, and more. Acquired by Modnique in 2013.
Pley (2013, San Jose, $17M) Provides LEGO sets rentals for kids on a monthly subscription. Backed by Allegro Venture Partners, Gotham Ventures, and more.

Parenting- Social Network
Lamabang (2013, Beijing, $130M) Social network and e-commerce for mothers. Backed by Matrix Partners, Greenwoods Asset and more.
Babytree (2007, Beijing, $85M) A platform where parents can share their experiences and solve parenting issues. Backed by Matrix Partners and more.

Parenting- Community
Yaolan (1999, Beijing, $26M) Online social parenting community and education portal. Backed by Foundation Capital, Chengwei and more.
Mamapedia (2004, SF, $5M, Acq.) A social platform for mothers to share advice about parenting, family, health, pregnancy, and more. Backed by Shasta Ventures and Tugboat Ventures. Acquired by Getit in 2014.

Babysitting
Care (2006, Waltham, IPO) An online marketplace that connects families with babysitters and nannies. Went IPO in 2014.
Sittercity (2001, Chicago, $44M) A platform that connects parents with babysitters, and provides detailed profiles, background checks, references, and reviews. Backed by Baird Capital, Pritzker Group, Apex Venture partners, Point Judith Capital and more.
Urbansitter (2010, SF, $23M) Mobile app based marketplace connecting parents with babysitters through social recommendation. Backed by DBL investors, Canaan Partners, First round and more.

Digital Tools
Mind Candy (2003, London, $21.5M) A family entertainment company which develops online games for kids and their families to play on mobile and tablets. Backed by Accel, Index Ventures and Spark Ventures.
Kidaptive (2012, Mountain View, $18M) Adaptive gamified platform for kids which delivers customised learning content. Backed by Formation 8, Menlo Ventures, and more.
PlayKids (2013, Sao Paulo, $15M) Provides subscription-based pre-school videos, games, and books. Backed by Movile.

Healthcare
Owletcare (2013, Dallas, $9M) Health monitor for sleeping infants that allows parents to view their child’s vital signs in real time. Backed by Formation 8, FF Venture Capital, Eniac Ventures and more.
First Opinion (2013, SF, $9M) It allows users to text a doctor anytime for parenting queries regarding pregnancy, nutrition, and child development. Backed by Polaris Partners, Felicis Ventures, True Ventures and more.
Hatch Baby (2012, Menlo Park, $7M) A smart changing pad that helps parents to track their babies’ growth, feedings, diapers, and sleep on their smartphones. Backed by True Ventures and Veddis.

Education
Speakaboos (2008, NYC, $25M) Offers interactive storybook on mobile platforms and also offers a subscription to schools. Backed by Vaidya Capital, 212 media and more.
Epic (2013, Palo Alto, $13M) Offers personalized eBooks with gamified features for kids. Backed by Translink Capital, Menlo Ventures and more.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Mom and Baby Care feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS

• iRobot sells its military robotics division to Arlington Capital Partners for up to $45M, to increase focus on house cleaning robots.Link
• Locus Robotics, developers of warehouse automation robots, raises $6M funding.Link
• 5D Robotics, developer of autonomous navigation technology, raises $5.5M seed funding.Link
• Soft Robotics, makers of octopus inspired soft robotic grippers, raises $3M from venture funding.Link
• EPFL Scientists develop soft robotic grippers with electro-adhesion to pick up fragile items. Link
• Hansen Medical’s robotic catheter gets FDA clearance.Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Agro Intelligence (Aarhus, 2015) – Develops technology that makes farm equipment autonomous.
AMP Robotics (Boulder, 2015) – Develops robots that sort recyclable construction and demolition waste.

LEADER BOARD – INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS

Healthcare
Auris Surgical (2009, San Carlos, $184M) – Robotic micro-surgical system designed specifically for ophthalmic procedures. Backed by NaviMed Capital, Lux Capital, Mithril and Highland Capital Partners.
Medrobotics (2011, Raynham, 140M) – Develops Flex Re-tractor which is a highly articulated multi-linked endoscope and enables minimally invasive surgery. Backed by Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.
Restoration Robotics (2002, San Jose, $113M) – Image guided robotic system (ARTAS) that enables follicular unit extraction. Backed by InterWest Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, Alloy Ventures and Clarus Ventures.
Intuitive Surgical (1995, Sunnyvale, IPO) – Develops the ‘Da-Vinci Robot’, which is a remotely operated minimally invasive robotic surgery platform. Went Public in 2000.
Mako Surgical (2004, Lauderdale, IPO, Acq.) – Develops robotic and implantable surgical solutions for hip, knee surgery etc. Went Public in 2008. Acquired by Stryker Corporation in 2013. Backed by Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners.
Xenex (2009, San Antonio, $36M) – Builds hospital sterilization robots that use UV light (patented pulsed Xenon UV) to kill infection causing organisms. Backed by Battery Ventures, RK Ventures and Targeted Technology Fund.

Manufacturing
Rethink Robotics (2008, Boston, $113.5M) – Develops factory robots that are affordable and easy to train. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Sigma Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Two Sigma Ventures, Goldman Sachs, GE Ventures and Wellington Management Company.
Redzone Robotics (1987, Pittsburgh, $42M) – Provides waste water inspection technologies and services using robots. Backed by ABS Capital Partners.
GrabIT (2011, Santa Clara, $11M) – Develops electro-adhesion based gripping products for robotics and material handling applications. Backed by Draper Nexus Ventures, Formation8, Nike and ABB.

Military
Segway (1999, Bedford, $161M, Acq.) – Develops personal transportation robots with defense applications. Acquired by Ninebot in 2015. Backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield &Byers, Duff Ackerman and Goodrich, Credit Suisse Group AG, Masdar Clean Tech and Intel.
RoboteX (2007, Sunnyvale, $25M) – Develops tracked robots for security and scouting purposes for military or law enforcement agencies. Backed by Subtraction Capital.

Logistics
GreyOrange Robotics (2011, Gurgaon, $40M) – Develops ware house automation solutions for e-commerce fulfillment centers and postal services. Backed by Tiger Global, Blume Ventures, BITS Spark Angels and others.
Fetch Robotics (2014, San Jose, $23M) – Develop mobile manipulator robots for use in warehouse automation. Backed by Softbank, Shasta Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures.

Maritime
Liquid Robotics (2007, Sunnyvale, $82M) – Developer of Wave Glider which is a marine robot that functions as a platform for scientific, industrial and government payloads. Backed by Vantage Point Capital Partners, Riverwood Capital and Schlumberger.

Space
Moon Express (2010, Mountain View, $37.5M) – Lunar transportation and data services company. Backed by Richmond Global, TenCent Holdings and Founders fund.

Agriculture
Blue River Technology (2011, Sunnyvale, $30M) – Uses computer vision and robotics to identify weeds and selectively kill unwanted plants. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Pontifax Global food and Agriculture Technology Fund, Data Collective, Innovation Endeavors, Stanford A&E and Ullu Ventures.
Harvest Automation (2007, Billerica, $25M) – Develops robots for automation of labor intensive activities in agriculture. Backed by Founder Collective, Life Sciences Partners, Entree Capital, Mass Ventures and Cultivian Ventures.

Unmanned Vehicle Systems
Clearpath Robotics (2009, Kitchener, $11M) – Develops unmanned vehicle systems for research and development. Backed by RRE Ventures and iNovia Capital.

Tech Provider
Novariant (1994, Fremont, $60.5M) – Develops precision control technology for agricultural machines. Backed by Kirlan Venture Capital, Sierra Ventures, Yasuda Enterprise Development Co., Ridgewood Capital, Investor Growth Capital, Pacifica Fund, Argonaut Ventures, Metdist, Clearstone Venture Partners and Arcturus Capital.

Recycling
Zen Robotics (2007, Helsinki, $17M) – Develops a robotic waste sorting system which separates raw materials from waste. Backed by Invus and Lifeline Ventures.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Industrial Robotics feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SECOND HAND GOODS

• 5miles, a Dallas- and Beijing-based mobile classifieds platform raised $30M in Series B funding from Blue Lake Capital, IDG Capital Partners, Morningside Group and SIG-China. Link
• Jualo, a Jakarta based P2P marketplace for second hand goods raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from NSI Ventures and Alpha JWC Ventures. Link
• Threadflip, an online consignment shop for women’s clothing ceased its operations and joined Le Tote, a fashion rental startup. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Girls on Greenwich (2015, NYC) – An online consignment shop for pre-loved luxury kids clothing augmented with editorial content to help promote discovery.
Furnex (2015, Toronto) – An online used furniture marketplace that facilitates the discovery of furniture items in the local community.
Le-Portier (2015, Surabaya) – An online platform to buy, sell or consign luxury fashion items in Indonesia.
Swapit (2015, Hong Kong) – A peer to peer mobile hyperlocal listings platform for buying and selling second hand goods.

LEADER BOARD – SECOND HAND GOODS

Classifieds  
58.com (2005, Beijing, IPO) – Online classified advertisements website serving local merchants and consumers in China. Went IPO in 2013.
Quikr (2008, Mumbai, $350M) – Online classifieds portal to search, buy/sell/rent items and services. Backed by Investment AB Kinnevik, Tiger Global, Warburg Pincus, Nokia Growth Partners & NVP.
Olx (2006, NYC, $28.5M, Acq.) – Online classifieds platform that enables its users to post ads and share them on social networks. Acquired by Naspers in 2013.
Craigslist (1995, SF, $13.5M) – Online classified advertisements website for jobs, personals, wanted items, services, and discussion forums. Backed by eBay.

