Mobile Incubator Tandem Unveils Its Three Latest Startups — And Oh Yeah, It’s Raising A $100M Fund
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Tandem is announcing the three latest startups that have joined the Silicon Valley-based mobile incubator. It’s also confirming some news that was revealed earlier this year in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission — that it’s raising a big, new fund.
Tandem co-founder Doug Renert told me earlier this year that the firm was planning to expand significantly. The first step in that expansion was hiring two new partners (Rohit Bhagat, formerly chairman of Asia-Pacific for investment firm BlackRock, and John Ellis, co-founder and executive vice president of product and technology at ad tech company Turn), but Renert acknowledged that raising more funding was also part of the plan.
According to the filing, the fund (which is Tandem’s third) will total $100 million, several times larger than the $32 million fund that Tandem raised last year. It’s not clear whether the fund has closed or Tandem will be able to raise the full amount — a spokesperson confirmed that the firm is raising a new fund but declined to offer any details.
Renert has said in the past that his goal is to invest about $200,000 in three startups each quarter that have built a product but don’t yet have traction. Tandem offers those startups mentorship and office space, then it makes follow-on investments in the ones that are successful. Renert has also said that he’s particularly interested in opportunities in emerging markets.
By the way, you may have noticed that the SEC filing dates all the way back to February. Why didn’t I spot it back in April, when Tandem announced its new partners? That’s … a good question.
Uh, did I mention that the firm is also announcing some new startups? Here they are, with descriptions provided by Tandem:
- Shoptimize — a mobile commerce platform for traditional merchants in emerging markets. The team is working with over 20 businesses outside the U.S., instantly making their products and services available on mobile devices.
- AcceptPay — a cash-on-delivery platform to support e-commerce in cash-centric economies. They have a core technology team in Silicon Valley with business operations that work closely with banks and merchants outside the U.S.
- PacketZoom — a mobile content delivery network started by ex-Google engineers. They accelerate mobile application performance substantially across the last mile of mobile networks.
Tandem said this is the first group of startups that it’s backing through the new fund.
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