Atlanta-based IoT startup ThingTech has raised a $4 million Series A round led by BIP Capital with participation from Engage Ventures. CEO Tim Quinn tells Hypepotamus the funding will boost their sales, marketing, and customer success functions, as well as “rounding out the development team to accelerate platform and product development.”
“We’ve received really positive feedback from customers in the Equipment Rental, Construction, and Telematics markets and are excited about the opportunities in those spaces,” he says.
Founded in 2014 by Quinn and co-founder Brian Corcoran, ThingTech has developed an IoT platform that helps companies with a mobile workforce, like construction and utility firms, track, manage, and maintain their assets using GPS technology and built-in connectors.
The IoT tracking market is slated to grow to $520 billion by 2021.
Customers provide Thingtech with access to a high view of their equipment, transportation, and heavy machinery such as cranes, generators and more with location and diagnostic data to prevent theft and safety issues.
The startup introduced an enterprise solution, ThingX Connect, last summer to offer an end-to-end solution for expensive asset management. The platform allows customers to reduce their operations costs by monitoring equipment usage and staying on top of any service issues.
“We’re collecting tons of data in real time for mobile field services — where they’re located, how they’re behaving, how they’re utilizing the heavy equipment,” Quinn told Hypepotamus last year. “All of this data comes back to us, and we create action from it.”
In December 2018, the team introduced an IoT solution for rental equipment. Rental companies can offer rates based on equipment usage, know when their assets have been delivered or picked up, and if they need to be serviced. Aside from preventing theft, this helps companies increase customer satisfaction and efficiency.
“We’re excited to partner with ThingTech as IoT continues to become a significant business disruptor,” said Dan Drechsel, senior vice president at BIP Capital, in a statement.
“ThingTech’s agility and ability to be deployed quickly distinguish it from other IoT solutions. They’ve already had notable successes across multiple industries […] and we’re looking forward to working with them to gain even greater momentum,” he continued.
The investment from Engage Ventures follows the acceptance of the startup into Engage’s corporate-backed venture fund and growth program last March. The program provides initial investment and access to the valuable Engage network of entrepreneurs and company executives.
“The Engage program has been really positive for us. It’s provided instant access to the largest opportunities in our target market and has yielded some fantastic opportunities, but was also great for market feedback and validation. It also provided some great development opportunities for our team,” says Quinn.
The startup raised a $1.8 million seed round last January led by early-stage investment firm AIM Group with participation from TechSquare Labs’ venture fund.