Horizontal – P2P
Letgo (2015, NYC, $100M) – P2P mobile listings platform. Backed by Naspers.
OfferUp (2012, Seattle, $73M) – P2P mobile listings platform for household goods. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global & T. Rowe Price.
Mercari (2013, Tokyo, $42M) – Mobile marketplace to buy and sell clothing, electronics, household goods, and specialty items. Backed by WiL, Global Brain, Globis, GMO & East Ventures.

Electronics
Aihuishou (2011, Shanghai, $70M) – Online marketplace for recycling and sale of second-handelectronic items. Backed by IFC, Morningside Group & Tiantu Capital.
Glyde (2006, Palo Alto, $27M) – P2P e-commerce marketplace for new and used electronic products and games. Backed by CRV & RPM Ventures.

Fashion
ThredUp (2009, SF, $131M) – Online marketplace to buy and sell gently used women and kids clothing. Backed by GS, Highland Capital Partners, Redpoint & Trinity Ventures.
Vinted (2008, Vilnius, $61M) – Online marketplace to buy, swap and donate unwanted clothing. Backed by Hubert Burda Media.
Tradesy (2012, Santa Monica, $44.5M) – Mobile based P2P marketplace to buy and sell clothing items. Backed by KPCB & Rincon Venture Partners.

​Fashion – Luxury
Secoo (2008, Shanghai, $205M) – Online consignment shop for second hand luxury goods. Backed by China Media Capital, IDG, Ventech & Vangoo.
TheRealReal (2011, Tiburon, $83M) – Online full service consignment marketplace for designer goods. Backed by Industry Ventures, Canaan & InterWest.
VestiaireCollective (2009, Paris, $67M) – Global marketplace enabling people to buy and sell luxury, pre-owned fashion products. Backed by Eurazeo.

Furniture 
MoveLoot (2013, SF, $22M) – Online used furniture consignment services. Backed by Index Ventures, Metamorphic Ventures & First Round.
Chairish (2013, SF, $7M) – Online consignment marketplace for used furniture. Backed by OATV & Azure Capital Partners.

Baby & Kids
Swap (2008, Boston, $18.5M, Acq.) – Online consignment store for baby, kids’ and women’s items. Backed by CleanTech Invest. Acquired by Netcycler in 2012.
Percentil (2012, Madrid, $6M) – Marketplace of second hand products for children. Backed by Active VP & Seaya Ventures.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Second Hand Goods feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

2015 sees the Construction Tech space witnessing a massive ~320% increase in funding

According to our latest Tracxn Report on Construction Tech, the sector has seen a total of over $718M being invested in the space over the last 10 years. The sector has garnered interest from investors such as 500 Startups, Borealis Ventures, Brick & Mortar Ventures and Y-Combinator. Besides funding activity, the sector has also seen a good amount of exits since 2010, seeing 44 acquisitions. 2014 saw the maximum number of M&As with 12 acquisitions, while 2015 saw 8. Notable acquisitions during 2015 include Solibri’s acquisition by Nemetschek, and DMY’s acquisition of Fast Brick Robotics.

In terms of funding activity, 2015 proved to be a stellar year for the space, with the year seeing a massive ~320% increase in funding, with a total $382M invested in several companies through multiple follow-up rounds. Besides seeing a substantial increase in the funding volume, 2015 also witnessed an increase in the average ticket size.

Notable rounds in the year include Procore’s $80M late stage raise through 2 rounds from Iconiq Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners, and Greentown’s Series A raise of $60M from Sequoia Capital. PlanGrid also raised $40M from Tenaya Capital, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, Y Combinator and North Gate.

Besides an increase in funding, the number of companies entering the space has also been witnessing an upward trend since 2010, triggered by the penetration of mobile devices and the adoption of IT to manage construction projects. 2015 saw a peak in this regard as well, with 44 companies being founded during the year. The bullish sentiment of companies entering the market can be attributed to the high volume consolidation which taken place in the segment, providing entrepreneurs and investors alike with positive exit options.

Moreover, the Marketplaces segment within the Construction Tech sector has proved to be an immensely popular arena for new companies, contributing to the highest number of companies founded in 2015.

Business Models in Construction Tech

Marketplaces, which consists of companies providing platforms to buy construction materials, buy/rent heavy equipment and hire professionals, is a fast growing segment seeing a total funding of ~$199M since 2013, through 24 investments. The segment has so far seen an overall funding of ~$257M

Construction Project Management is the sectors most mature and well-funded segment seeing a total investments of $473M. This business model covers companies that provide tools to owners, AEC professionals and project managers to manage construction project life-cycle. Includes tools and software for Pre-construction Management, Field Management, and Finance & Accounting. Pre-construction management includes bidding, estimation and take-off tools. The segment contributed $91M to the overall sectors total funding in 2015.

Government’s mandate on usage of BIM for all public projects in nations like The United States, Singapore, United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Chile, Hong Kong, South Korea, Netherlands and Dubai has forced AEC industry to adopt BIM, which has led to the increase in popularity of startups in the Design Tools segment. Design Tools comprises of companies that provide tools to architects, MEP and structural engineers for designing any structure on computer before being constructed. Includes solutions that help in generating 2D, 3D and BIM object models along with structural and energy analysis tools. The segment has seen an overall funding of $133M, and witnessed its highest funding during 2015, at $30M.

The Tracxn Construction Tech Report covers companies that help owners, architects, engineers, contractors and subcontractors to design, bid and build any construction structure. Includes sources for procuring heavy equipment, construction materials and professionals, and providers of new building technologies such as 3D printing, Robotics and Modular Construction.

It excludes home improvements or renovations solutions and real estate solutions.

Checkout the Construction Tech Report here.

All of our sector reports are available to Premium Tracxn subscribers. If you are interested in receiving our reports, please write to bd@tracxn.com

Startups in the Natural User Interface sector raise $676M during the last three years

According to the Tracxn Report on Natural User Interface (NUI), more than $880M has been invested in the sector since 2010 in 190 rounds of funding. The report defines NUI as systems for Human Computer Interaction where the user operates through intuitive actions related to natural, everyday human behavior spanning across six major categories namely Speech Recognition, Touchscreen Interfaces, Gesture Recognition, Eye Tracking, Haptics and Brain Computer Interface.

The report finds that the NUI space has been an extremely active, seeing investments of ~$800M in the last 5 years, with Intel Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Horizon Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures being among the investors interested in the space. The past three years, in particular, have been extremely lucrative, with the 2013-2014 timeframe seeing startups in the space raise a total of $676M.

2015 contributed to a majority of the funding, seeing a peak at $244M. Another positive sign for the sector is the increase in the average funding ticket size signifying maturity within the sector. Notable rounds during the year include Navdy’s $20M raise in its Series A from Wareness, Upfront Ventures, Formation 8, Eniac Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and Promus Ventures. Ultrahaptics also raised $16M in its Series A from Woodford Investment Management, IP Group Plc. Viv Labs raised ~$30M through 3 deals with Iconiq Capital, Horizons Ventures, Pritzker Group participating across various rounds.

With funding activity hitting all-time highs every year, it is not surprising that the sector has proved extremely lucrative for new startups in the space. It is important to note that Natural User Interface is a resultant of the continuous evolution of user interfaces, from Command-Line Interfaces to Graphic User Interface (GUI) to Natural User Interface (NUI). The sector has the presence of technology stalwarts like IBM, Intel, Google, Samsung, Qualcomm, Apple and Microsoft making a significant number of acquisitions in the space enabling the technology reach mass markets, thereby making it imperative or the startups to continuously innovate in the space. This need for constant innovation has led to the sector seeing a non-uniform trend in the number of companies being founded in the sector.

The highest number of companies were founded during the 2012-2013 timeframe, with 2013 seeing a peak with 44 new companies. With the aforementioned increase in ticket size during the last two years, the surge seen in the companies founded during 2012 and 2013 has been justified. And with early stage funding still coming in at a steady rate, there are more positive signs presented to new entrants in the space.

At the same time, late stage funding is still moving at a steady rate, though not reached a high, indicating that there is still some time for the sector to mature. 2014 was a stellar year in terms of early stage rounds and late stage rounds seeing a peak. It is also important to note that most of the late stage funding has gone into Speech Recognition and Touchscreen Interface segments.

Business Models in NUI

Within the NUI sector, Speech Recognition, Touchscreen Interface and Gesture Recognition have been the top funded sectors.

Speech Recognition is the largest sector in terms of funding as well as revenue, with prominent companies including Nuance Communications, Siri (now a part of Apple), Artificial Solutions, Expect Labs and VoiceBox Technologies. Advancement in Artificial Intelligence has played a pivotal role in the emergence of market, and the market has evolved from Voice Recognition (used in Biometric Authentication) to basic voice-controlled commands to conversational interfaces.

The segment has so far received a total of $436M, with $141M coming in during 2015. The segment has been successful in terms of exit activity as well with about 10% of the companies in the sector being acquired companies by giants like Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Yahoo.

The Tracxn Report on NUI report covers three types of companies:

• Companies which provide technology to create Natural User Interface for end users – Covered under Technology Provider for each major Business Model.
• Companies which create Natural User Interfaces using their own technology – Covered under Applications for each major Business Model.
• Companies which create Natural User Interfaces using third party technology but the product’s primary offering is a Natural User Interface – Covered under Applications for each major Business Model.

