- General
- July 24, 2019
- 4 minutes read
Tile Raises $45 Million Series C Funding
A Tile tracker image: Tile Tile — a San Mateo, California-based startup known for its tiny Bluetooth trackers — has closed…
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| A Tile tracker
image: Tile
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Tile — a San Mateo, California-based startup known for its tiny Bluetooth trackers — has closed $45 million in Series C funding led by Francisco Partners, with participation from existing backers Bessemer Venture Partners, GGV Capital, and new investors Silicon Valley Bank and Bryan Stibel, a $100 million VC fund cofounded by basketball star Kobe Bryant.
Tile will use the investment to accelerate its partnerships with third party product manufacturers. This entails embedding its Bluetooth tracking technology into items like wallets, keys, bags, headphones and more. Tile has already partnered with companies like Bose and Skullcandy [headphones], Nomad [battery packs] and KeySmart [key holders].
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| A Tile tracker hung on a doll
image: Tile
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Tile will also make use of the funding to grow internationally, expand into new product categories, and enhance its upgraded Premium service. The San Mateo-based startup posted strong results in early 2019, with European sales growing 160% in its most recent quarter, and a more than double in unit sales at the recently concluded Amazon Prime Day. Sign-ups for its Premium service also exceeded initial expectations and will be a key focus for Tile going forward.
Tile operates a cloud-based Bluetooth tracking platform that lets its users easily locate their belongings. Wallets, keys, bags and the likes are items that are easily lost, making Tile a good way to always know where they are. Tile has sold more than 15 million trackers in total. These trackers help locate some 4 million items everyday.
