Six Months After Spin-Off, Gimbal Continues to Grow

It’s been a busy few months for Gimbal, the beacon company formerly owned by Qualcomm. After being spun off from the tech giant in May, the company went on a hiring spree, bringing its team to more than 30 employees. Then earlier this month, the company entered into its first big partnership with push notification company Urban Airship.

Gimbal first came to life within Qualcomm Labs four years ago. As the proximity space continued to grow, Qualcomm realized that it was time for Gimbal to mature into its own company. Qualcomm is still Gimbal’s largest single shareholder and a strong support of Gimbal, but Gimbal has been able to create its own infrastructure geared toward its unique revenue streams separate from Qualcomm’s operational structure.

“We’ve been able to really make sure we’re successful at the verticals we’re going after,” Gimbal’s COO Kevin Hunter told Street Fight recently. “With us being able to focus on our line of business, it’s giving us the ability to go after it in a more aggressive and agile way. There’s still a lot of belief and trust in this technology from Qualcomm and our other investors, so we’re taking advantage of the ability to operate in a different structure, operate faster, and capture more of the market.”

Having separated from Qualcomm, Gimbal has thus been able to focus on new partnerships, like its recent one with Urban Airship. The partnership between the two companies will make it easier for retailers and marketers to reach consumers efficiently, leveraging both Gimbal’s and Apple’s beacons.

“In the industry, we at Gimbal have the best location technology, they [Urban Airship] have the best mobile marketing. By combining we’ve removed friction,” Hunter said. “We removed friction and simplified to be able to take advantage of this technology. That integration, we believe, is going to have a major impact on the market because it’s a lot easier to leverage.”

At the same time that Gimbal is partnering with other technology providers, it is steadily increasing its list of clients as well. The company has worked with Apple retail, MLB, NFL, and the US Tennis Association.

“The market is maturing,” Hunter said. ” It turned into commercial opportunity where they’re coming to us to buy.”

And in the meantime, Gimbal is continuing to provide the platform for marketers to engage with consumers. So retailers can ping a loyal customer as he enters the store welcoming him back, and they can follow him through the store with different messaging. It could involve a loyalty program, special contests, weekly deals, or even just product information.

“We have the ability to set up the different levels of engagement they want,” Hunter said. “Not every event or engagement needs a customer experience. You don’t want to overcommunicate, you want to find that right balance for that customer. They’re leveraging the understanding of the consumer and figuring out, with Urban Airship for example, the right frequency that you go to that consumer. We’re letting them make the decision, and they’re figuring out the right message to put on top.”

Rebecca Borison is a contributor at Street Fight.