Preview the NUI Report here:

All of our sector reports are available to Premium Tracxn subscribers. If you are interested in receiving our reports, please write to bd@tracxn.com

2014 witnessed the sector’s highest funding total of $287M, as well as the highest average round size

In Tracxn’s latest report on the Robo Advisor sector, we look closely at one of the most interesting segments during the last two years. Robo Advisors are an online wealth management service that provides automated, algorithm-based portfolio management advice with minimal use of human financial planners. These firms typically offer automated services for asset allocation, rebalancing and in some cases tax loss harvesting. The sector has been increasing in popularity over the last few years, with Robo Advisors managing approximately $19B of the total $18T wealth management industry in 2014. Because of its increasing relevance, giants such as Vanguard and Charles Schwab have also launched their Robo Advisory services in 2015 only to emerge as market leaders in the space. It is hence not surprising that investors have had a bullish outlook towards the space.

According to the Tracxn Report, ~$740M has been invested into the space since 2008, and the sector has garnered the interest of investors, the likes of Y-Combinator, 500 Startups, Foundation Capital, SixThirty, Great Oaks VC, Balderton Capital and Route 66 Ventures.

The last two years have been especially significant for Robo Advisor companies, as 70% of the total was invested in the last 2 years alone. Moreover, the last two years also bore witness to 9 funding rounds of over $30M.

2014 witnessed the sector’s highest funding total of $287M, as well as the highest average round size. While 2015 saw a marginal dip in funding, it was also witness to the highest funding round, in the form of Betterment’s $64M raise from Francisco Partners. This made Betterment the first Robo Advisor startup to cross $3B.

Due to the sector seeing such promising trends, new startups are looking positively towards starting up in the Robo Advisor industry, with 2015 seeing an all-time high of 44 new entrants.

In fact, the number of companies founded in last 8 years has seen an upward trend with over 80 companies founded in last 2 years. Moreover, the last two years have witnessed launch of Robo Advisory platforms outside the US and UK with ~15 companies founded in India.

This will certainly lead to more interesting activities taking place in the sector as the market continues to see the influx of dollars coming in through early stage deals.

2015 witnessed the highest number of early stage deals, at 22, continuing to signify investor interest in the sector. A majority of the deals have come through early stage rounds, with only early stage deals happened during the first 3 years since the sectors inception in 2008.

Late stage rounds continue to remain low, with only 23 deals taking place, 14 of which can be attributed to Wealthfront, Betterment, Personal Capital and Motif Investing.

Business Model in Robo-Advisors

Full Stack Platforms, which offer investment services that provide end-to-end, algorithm based automated online platform, have seen the most funding activity, seeing $575M of the total investments. The segment drew in ~$253M funding in 2014, and ~$226M last year.

The Full Stack platform segment has contributed an immense amount of success to the Robo Advisor sector, which as a whole has been attracting attention from not just investors, but also traditional Investment Managers. In fact, banks have participated in the funding of major Robo services. There are also multiple instances of banks launching their Robo Advisory platforms by developing their own technology, or by acquiring Robo startups for their technology.

Preview the Robo Advisors Report here.

All of our sector reports are available to Premium Tracxn subscribers. If you are interested in receiving our reports, please write to bd@tracxn.com

Startups in the space raised over $1.5B during 2014 through 102 deals, a ~ 276% increase in funding along with a ~27% increase in number of deals when compared to 2013

In Tracxn’s latest report on the Mobile Communication space, we look closely into mobile communication companies i.e. OTT (Over The Top) communication applications or network based apps that facilitate mobile communication to/from mobile devices without any physical connection through wireless network. According to the report, approximately $4B has been invested into the sector with SV Angel, KPCB and Betaworks being among the most active investors.

The last couple of years have been especially interesting for the Mobile Communication space, witnessing a significant increase in funding, with a majority of the dollars coming in during 2014.

Startups in the space raised over $1.5B during 2014 through 102 deals, a ~ 276% increase in funding along with a ~27% increase in number of deals when compared to 2013. The year also saw an increase in the number average ticket size coming in through various late stage rounds. The reason for the bullish investor sentiment towards the space during 2014 could be the two large scale acquisitions that took place: Whatsapp’s acquisition by Facebook for $19B, and Viber getting acquired by Rakuten for $900M.

2015, on the other hand, saw the total funding amount drop marginally to $1.5B. The number of deals have also dropped to 55 signifying a substantial increase in the average ticket size indicating that 2015 saw lesser number of companies, probably the sector giants, garnering higher volumes of investments, signifying early signs of consolidation.

Notable rounds during 2015 include Snapchat raising $538M from Alibaba Group, and MiaoPai raising $200M in its Series D round led by Sequoia & others.

The theory of 2015 seeing smaller number of companies raising large volumes of funding is reflected in the drop of early stage and late stage deals. The sector has seen a dip in this regard, especially when compared to the highs of 2014, which saw an increase in both early and late rounds of funding.

In fact, due to the increase in funding activity in 2014, the year has also witnessed the emergence of the highest number of companies, at 147.  In fact the sector has seen an upward trend in the number of companies founded in last 10 years, with ~ 60% of these companies being founded between the 2013-2015 timeframe. On the other hand, 2015 which has shown early signs of consolidation, has seen a dip in the number of companies founded.

When we look into the business models which are seeing the emergence of new companies, we have seen startups entering newer verticals like ephemeral and business messaging from 2012 onwards.

Business Models in Mobile Communication

The startups in the ephemeral space have seen the most success in terms of funding activity, raising $1.3B in the last 10 years. The sector, which includes companies that provide messaging services which are short lived, saw immense popularity during 2014, taking in a total of $859M in the year, with Snapchat alone raising $540M. This is especially interesting as the ephemeral space is considered to be a relatively new and upcoming sector, indicating that the success has so far been driven by SnapChat.

Messaging startups on the other hand is the most mature segment, and the second most funded, at a total of $792M. In this case, the segment is driven by MiaoPai, which raised $200M of the segments 2015 total of $297M.

In fact, in 2014 all-time funding high, ~ 50% of the deals took place in the Messaging & Ephemeral sectors, contributing to most of the last stage funding.

Preview the Mobile Communication Report here

All of our sector reports are available to Premium Tracxn subscribers. If you are interested in receiving our reports, please write to bd@tracxn.com

With the US Securities Exchange Commission approving the Title III of Jobs Act 2012, 2016 will be a very exciting year for the sector

According to the Tracxn Report, over $750M has been invested since 2008, with Y Combinator, S V Angel, 500 Startups and Andreessen Horowitz being among the sector’s  most active investors.

2015 turned out to be a very important year for the Crowdfunding sector as the US Securities Exchange Commission approved Title III of Jobs Act 2012, which is among the most important landmarks in the current face of crowdfunding. It expands equity crowdfunding to include non-accredited investor participation thus increasing opportunities for startups to raise capital through only a few legislative provisions. Let us start by saying that because of this, 2016 will be a very exciting year for the sector.

On the other hand, in terms of funding activity, the last two years have been equally lucrative for the sector, with the period seeing startups in the space raise a total of $538M from 157 deals, of which 2015 contributed $264M through 77 deals.  Notable rounds in 2015 include Realty Mogul $35M Series B funding led by Sorenson Capital, and CircleUp’s $30M Series C funding led by Collaborative Fund.

This marks a resounding surge in both the dollars invested as well as the number of rounds over the last two years, which is an indication of the popularity the sector has attracted. Moreover, a majority of the funding across 2015 was raised by equity crowdfunding platforms. Currently the equity crowdfunding platforms have raised the most funding among all the segments in the Crowdfunding space, while Rewards platforms, such as Kickstarter where people get non-monetary offering in return for their contribution, raised $230M.

Equity crowdfunding platforms also contributed to about half of the startups founded in 2014, and with these platforms growing in number, the demand for secondary marketplaces for crowdfunded assets has also increased. These marketplaces provide exit options to the investors who have invested into real estate projects or private companies through an equity crowdfunding platform. Owing to this demand many crowdfunding platforms have launched their own secondary marketplaces to enable trading of shares issued through their platform. With the emergence of these secondary markets, there is a possibility that the investors who were earlier reluctant to plunge into crowdfunded securities might feel more enthusiastic about them now.

Moving on to the number of companies founded in the overall crowdfunding space, 2012 in particular witnessed a surge in the number of companies being formed, as it was the year in which the JOBS Act was passed. Due to this 755 companies have been founded in last 8 years with over 300 companies being founded in the last 2 years.

—————

The report covers crowdfunding platforms i.e. an internet enabled way for businesses or other organizations to raise money in the form of either donations or investments from multiple individuals. Crowdfunding uses web-based technology, knowledge and wisdom in communities to determine which projects should receive funding and how much. It also provides real-time feedback on start-ups and small businesses. It leverages the power of technology, particularly social media, to market the idea, raise funds, and hold entrepreneurs accountable, according to a recent report by InfoDev.

This report covers Equity, Rewards, Donation and Revenue Sharing-based crowdfunding platforms. However, it doesn’t cover Debt-based crowdfunding platforms.

