Cloud Printing And Shipping Service Lob Raises $7M Series A

Y Combinator-backed Lob, which creates a developer API that lets companies integrate printing and shipping services into their apps, has raised a $7 million Series A round led by Polaris Partners with participation from other investors, including First Round Capital and Floodgate. Lob announced its $2.4 million seed round back in November 2013.

Co-founder Harry Zhang tells TechCrunch that Lob will use capital from its Series A to build new APIs, expand into international markets like the UK and Australia, grow Lob’s team and improve its product’s functionality. In addition, Lob will also introduce tracing and tracking features for its APIs.

Founded by Leore Avidar and Zhang in 2013, Lob now claims more than 3,500 customers, including Intuit, Porch, and Ubiquiti Networks. Early adopters of its cloud printing API included CrowdTilt, ZenPayroll, LendUp, and LocalOn. The service allows developers to make available a wide suite of printed material, including postcards, photos, flyers, posters, bills, checks, and invoices. It also offers tools like address verification and a feature that automatically picks the best type of packaging for an object.

Pat Kinsel, a partner at Polaris, will join Lob’s board of directors. In a statement, Kinsel said “Leore and Harry are building the web’s print API layer. They bring to the table both the market vision and technical prowess to embrace this current opportunity while at the same time being able to see the places the company could go.”