Raise Report: Jet, Swrve, ClassPass Lock Down New Funding
Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech.
Monday, November 2: Handy hauls in $50 million, scales on-demand home service
On-demand home services startup Handy announced $50 million in new funding last week, Fortune reported. Fidelity led the round for the New York City-based startup, assisted by TPG Growth, General Catalyst, Highland Capital, and Revolution Growth. The round comes amidst the failure of fellow home services startup Homejoy, which offered a service similar to Handy — hiring home services professionals like plumbers and cleaners and sending them to users’ homes at the click of a button. Despite the failure of its rival, Handy is on the rise, looking to capitalize on the cash by doubling the list of 28 cities in which it’s available over the next year.
Tuesday, November 3: SweetIQ scores $4 million to turn online clicks into local purchases
Local marketing automation platform SweetIQ raised $4 million in Series A funding last week, according to a company press release. The round, led by Plaza Ventures, will enable SweetIQ to double its staff size, speed up product development, and establish new partnerships with “major directories and offline data providers.” SweetIQ’s bread and butter is bolstering retail brands’ online marketing abilities and helping those brands get noticed online so that web-browsing consumers shop at their local brick-and-mortar stores.
Wednesday, November 4: Jet closes in on $500 million round to challenge Amazon
Jet.com, an ecommerce startup seeking to challenge Amazon’s hegemony in the space, is raising a $500 million round led by Fidelity, Fortune reported last week. The funding should fuel Jet’s efforts to hire over 1,600 new employees by December 2016, according to TechCrunch. Jet’s founder, Marc Lore, previously founded an ecommerce startup that sold to Amazon for $545 million in 2010. This time around, Lore’s company differentiates itself from the competition with an intuitive shopping platform, anchored in partnerships with retailers, that offers users suggestions on what products to buy based on which retailer could deliver that product at the cheapest and quickest rate.
Wednesday, November 4: Zenchef raises €6 million to bring restaurants into digital age
Zenchef, a French provider of online marketing solutions for restaurants, announced a six million euro round last week, TechCrunch reported. Zenchef helps improve the sites of its partner restaurants, supplying them with reservation-booking capacity and a stronger digital presence meant to attract new customers and keep existing diners coming back. Edenred Capital Partners led the round, which will allow Zenchef to expand its user base beyond restaurant owners in France, Spain, and the U.K., where it currently operates. Extra: Read the Street Fight interview with Zenchef co-founder and CEO Xavier Zeitoun.
Tuesday, November 10: Transfix rakes in $12 million to disrupt shipping and trucking
Transfix, which provides shippers an on-demand trucking and small carrier service for pick-up and delivery, announced $12 million in Series A funding this week, New York Business Journal reported. Transfix works like Uber, allowing shippers to select a truck near them in real time and providing truck drivers with the fastest routes to their destinations. Also like Uber, it relies on contractors, employing both truck drivers and smaller carriers. Canvas Ventures led the round, which will allow Transfix to sharpen its supply chain execution platform and third-party logistics services, according to a company press release.
Tuesday, November 10: ClassPass picks up $30 million Series C to get you in the gym
ClassPass, whose users pay a flat rate of $125 in exchange for access to a number of fitness classes at nearby gyms, has raised $30 million in a Series C round led by Google Ventures, VentureBeat reported Tuesday. ClassPass CEO Payal Kadakia confirmed the round to TechCrunch later in the week, saying his company will focus on strengthening the user experience and lending a hand to the fitness studios with which it partners.
Wednesday, November 11: Swrve secures $30 million to upgrade mobile marketing
Swrve, a marketing platform that helps mobile companies keep app users coming back, raised $30 million in new funding this week, according to a company press release. Swrve will use the capital infusion to move its product development timeline forward and grow its staff. Evolution Media Partners led the round. As part of the funding announcement, Swrve revealed it had acquired adaptiv.io, a data automation platform for mobile.
Joseph Zappa is an editorial assistant at Street Fight.
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