Preview the Crowdfunding Report here:

All of our sector reports are available to Premium Tracxn subscribers. If you are interested in receiving our reports, please write to bd@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – MOBILE GAMING

• Next Games, developers of The Walking Dead: No Mans Land, closed a funding round of $10M lead by IDG Ventures and Jari Ovaskainen. Link
• Plain Vanilla, developers of Quiz-up game, raised an investment of $7.5M from Glu Mobile in promissory notes convertible into a minority equity stake. Link
• Puzzle Social, developers of crossword puzzle game Daily Celebrity Crossword, raised $5M in a debt round lead by Thayer Bigelow (former president of HBO). Link
• Gameloft (France) and GungHo Entertainment (Japan), two leading digital and social game developers,enter into a strategic alliance to create a digital distribution network for mobile games. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Zebu Games (2015, Bangalore) – Mobile games developer focusing on casual strategy games.Founded by ex-employee of Inmobi, IIT & IIM grads, the company has developed two games Wordmint and Follow the dots.
Winko Games (2015, Barcelona, $1.4M) – Mobile games developer focusing on mid core games. Founded by ex-employees of Google and SocialPoint (Web and mobile casual games developer)

LEADER BOARD – MOBILE GAMING

Game Developers – Casual Games  
Zynga (2007, SF, IPO) – Casual video games developer and publisher for mobile and web platforms – famous for games such as Farmville. Went public in 2011.
King (2003, London, IPO, Acq.) – Mobile game developer specializing in casual games – famous for the Candy Crush series. Went public in 2014.Acquired by Activision Blizzard in November 2015.
Rovio Entertainment (2003, Espoo, $42M) – Mobile games developer specializing in casual games – famous for the Angry Birds series. Backed by Accel Partners, Atomico and Felicis Ventures.
Funplus (2010, Beijing, $87M, Acq.) – Video game developer focusing on online and mobile platforms. Backed by Orchid Asia Group Management and Steamboat Ventures.Acquired by Shanghai Zhongji Investment Holding Co in August 2014.

Game Developers – Mid-Core Games
Supercell (2010, Helsinki, $142M, Acq.) – Mobile game developer specializing in mid-core games – famous for games such as Clash of Clans and Boom Beach. Backed by Lifeline Ventures, Accel Partners, Initial Capital, Index Ventures and others. Acquired by SoftBank in October 2013.
GREE (2004, Tokyo, IPO) – Mobile social media and social gaming. Went public in 2008.
Glu Mobile (2001, SF, IPO) – Mobile games developer and publisher specializing in mid-core games. Went public in 2007.
gumi (2007, Tokyo, IPO) – Mobile games developer and publisher specializing in mid-core games. Went public in 2014.
Kabam (2006, SF, $244.5M) – Video game developer and publisher for mobile and web platforms. Backed by Canaan Partners, Betfair, Google Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures and others.

Game Developers – Casino Games
Playtika (2010, Tel Aviv, $1.5M, Acq.) – Video game developer specializing in casino games for mobile and web platforms. Backed by Kaedan Capital Group.
Bash Gaming (2010, Bangalore, $1M, Acq.) – Developer of casino games for social and mobile platforms. Backed by Tandem Capital.
PlayStudios (2011, Burlingame, $29M) – Casino games developer focusing on mobile and social platforms. Backed by Jafco Ventures and MGM Resorts International.

Gaming Platforms
DeNA (1999, Tokyo, IPO) – Provides a mobile social games platform that offers first-, second- and third-party games on multiple localized player networks worldwide. Went public in 2005.
WildTangent Games (1998, Redmond, $100.5M) – Mobile and Web gaming platform. Backed by Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Sony, WPP, Granite Ventures and others.
PlayPhone (2003, San Mateo, $95M) – Mobile gaming platform for social games. Backed by Scale Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Cardinal Venture Capital and Coral Capital Management.

Game Publishers
ngmoco (2008, SF, $45M, Acq.) – Mobile Games publisher. Backed by Google Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and others.Acquired by DeNA in October 2010.
Chukong Technologies (2010, Beijing, $83M) – Mobile gaming and publishing platform. Backed by Northern Light Venture Capital, Steamboat Ventures, Sequoia Capital, GGV Capital and others.
6Waves (2008, Hong Kong, $53M) – Video Game publisher focusing on mobile and web platforms. Backed by Insight Venture Partners and Nexon.

Gaming Enablers
Kamcord (2012, SF, $25M) – Web and mobile platform to record and share mobile gameplays. Backed by Y Combinator, Innovation Works, Tencent, IW North America and others.
Unity Technologies (2004, Frederiksberg, $17.5M) – Creator of tools to develop games for multiple platforms. Backed by Sequoia, WestSummit Capital and iGlobe Partners.
Mobcrush (2013, LA, $16M) – Live game broadcasting platform for mobile games. Backed by Rincon Venture Partners, First Round Capital, CAA Ventures, BAM Ventures and others.

Gaming Enablers – Monetization
RockYou (2005, SF, $169M) – Cross-platform premium video ad network for games. Backed by DCM, Partech Ventures, SK Telecom Ventures, SoftBank and others.
Swrve (2011, SF, $51M) – In-app marketing platform for mobile apps and games. Backed by Acero Capital, Atlantic Bridge, Intel Capital, Evolution Capital Partners and others.
PlayHaven (2009, SF, $31M, Acq.) -Mobile game monetization platform. Backed by LaunchBox Digital, GGV Capital, e.ventures and others.Acquired by RockYou in May 2015

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Mobile Gaming feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – EDUTAINMENT

• Kidaptive, an adaptive gamified learning platform for kids has raised $8.1M in Series C round. Link
• Primo, a technology company for children which provides smart toys for learning has raised $436K through Equity Crowdfunding. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Lingogo (2015, New Zealand) – Content in dual languages to learn a foreign langauge.
Two Moos  (2015, NYC) – AR based games and apps for toddlers and young kids.
Kukua (2015, California) – Educational games for english learning for kids

LEADER BOARD – EDUTAINMENT

Language Learning
Duolingo (2011, Pittsburg, $83M) – Adaptive language learning platform that uses crowdsourced text translation. Backed by Google Capital, KPCB, New Enterprise Associates and Union Square Ventures.
Babbel (2007, Berlin, $34M) – Language learning platform that uses speech recognition to improve pronunciation skills. Acquired PlaySay in 2013. Backed by Nokia Growth Partners, Reed Elsevier Ventures, Scottish Equity Partners and Kizoo Technology Ventures.

Brain Training
Lumosity (2005, SF, $67.5M) – Personalised brain training application that tests users on memory, attention, flexibility, speed of processing and problem solving. Backed by Menlo Ventures, Northwest venture Partners, FirstMark Capital and Harrison Metal.
Peak (2012, London, $10M) – Mobile first application that offers games to improve cognitive skills. Backed by Qualcomm Ventures, DN Capital, Initial Capital, Creandum, Lifeline Ventures and London Venture Partners.

K-12 
Dreambox Learning (2006, Bellevue, $58M, Acq.) – Adaptive learning K-12 software to teach Mathematical concepts to kids. Acquired by Charter Growth Fund and Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix in 2010.
JumpStart (1989, Boston, $27M) – 3D educational games for kids. Backed by Azure Capital and TeleSoft Partners.
NeoBear (2009, Shanghai, $19M) – Developer of Augmented Reality games and mobile applications for kids. Backed by GGV Capital, Qualcomm and Liuhe Private Equity.
DimensionU (2003, Long island City, $17M) – Educational multiplayer video games to teach Mathematics and Science to primary and elementary school kids. Was formerly known as Tabula Digita. Backed by Ascend Venture Group.

Pre-K
Kidaptive (2012, Mountain View, $18.2M) – Adaptive gamified learning platform for kids. Backed by NewSchools Venture Fund, Menlo Ventures and Stanford.
PlayKids (2013, Brazil, $15M) – Subscription based pre-school videos, games, and books. Backed by parent company Movile.

Horizontal
Picmonic (2011, Tucson, $4.5M) – Visual learning platform for medical and nursing students. Backed by 2M, Arizona Tech Investors and Desert Angels.
CodeFights (2014, SF, $2M) – Online social coding games where users can participate in challenges. Backed by Felicis Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures.

Interactive Device Learning
Sphero (2010, California, $80M) – Teaches programming and algorithm concepts through contolling robots with in-built programming language. Partnered with Apple. Inc. Backed by Walt Disney Company, Foundry Group and Highway 12Ventures.
Wonder Workshop (2012, California, $17M) – Teaches programming concepts and languages through interaction and play with robots. Backed by Google ventures. 

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Edutainment feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – HR TECH

• Snagajob, the hourly worker job board, gets $100M in funding. Link
• Job site Hired raises $40M and forecasts profit by 2017. Link
• Lever raises $20M for hiring software popular at Netflix, Reddit And Lyft. Link
• SmashFly, the recruitment marketing platform raises $22M in Series B. Link
• Accel leads $10M series A for JobToday’s service industry hiring app. Link
• Jopwell, the diversity recruiting platform raises $3.25M seed round from Magic Johnson, Andreessen Horowitz and others. Link
• Woo, anonymous job search portal raises $2.35M in seed funding. Link
• Angellist expands its startup jobs recruiting platform. Link
• HackerRank announces partnership with Jazz to optimize the recruiting process for highly qualified tech job candidates. Link
• LinkedIn releases ProFinder pilot, quietly enters Freelance/Independent workforce market. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Workramp (2015, SF) – WorkRamp offers onboarding solution like preboarding and orientation, bootcamps and training. Customers include Financial Force, Lever and Square.
Tackl (2014, SF) – Tackl is a data-driven hiring solution, connecting college students and employers.

