Jakub Krzych, founder of Estimote, has announced a $3.1 million seed round raise from Innovation Endeavors, Betaworks, Bessemer Venture Partners, Birchmere Ventures, Valiant Capital Partners and others. The company is already shipping its small Bluetooth products, called Beacons, to retailers and they expect a huge rush in orders as they line up large clients next year.
“In the future apps will not be designed just for smartphones. They will also be developed and installed on top of retail stores and other real world locations – like airports, museums or hospitals,” said Krzych. “We are shipping thousands of beacons per week and more than 10,000 developers around the world are already experimenting with Estimote beacons in contextual computing applications.”
Macy’s is already experimenting with the technology while Apple plans to add iBeacon to 254 of their retail stores. Estimote is poised to grab hundreds of those locations with its low-cost devices. They are also building a digital platform for handling iBeacon interaction with cellphones as well as improved wireless payment solutions. Estimote won Best Hardware Startup at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco.
“Estimote is Steve Cheney as SVP of Business Operations, who will open a New York office and build out Estimote’s business and operations teams,” said Krzych. The company already has headquarters in Krakow, Poland and San Francisco. The company hopes to announce further partners over the coming months.
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