LEADER BOARD – HR TECH

Recruitment – Sourcing 
Monster (1994, NYC, IPO) – Job board and Online Career center connecting recruiters with potential candidates. Went public in 1996.
Naukri (1997, Noida, IPO) – Career listing and job search portal. Part of Info Edge and went public in 2006.
Hired (2012, SF, $73M) – Pre-assessed technical hiring platform. Backed by Sherpa Capital, Lumia Capital, Google Ventures, NEA, SoftTech VC and Sierra Ventures
Jobandtalent (2009, London, $42M) – Job-board that connects candidates to job opportunities. Backed by Kibo Ventures, Qualitas Equity Partners and FJME Ventures.
BountyJobs (2006, NYC, $30M) – Recruiter marketplace connecting recruiters with organizations. Backed by Greylock, Accel and RPM Ventures.
Gild (2011, SF, $26M) – Passive candidate sourcing and hiring platform. Backed by Menlo VC, Sapphire Ventures and Baseline Ventures.

Recruitment – Technology
Ziprecruiter (2010, Santa Monica, $63M) – Web-based, job-board distribution platform. Backed by IndustryVentures, Institutional Venture Partners and Basepoint Ventures.
Greenhouse (2012, NYC, $61M) – ATS for recruitment teams. Backed by Benchmark, Felicis, Lumia, Thrive and Social Capital.
Jobvite (2003, San Mateo, $55.5M) – SaaS platform for social recruiting, sourcing and talent acquisition. Backed by CMEA Capital, ATA Ventures and Trident Capital.
Jibe (2010, NYC, $41M) – SaaS recruiting solutions for candidate hiring. Backed by DFJ, Sapphire Ventures, Gotham Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank and Lerer Hippeau Ventures.

Recruitment – Assessment
Hirevue (2004, South Jordan, $97M) – Web-based video interviewing platform. Backed by Sequoia, Granite Ventures, Investor Growth Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures.
Hackerrank (2009, Palo Alto, $20M) – SaaS platform to administer coding challenges. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Battery Ventures, SV Angels, YCombinator and ZenShin Capital.

Talent Management – Workforce Management
Peoplematter (2009, Charleston, $63M) – SaaS workforce management suite. Backed by StarVest Partners, Scale Ventures Partners and Harbert Venture Partners.
Hotschedules (1999, Austin, $20M) –  Web-based employee scheduling and forecasting tools. Backed by Bridgebank.

Talent Management – Employee Engagement
Rewardgateway (2006, London, $241M, Acq) – Cloud based employee engagement platform. Acquired by International Benefits Holding in 2010.
Guidespark (2008, Menlo Park, $42M) – HR communication tool for employee engagement. Backed by NEA, Storm Ventures and IDG Ventures.

Talent Management – Performance Management
Betterworks (2013, Palo Alto, $15.5M) – Cloud based goal setting, tracking and performance management. Backed by KPCB and FF Venture Capital.

Talent Management – Workforce Analytics
Evolv (2007, SF, $42M, Acq) – SaaS workforce performance analytics. Acquired by CornerstoneonDemand in 2014.
Visier (2010, Vancouver, $46.5M) – SaaS workforce analytics and planning. Backed by Adam Street Partners, Foundation Capital and Summit Partners.

Administration – Payroll
Paylocity (1997, Arlington Heights, IPO) – Cloud-based Payroll and Human Capital Management software. Went public in 2014.
Gusto (2011, SF, $136M) – Previously Zenpayroll offers Payroll and tax automation. Backed by Google Capital, KPCB and YCombinator.

Administration – Benefits Management
CastlightHealth (2008, SF, IPO) – Employee healthcare management solutions. Went public in 2014.
Plansource (2002, Orlando, $94M, Acq) – Cloud based benefits management and HR solutions. Backed by Great Hill Partners and Lemhi Ventures. It was acquired by CoAdvantage in 2008.

HR Management Systems
Workday (2005, Pleasanton, IPO) – Cloud based human resources, payroll and financial management suite. Went public in 2012.
CornerstoneOndemand (1999, Santa Monica, IPO) – SaaS learning and talent management solution. Went public in 2011.
Zenefits (2013, SF, $584M) – Online payroll, benefits, HR and compliance management solutions. Backed by Fidelity, Andereessen Horowitz, Y Combinator and Khosla Ventures.
Silkroad (2003, Chicago, $178M) – Cloud based solutions for recruiting, talent management, benefits and analytics. Backed by Azure Capital, Crosslink Capital and Foundation Capital.
Namely (2012, NYC, $78M) – Cloud based HR, Payroll and benefits management solution. Backed by Sequoia, Matrix Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and True Ventures.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit HR Tech feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ROBO ADVISORS

• Fisdom, an India based mobile-first Robo Advisor raised $500K seed funding from angel investors. Link
• Betterment, one of the leading Robo Advisory service, launched Betterment for Business, a 401(K) account management platform. Link
• Invesco, an independent investment management firm acquired Jemstep, a provider of Robo Advisory platform for RIAs, for an undisclosed amount. Link
• RBC Wealth Management partnered with Blackrock’s FutureAdvisor for their Robo Advisory pilot programme. Link
• Saxo Bank partnered with Blackrock’s FutureAdvisor to offer SaxoSelect, a fully digital and automated portfolio management service. Link
• Bank of Montreal launched their automated investment service, called SmartFolio, to become first major bank in Canada to offer Robo Advisory. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Captain401 (2015, SF, $120K) – Automated 401(K) investment platform along with paperless account onboarding. Backed by YCombinator.
OroWealth (2015, Mumbai) – Automated investment platform for investing in mutual funds.

LEADER BOARD – ROBO ADVISORS

Full Stack Platform – Automated Investing
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios (2015, SF, IPO) – Digital investment advisory service offered by Charles Schwab & Co. Also offers an institutional version for RIAs. The parent company went public in 1987.
Wealthfront (2008, Palo Alto, $129.5M) – Fully automated investment service. Backed by Spark Capital, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital and DAG Ventures.
Betterment (2008, NYC, $105M) – Fully automated investment service with a focus on goal based investment. Also offers a B2B service for RIAs. Backed by Francisco Partners, Menlo Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Northwestern Capital and Globespam Capital Partners.

Full Stack Platform – Micro Investing
Acorns (2012, Irvine, $32M) – Micro investment app for investing spare change into a portfolio of ETFs. Backed by Greycroft Partners, E.Ventures, JAM Equity Partners, Great Oaks Venture Capital and Steelpoint Capital Partners.

Full Stack Platform – Retirement Plan
Blooom (2013, Overland Park (Kansas), $4.7M) – Automated investment platform for managing 401(K) accounts. Backed by QED Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Commerce Ventures.
Rebalance IRA (2012, Palo Alto) – Automated investment service which specializes in managing retirement savings.

Full Stack Platform – P2P Lending
LendingRobot (2012, Bellevue, $3M) – Automation tools for strategy optimization and systematic execution of investments in P2P loans. Backed by Runa Capital.

Advisor Assisted Platform
Vanguard Personal Advisor Services (2015, Pennsylvania) – Robo-hybrid service offered by Vanguard group that manages client portfolio using in-house technology.
PersonalCapital (2009, Redwood City, $104M) – Financial advice platform that provides human interaction as well as digital tool to clients. Backed by Corsair Capital, Crosslink Capital, Venrock Capital and Institutional Venture Partners.

Recommendation Platform
MyDepotCheque (2012, Zurich, $2.9M) –  Platform that offers independent investment advise to users to check their existing investments and compare offers from various providers.
FinancialGuard (2009, Salt Lake City, $2M) – Investment accounts aggregator that provides actionable advise on user’s investment portfolio. Backed by Cherokee & Walker.

Enablers – Technology for RIAs
Envestnet (1999, Chicago, IPO) – Offers robo-advisory tools to RIAs by acquiring Upside’s technology. Went public in 2010.
Jemstep (2008, Los Altos, $15M, Acq.) – White label investment management solution for advisors. Backed by Caleo Capital. Acquired by Invesco in January 2016.
Trizic (2011, SF, $5M) – White label Robo Advisory solution provider for brokerages, asset managers, banks and RIAs. Backed by Operative Capital.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Robo-Advisors feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – LOGISTICS TECH

• Swiggy, online food ordering and delivery service raises a $35M Series C funding led by SAIF Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Accel Partners, and others. Link
• Xpressbees, the logistics arm of FirstCry raises $8M from SAIF Partners and Vertex Ventures. Link
• TheLorry, online platform for booking cargo transportation services raises $1.5M Series A funding led by SPH Media and Elixir-Capital. Link
• PepperTap shuts down operations in major cities including Mumbai. Link
• Amazon will now provide ocean freight forwarding services. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
ClearMetal (2015, SF) – Provides SaaS-based analytics platform for container shiping industry.
Darkstore (2015, SF) – Provides local warehousing solutions enabling on-demand deliveries, customer pickups and returns.

LEADER BOARD – LOGISTICS TECH

Parcel
Intracity – Horizontal
Dada (2014, Shanghai, $400M) – B2B hyperlocal delivery in China. Backed by Sequoia, DST, Green wood assets.
Grofers (2013, Delhi, $165M) – On demand product delivery service from local merchants for customers. Backed by Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management.
Postmates (2012, SF, $138M) – On demand delivery through Mobile App. Backed by Tiger Global, Matrix partners, Cross Link Capital.

Intracity – Food
Ele.me (2008, Shanghai, $2.34B) – Online ordering and delivery of food from restaurants with its own logistics network. Backed by CitiCapital, Beijing-Hualian, Sequoia Capital.
Deliveroo (2012, London, $200M) – Restaurant food delivery service. Backed by IndexVentures, Greenoaks Capital, Accel.
Daojia (2010, Shanghai, $67M) – Online food ordering and delivery. Backed by Morningside Group, Jingdong, Northern Light VC, etc.
DoorDash (2013, Palo Alto, $60M) – On demand food delivery from restaurants. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, SV Angel, etc.

Intracity – Grocery
Instacart (2012, SF, $275M) – Same day grocery delivery from local stores. Backed by Sequoia, KhoslaVentures, Canaan, etc.
Huimin (2013, Beijing, $100M) – B2B grocery delivery platform for local stores. Backed by Citi Capital, Fortune Venture.

Intracity – Alcohol
Saucey (2013, LA, $4.5M) – On demand alcohol delivery. Backed by Blumberg Capital, Altpoint Ventures, SB Projects, LLC, Structure, T5 Capital.
Minibar (2013, NYC, $1.8M) – Mobile-first On-Demand Alcohol Delivery. Backed by Great Oaks Venture Capital, Female Founders Fund, Winklevoss Capital.

Intercity – C2C
Roadie (2014, Atlanta, $10M) – P2P network for package delivery. Backed by Tomorrow Ventures, UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, and The Mellon Group.
Friendshippr (2013, Dubai, $1.17M) – P2P shipping exclusively through a user’s facebook network. Backed by angels with experience with Uber, Airbnb, Google and Dubai-based Honeybee Tech Ventures.

Intercity – Marketplace

Shyp (2013, SF, $62M) – Parcel Consolidator providing on demand package shipping. Backed by KPCB, Sherpa Capital, etc.
Packlink (2011, Madrid, $24M) – Online aggregator of parcel and courier services. Backed by Accel, Eight Road Partners, Active Venture Partners.

Software
Delivery Management
Bringg (2013, Tel Aviv, $7.5M) – Mobile workforce management software powering on demand delivery startups. Backed by ITURAN, a fleet management company.
Dispatch (2013, Boston, $3.1M) – An application for managing field services. Backed by Promus Ventures, Kima Venturs, Launch Capital, etc.
Onfleet (2012, SF, $2.3M) – Software for managing last mile delivery operations. Backed by Dunhumby Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, etc.

Freight
Loadboards
PostBidShip (2010, Scottsdale, $2.5M) – Online platform for commercial freight brokers and shippers to sell and find unused cargo space on trucks. Backed by the Arizona Technology Investor Forum (ATIF), Desert Angels and Point B Capital.
Gruzobzor (2011, Ufa, $1M) – Online portal for posting and finding loads. Backed by Runa Capital.

Marketplace – Air
Cargobase (2013, Singapore, $450K) – Air freight marketplace for ad-hoc booking. Backed by 500 Startups, YSS Capital, etc.

Marketplace – Road
Lou Meter City (2014, Beijing, $129M) – Mobile based platform connecting truckers and shippers. Backed by Zhenfund, IDG Ventures, etc.
uShip (2003, Austin, $45M) – Online marketplace for freight, household goods and vehicle shipping. Backed by DAG Ventures, Benchmark, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Lanxiniu (2014, Beijing, $31M) – Mobile platform that connects drivers of mini-trucks/vans with shippers for intracity freight delivery. Backed by Legend Capital.
GoGoVan (2013, Hong Kong, $26.5M) –  On demand cargo transportation service for urban areas. Backed by Renren, Centurion Ventures, Cyberport.

Freight Forwarding
Inttra (2000, New Jersey, $39.5M) – Ocean cargo booking portal with ecommerce focus. Backed by ABS Capital Partners.
Flexport (2013, SF, $27M) – Online freight forwarder and customs brokerage. Backed by Google Ventures, Bloomberg Bets, etc.
Freightos (2012, Jerusalem, $23M) – Ocean freight forwarding marketplace. Backed by Annox Capital, ICV, etc.
Xeneta (2012, Oslo, $8M) – Crowdsourced price comparison service for sea freight. Backed by Alliance Ventures, Creandum, etc.
Haven (2014, SF, $3M) – Marketplace for buying and selling ocean and air freight capacity. Backed by OATV, First round Capital, Data Collective.
Tryfleet (2014, California, $2.51M) – Ratings and reviews of freight forwarders. Backed by GrowthX and others.

Freight Management Tools
Telogis (2001, Aliso Viejo, $120M) – Cloud-based location intelligence platform for companies requiring fleet management solutions. Backed by GM Ventures, KPCB, etc.
Fleetmatics (2004, Waltham, IPO) – Provides saas based GPS tracking systems for small and medium-sized businesses. Went public in 2012.

Ecommerce
End to End
Ecom Express (2013, Delhi, $149.5M) – Ecommerce logistics solutions provider. Backed by Peepul capital, Wargbug Pincus.
Delhivery (2011, Gurgaon, $127.5M) – End to end logisitcs service provider for ecommerce. Backed by Times Internet, Nexus VP, etc.

Fulfillment
GoJavas (2011, Gurgaon, $20M) – Fulfillment service provider for Indian ecommerce. Backed by Snapdeal.
Shipwire (2006, Palo Alto, $10M, Acq.) –  Provides a network of global warehouses for ecommerce fulfillment. Backed by Meakem Becker Venture Capital, eBay, Newell Rubbermaid. Acquired by Ingram Micro in Oct, 2013.

Last Mile Delivery
NinjaVan (2014, Singapre, $2.65M) – Last mile logistics service which specializes in next-day deliveries for ecommerce companies. Backed by Monk’s HIll Ventures.
Xend (2004, Manila) – Door to door delivery services for ecommerce.

Shipping API
Temando (2006, Brisbane, $56M) – Shipping and fulfilment software platform for online retailers. Backed by Neopost Group.
Metapack (1999, London, $32M) – Provides shipping API connecting online retailers with parcel carriers. Backed by Index Ventures, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners and Brainspark.
Stuart (2015, Barcelona, $26M) – Same hour delivery service for online retailers. Backed by Geopost group.

Access Point
Kiala (2000, Brussels, $60M, Acq.) – Offers delivery service through a network of delivery points as an alternative to home delivery. Backed by Scottish Equity Partners, HarbourVest Partners. Acquired by UPS in Feb, 2012.
QikPod (2015, Bangalore, $9M) – Provides a network of lockers to online shoppers to get their purchases delivered. Backed by Foxconn, Accel Partners, Flipkart and Delhivery.
ParcelPoint (2011, Sydney, $7M) – A network of retail outlets for courier drop off and delivery of packages. Backed by Blue Sky Venture Capital.

Cross Border
BoxC (2011, California, $725K) – Facilitates direct buying from China for US customers. Backed by 500 Startups, Kima Ventures, etc.
Backpack (2014, Mountain View, $120K) – Peer to peer marketplace connecting shoppers and travellers. Backed by Y Combinator.

Reverse Logistics
ZigzagGlobal (2015, London, $203K) – B2B software platform to help retailers manage and resell returned stock without the need for return to the retailer.
NuvoEx (2013, Gurgaon) – Reverse flow logistics solutions for ecommerce.

Warehousing
Fulfilment
E-Shang (2011, Shanghai, $850M) – Tech-enabled warehousing and logistics services provider for ecommerce. Backed by Warburg Pincus and APG.

WMS
Accellos (2006, Colorado Springs, $51M) – Provides warehouse management systems, transportation management systems, retail management systems, and various supply-chain solutions. Backed by Centennial Ventures and Monitor Clipper Funds.

Robots
GreyOrange (2011, Gurgaon, $39M) – Designs and develops hardware and software products for the warehousing industry. Backed by Tiger Global Management and Blume Ventures.

Marketplace
Flexe (2013, Seattle, $6M) – An online marketplace that connects businesses in need of flexible warehouse space to warehouse operators. Backed by Second Avenue Partners and SV Angel.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit LogisticsTech feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – DATA AS A SERVICE

• App analytics firm App Annie raises $63M in Series E funding. Link
• Harmony Partners leads $25M Series D funding in PlaceIQ. Link
• Xignite closes $20M Series C funding round led by Quick Corp. Link
• FiscalNote raises $10M Series C to further help organizations analyze government risk. Link
• Weather Decision Technologies raises $4.4M financing. Link
• Data startup Social123 raises $4.25M Series A funding round led by Vocap Investment Partners. Link
• CrunchBase raises $2M Series A2 , launches paid plans for data access. Link
• IBM closes The Weather Co. purchase. Link
• Transunion acquired Colombian Credit Bureau CIFIN. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
VENPATH (2015, Brooklyn) – Data marketplace for apps to monetize valuable user data in an anonymous, and privacy compliant manner.
qDatum (2014, Berlin) – Marketplace for industrial data.

LEADER BOARD – DATA AS A SERVICE

Finance – Public Market Investment
Bloomberg LP (1981, NYC) – Privately held financial software, data, and media company. Revenue of the company is estimated to be over $9 billion.
Thomson Reuters (2008, Toronto, IPO) – Delivers financial information – including fundamentals, estimates, primary and secondary research reports through Thomson Reuters Eikon. Formed by merger of Thomson Corporation and Reuters Group in 2008.

Finance – Private Market Investment
Owler (2011, San Mateo, $19M) – Provides competitive intelligence reports on business. Backed by NVP and Trinity Ventures.
PitchBook Data (2008, Seattle, $14M) – Database of global M&A, PE and VC transactions – along with the companies, investors, funds, LPs and executives involved. Backed by Morningstar, Inc, provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Finance – Credit Information
Equifax (1899, Atlanta, IPO) – Consumer credit reporting agency. Sells consumer credit and insurance reports, analytics products and fraud & identity theft prevention products. Went IPO in 1971.
Experian (1996, Costa Mesa, IPO) – Offers credit services, marketing services, decision analytics and consumer services to businesses and individuals. Collects information on people, businesses, motor vehicles and insurance. Also collects lifestyle data from on-and off-line surveys.
TransUnion (1968, Chicago, IPO) – Provides credit information and information management service to businesses and consumers. Went public in June 2015.

Marketing – Lead Generation
Relationship Science (2010, NYC, $121M) – Its RelSci platform provides database of more than 1 million organizations and the over 3 million decision makers affiliated with them, along with sophisticated analytics tools, reporting dashboards and CRM integrations. Backed by RIT Capital, MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, and Hearst Ventures.
InsideView (2005, SF, $89M) – Its platform aggregates customer information from various sources and provides that information through API to sales and marketing team to augment a lead profile. Backed by Big Sky Partners, Emergence Capital Partners, Foundation Capital, Greenhouse Capital Partners, and JDM Capital.

Marketing – Advertising
DataLogix (2002, Westminster, $86.5M, Acq) – Collects and tracks offline purchasing data and purchasing behavior from retailers’ loyalty card programs, retail stores, grocers, and travel agencies. Acquired by Oracle in December 2014.
Factual (2007, LA, $62M) – Provider of location data for mobile advertising, developers and enterprise solutions. Backed by a16z, Altpoint Ventures, Data Collective, Heritage Group, Index Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Gunderson Dettmer, and Idealab.

Public Data
Socrata (2007, Seattle, $54.5M) – Cloud based software company enables users to access government data. Backed by Sapphire Ventures, OpenView Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, Frazier Technology Ventures, and In-Q-Tel.
Enigma Technologies (2011, NYC, $35M) – Aggregates, standardises and collates data sets released by federal and state agencies. TC Disrupt NY 2013 winner. Backed by American Express Ventures, Brent Hurley, Comcast Ventures, Crosslink Capital, and Expansion VC.

App Analytics
App Annie (2010, SF, $156M) – Offers app store optimization and market intelligence through various products. Backed by IVP, Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital Partners, Greycroft Partners, EVentures, Infinity Venture Partners, Kii Capital , and Strive Capital.
SimilarWeb (2007, London, $65M) – Collects, measures, analyzes and provides user engagement statistics for website and mobile application. Backed by Naspers and Docor International Management.

Social Data
DataSift (2010, Reading, $64M) – Social data platform. Provides access to real time and historical social data streams. Backed by Upfront Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Insight Venture Partners, IA Ventures, Cendana Capital, Daher Capital, GRP Partners, Northgate Capital, and The FSE Group.
Crimson Hexagon (2007, Boston, $11M) – Provides access to the social media data for media monitoring and analytics. Backed by Fort Point Angels and angel investors- Charles F Dolan and Oleg Uritsky.

Weather
The Climate Corporation (2006, SF, $109M, Acq) – SaaS based platform for hyper-local weather monitoring, agronomic modeling, and high resolution weather simulations. Backed by Founders Fund, NEA, Index Ventures, Code Advisors, Felicis Ventures, Glynn Capital Management, First Round, Allen & Company, Anthemis Group, Atomico, GV, and Khosla Ventures.
Spire (2012, SF, $69M) – Satellite powered data company. Provides maritime intelligence and weather data. Backed by RRE Ventures, BVP, Jump Capital, Lemnos Labs, Promus Ventures, Emerge, Fresco Capital, Beamonte Investments, Mitsui & Co Global Investments, Grishin Robotics, and Shasta Ventures.

Geospatial
Planet Labs (2010, SF, $183M) – Microsatellites to map the Earth and access to the data. Backed by IFC, Data Collective, and Yuri Milner.
Skybox Imaging (2009, Mountain View, $91M, Acq.) – Provides commercial, high resolution satellite imagery and HD video and analytics services. Acquired by Google in June 2014.

Legal 
FiscalNote (2013, Washington, $30M) – Aggregates all the data on legislation and provides summary of the legislation, sentiment analysis to the decision makers. Backed by Visionnaire Ventures, Green Visor Capital, NEA, Perle Ventures, Conversion Capital, SF Capital, 645 Ventures, Plug & Play Ventures, Renren Inc, Middleland Capital and AME Cloud Ventures.
Lex Machina (2009, Menlo Park, $10M, Acq) – Provides Intellectual Property (IP) litigation data and predictive analytics using Big Data to solve patent lawsuits. Acquired by LexisNexis in December 2015.

Traffic
Inrix (2004, Kirkland, $143M) – Provides historical, real time traffic information, traffic forecasts, travel times, traffic count, and roadway incident reports to businesses and individuals. Backed by Intel Capital, KPCB, Porsche Automobil Holding, August Capital, and Bain Capital.
Miovision Technologies (2005, Kitchener, $28.5M) – Provides automated traffic data collection systems and video collection units to record traffic movements in urban and rural settings. Backed by Comerica Bank, FedDev Ontario, Golden Triangle Angel Network, Investeco Capital, MacKinnon Bennett & Co.

Genealogy
Ancestry (1983, Provo, $146M, Acq.) – Provides genealogical and historical records focused on USA and nine other foreign countries, genealogical software, and a wide array of  genealogical related services. Acquired by Permira Advisers Ltd in 2012.
MyHeritage (2005, Or Yehuda, $49M) – Aggregates historical records (Birth, marriage, burial, immigration, census, military etc) of people online and provides mobile and software platform for discovering, sharing and preserving family history. Backed by Accel, Index Ventures, BVP, Hasso Plattner Ventures, and Cross Creek Advisors.

Marketplace
Quandl (2011, Toronto, $18M) – Marketplace for financial and economic datasets. Backed by August Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Data as a Service feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SMART HOMES

• Latch, a NYC based smart lock developer for homes, offices and apartment building raised $10.5M in Series A funding from Primary Venture Partners, Corigin Venture Partners, Expansion Ventures, PCH, Camber Creek, Third Prime Capital, R/GA, Techstars and other investors. Link
• Beon Home, a Cambridge, MA based developer of smart lights for preventing home intrusion raised $3M from Jopeko Capital. Link
• Petcube, a SF based developer of device for remote pet interaction raised $2.6M from Almaz Capital, Aventures Capital and Y Combinator. Link
• Edyn, a Oakland based developer of smart garden monitoring system raised $2M in seed funding from Fenox Venture Capital, Idea Bulbs Ventures, Morning Side and Indicator Ventures. Link
• Silvan Innovations Labs, a Bangalore based developer of smart home solutions raised $520K from The Chennai Angels. Link
• Wizn Systems, a Bangalore based developer of home automation solutions raised undisclosed amount of funding from Foxconn. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Openstrom (2015, Salzburg) – Smart meters for monitoring circuit level energy consumption.
Comfylight (2015, Zurich) – Smart light with presence detection capabilities doubling up as security device.

LEADER BOARD – SMART HOMES

Home Automation
Device Management
Control4 (2003, Saltlake City, IPO) – Wired and wireless home automation products. Went public in August 2013 thus becoming first home automation company to do so.
Savant (2005, Barnstable, $90M) – App and hub for connected device management. Backed by PE firm KKR.

Monitoring Systems
Leeo (2013, Palo Alto, $37M) – Plugin devices that alert user when their smoke alarm sound. Recently laid off 30% of its employees. Backed by Formation 8, Visionnaire Ventures, EON.
Hello (2013, SF, $32M) – Sleep behavior tracking by providing data on environmental conditions of room. Backed by Temasek Holdings.
Bidgely (2010, Sunnyvale, $25M) – Enables consumers to monitor and manage their household energy use. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Constellation Technology Ventures, E.ON, RWE Group.

Thermostat
Nest Labs (2010, Palo Alto, $80M, Acq.) – Hardware and software for monitoring home energy consumption. Acquired by Google for $3.2B in 2014. Backed by Google Ventures, LSVP, KPCB, Shasta Ventures, Generation Investment Management.
Ecobee (2007, Toronto, $16M) – Apple homekit compatible digital programmable thermostat. Backed by Tech Capital Partners, Relay Ventures, Investco Capital, Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund.

Radiators
Ecovent (2012, Boston, $9M) – Technology for wireless control over heating vents. Backed by Emerson Climate, Tamarisc.
Embue (2007, Boston, $1.75M) – Smart radiators for home & office. Backed by US Department of Energy, MassCEC.

Remote AC Management
Tado (2011, Munich, $34M) – Smart AC management device for homes and businesses. Backed by Target Partners, Shortcut Ventures, BayBG, Siemens.
Sensibo (2013, Wilmington, $650K) – Device to connect and control ACs. Backed by Kima Ventures, Lool Ventures, Motus Ventures.

Wireless Switches & Plugs
ThinkEco (2008, NYC, $7M) – Modern outlet that monitors and regulates power consumed by appliances.
Zuli (2012, SF, $1.65M) – Smart plugs that automatically switch on/off device on basis of users presence. Backed by Leonardo Di Caprio, Menlo Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, XG Ventures, Logitech, Dena, Plug&Play tech center.

Home Lighting 
Lifx (2012, Melbourne, $12M) – Wifi enabled LED lights. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Qualcomm Ventures.
Astro (2014, NYC, $3M) – Smart electric bulbs for energy efficiency, home monitoring and automation. Backed by Lerer Hippeau, Crosslink Capital, Zelkova Ventures, Maiden Lane, Expansion VC, Winklevoss Capital.

Smart Kitchen
Innit (2013, SF, $25M) – Development phase sensors to manage and connect food information. Backed by group of strategic investors.
June (2013, SF, $7M) – Smart counter top oven. Backed by Foundry Group, Founders Fund, First Round Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Upside Partnership.

Gardening
Hydropoint (2002, Petaluma, $39.5M) – Develops smart water management solutions for landscape irrigation applications. Also provides site specific weather data to agencies and corporations. Backed by Rockport Capital, Firelake Capital, Chrysalis Ventures, Monitor Ventures, J.F. Shea Co.
Rachio (2012, Denver, $10M) – Platform for remote sprinkler management. Backed by FG Angels.

Pet Feeder
Petnet (2012, Pasadena, $7M) – Intelligent pet feeding system. Backed by Kima Ventures, SparksLab Global Ventures, Launch Capital, Grishin Robotics, iRobot

Home Security
Locks
August (2013, SF, $48M) – Smart lock and access systems. Backed by Qualcomm Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, Maveron, Cowboy Ventures, Industry Ventures, Rho Ventures, Softtech VC.
Latch (2015, NYC, $17M) – Smart locks for homes, offices and apartment buildings. Backed by Primary Venture Partners, Corigin Venture Partners, Expansion Ventures, PCH, Camber Creek, Third Prime Capital, R/GA, Techstars and a number real estate developers.

Video Monitoring & Alerts
Alarm (2000, Vienna, IPO) – Home and business security by leveraging wireless, web and mobile technologies, all built on Alarm.com’s hosted services platform. Went public in June 2015.
iControl Networks (2003, Redwood City, $93.5M) – Connected home management software solutions to service providers and home security companies, also provides Piper home security device. Backed by Intel Capital, Comcast Ventures, KPCB, Rogers, Tyco, Cisco.
Canary (2012, NYC, $41M) – Smart security devices to track motion, temperature, air quality, vibration, sound, and activity. Raised $2M on Indiegogo. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Smart Homes feed. If you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – MOBILE COMMUNICATION

• Anonymous app After School raises $16.4M in Series A funding. Link
• Hike messenger raises undisclosed funding from Silicon Valley veterans. Link
• Blindspot received an undisclosed funding from Nicki Minaj & Will I Am. Link
• Whatsapp reaches a billion monthly users. Link
• Line integrates bike taxi service Go-Jek into its chat app in Indonesia. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Sup (2015, London, $1.1M) – Messaging app that notifies when friends are around.
Nimbee (2015, Zurich) – Messenger where users have full ownership of their data & can sell it to earn money.

LEADER BOARD – MOBILE COMMUNICATION

Messaging & Calling
Tango (2009, Mountain View, $369M) – Mobile app for OTT video calling & messaging. Backed by Alibaba, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Translink Capital, Qualcomm.
Whatsapp (2009, Santa Clara, $58M, Acq.) – Cross-platform OTT messaging & voice calling app. Backed by Sequoia Capital. Acquired by Facebook in February 2014.
Hike (2012, Delhi, $86M) – OTT messaging & voice calling app.  Backed by BSB, Tiger Global.
Fring (2006, London, $30M, Acq.) – Video calling & messaging app through operator network. Backed by North Bridge Venture Partners, Pitango Venture Capital, VenFin, Veritas Venture Partners. Acquired by Genband in September 2013.
WeChat (2010, Shenzhen) – OTT messaging & calling app, also available for smartwatch. Part of Tencent Group.
Line (2011, Tokyo) – OTT video calling & messaging app which features news & coupon, based on user interest. Part of Naver Corporation.

Messaging
MiaoPai (2011, Beijing, $275M) – Chinese OTT video messaging app. Backed by Redpoint Ventures, Morningside Venture, SINA, KPCB, Sinanet, Star Ventures, Sequoia Capital, YG Entertainment, Sina.
Kik (2009, Toronto, $116M) – OTT messaging app with built-in browser. Backed by RRE Ventures, Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures, Foundation Capital, Tencent, Millennium Technology Value Partners, SV Angel.

Calling
UXIN (2012, Shenzhen, $100M) – Internet-based VoIP calling app. Backed by Sina.
TextPlus (2007, Marina Del Rey, $53M) – Free OTT calling app with paid service to call users without app. Backed by Matrix Partners, KPCB, Upfront Ventures, The Raine Group.

Ephemeral
Snapchat (2011, LA, $1.15B) – Real time photo messenger with timer to self destruct photos. Backed by Coatue Management, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Benchmark, Alibaba Group, Yahoo, KPCB, GIC, Institutional Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners, SV Angel.
Wickr (2012, SF, $39M) – End-To-End encrypted self-destructing messenger. Backed by Dolby Family Ventures, Riverwood Capital, Knight Foundation, Juniper Networks, Alsop Louie Partners.

Location Based
Yik Yak (2013, Atlanta, $72M) – Provides location based anonymous feed of what people are saying around. Backed by Vaizra Investments, Azure Capital Partners, DCM, Renren Inc., Sequoia Capital.
Whisper (2012, Santa Monica, $60M) – App to discover people around & share thought anonymously. Backed by Shasta Ventures, Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Trinity Ventures.

Enterprise Messaging
TigerText (2010, Santa Monica, $81M) – Intra-organisation secure messaging app where messages are encrypted and self-destruct after a preset period of time. Backed by Easton Capital, New Science Ventures, Shasta Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors, Reed Elsevier Ventures, TELUS, New Leaf Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Invus, Accolade Partners.

Enterprise Calling
Biba (2012, SF, $20M) – Enterprise app for video conferencing. Backed by Benchmark, Trinity Ventures, InterWest Partners.

Business
HeyWire (2010, Cambridge, $13M) – Mobile messaging service for customer engagement. Backed by Lauder Partners.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Mobile Communication feed. If you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE

• Fugue, a cloud OS startup raises 20M in series C. Link
• Zerto, an enterprise class BCDR, raises 50M in series E funding. Link
• Scalr, cloud performance monitoring tool for heterogeneous cloud, raises 7.35M. Link
• ActOnMagic, a cloud management startup raises Seed Funding. Link
• Google quietly launched its answer to Amazon’s Lambda. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Enteon (2015,St Louis) – offers products for clients who want more control over external cloud providers.
StackInsight (2015, Hyderabad) – offers an online platform to monitor,visualize  and track cloud infrastructure costs on AWS

LEADER BOARD – CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE

IaaS
AWS (2006, Seattle, IPO) -Provides remote computing  as web services. Backed by the retail giant Amazon.com. Amazon.com went public in May 1997
Azure (2010, Redmond, IPO) – Provides an open, flexible, enterprise-grade cloud computing platform.Backed by Microsoft. Microsoft went public in March 1986.
Google Cloud Platform (2008, Mountain View, IPO) –  Provides a cloud computing platform that offers hosting on the same supporting infrastructure that Google uses.Backed by the search engine giant Google. Google went public in August 2004.

Cloud OS
Mirantis (1999, Mountain View, $220M) – Provides enterprise grade OpenStack distributions.Backed by Dell Ventures, Intel Capital and WestSummit Capital, Red Hat, Ericsson and SAP Ventures. IVP, Telefonaktiebolaget L.M. Ericsson and Goldman Sachs.
Eucalyptus (2008, Goleta, $55.5M, Acq.) – Provides free and open-source computer software for building Amazon Web Services (AWS)-compatible private and hybrid cloud. Acquired by HP in September 2014.
Mesosphere (2013, SF, $49M) – Provides a distributed operating system, based on Apache Mesos. Backed by Khosla Ventures, SV Angel, Fuel Capital, Andersson Howritz, DCVC. KPCB, Foundation Capital.

Cloud Management Platform 
ScienceLogic (2003, Reston, $84M) – Provides IT monitoring platform for hybrid cloud infrastructure.Backed by Goldman Sachs, Intel Capital, NEA.
RightScale (2006, Santa Barbara, $58M) – Provides multi cloud management platform for hybrid cloud environments.Backed by DAG Ventures, Benchmark, Index Ventures, Presidio Ventures, Tenaya Capital.

Cloud Migration
Avepoint (2001, Jersey City, $90M) – Provides software solutions to migrate legacy systems to Sharepoint servers.Backed by Goldman Sachs and Summit Partners.
CloudVelox (2010, Santa Clara, $33M) – Developed automated cloud migration solution. Backed by Third Point Ventures, Mayfield,Pelion Ventures.
BackOffice Associates (1996, South Harwich, $30M) – Provider of data migration and information governance solutions. Backed by Goldman Sachs.

Cloud Integration
MuleSoft (2006, SF, $259M) – SaaS based Integration platform for connecting enterprise applications. Backed by Cisco Investments, ServiceNow, Morgenthaler, Lightspeed VP, Brookside Capital, Adage Capital, SalesForce Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, NEA, Meritech Capital, HWVP, Bay Partners.

Cloud Analytics
SignalFX (2013, San Mateo, $28.5M) – Time series DB based advanced monitering and analytics platform for applications and infrastructure. Backed by CRV and a16z.
AccelOps (2007, Santa Clara, $25M) – Provides analytics-driven IT Operations Management. Backed by ATA Ventures, US Ventures, Miramar VP.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest updates on this space, visit Cloud Infrastructure feed. if you are a premium subscriber. Yet to become a premium subscriber? Mail us at hi@tracxn.com