Square Now Valued at $1.6 Billion, Despite Lack of Profits. Jin Lee/Bloomberg NewsSquare, a credit card reader made for smartphones, is plugged into an iPhone.
Square, the fast-growing mobile payments company, does not suffer from a lack of buzz. Helmed by Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter, it is garnering significant attention for its bite-size credit card reader, which facilitates payments on mobile devices. The company, based in San Francisco, processes almost $4 million in transactions a day for individuals and small businesses like limousine drivers and beauty salons. It’s also attracting capital from the largest investment firms in Silicon Valley. Early Wednesday, the start-up announced the completion of a $100 million financing round, led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a leading venture capital firm that has backed Google and Amazon. Square snags $100M at massive $1B valuation. If you need any further evidence that the mobile payments arena is going to be huge over the next few years, just look at Square.
The mobile payments startup, created by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, has raised $100 million in a third round of funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, skyrocketing the company’s valuation to more than $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The funding has quadrupled Square’s valuation — the company’s last round valued it at just $240 million.
That’s an impressive jump for any company, let alone one that’s just eight months old. The funding shows that investors are confident Square can hold its own against the likes of PayPal and Intuit, who are more established when it comes to payments but are just now beginning to take mobile transactions seriously. And of course, Google’s recently launched mobile wallet could pose a threat as well. Square allows anyone to make credit card transactions on their mobile devices. Square. Square's Keith Rabois talks about the mobile payments start-up's new funding. Square, the mobile payment start-up from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, announced today that it has raised a new round of funding that values the company at about $240 million.
I spoke with Square’s chief operating officer, Keith Rabois, about it. Interesting side note: Sequoia Capital's Roelof Botha is joining Square's board. Rabois and Botha worked together at PayPal. Botha, who as the former chief financial officer at PayPal has some serious cred in payment systems, also got Sequoia to invest in "a little company called YouTube" -- at Rabois' suggestion.
Square Raises $27.5M From Sequoia And Khosla, On Track To Process $40M In Q1 Payments. $10m raised from Khosla Ventures. Earlier today we wrote about Square, the new payment service cofounded by Jim McKelvey and Twitter creator Jack Dorsey.
We also interviewed Dorsey and used Square to buy a coffee. We knew Square had closed a hyper-competitive venture round. What we didn’t know until recently was the size and valuation of that round. Square is valued at a massive $40 million or more after raising $10 million in funding, and the service is yet to launch publicly for anyone to use. Khosla Ventures is taking most of the $10 million venture round, we’ve heard from multiple sources. Square Co-Founder And Others Put $17M In Online Merchant Lender Kabbage. Atlanta-based startup Kabbage, which provides working capital to online merchants, has raised $17 million in Series B funding led by Mohr Davidow Ventures with BlueRun Ventures, David Bonderman, founder of TPG Capital; Warren Stephens, CEO of Stephens; the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square; and others participating in the round.
This brings Kabbage’s total funding to $24 million. Kabbage, which was founded by Marc Gorlin, Rob Frohwein and Kathryn Petralia, is essentially a way for online merchants and sellers on marketplaces like eBay and Amaxon to get capital they otherwise wouldn’t qualify for at a bank. Kabbage uses technology to analyze online merchants’ sales and credit history; customer traffic and reviews; and prices and inventory compared to competitors. And merchants can proactively add information to their Kabbage account to immediately increase their access to capital. Mobile Payments Startup Square Raises $27.5 Million. Mobile payments startup Square has raised $27.5 million in a Series B round of financing that now reportedly values the company at $240 million.
The round was led by Sequoia Capital and firm partner Roelof Botha will join the board, according to The Wall Street Journal. Square, which launched publicly at the end of October 2010, develops hardware and software designed to turn iOS and Android devices into payment processing machines. As many as 50,000 businesses have signed up for the service in the past three months, according to COO Keith Rabois. The startup competes against Visa, Intuit, PayPal and soon even Google in the increasingly crowded mobile payments space. The huge cash infusion will help Square hire new team members, grow more aggressively and raise awareness around its service. Visa Makes A Strategic Investment In Disruptive Mobile Payments Startup Square.
There is no doubt that mobile payments company Square is on a roll. The company just landed a lucrative deal selling its credit card readers in Apple’s retail stores and is growing at a fast clip. And now the company has just received a strategic investment from a giant in the credit card industry—Visa. For background, Square offers iPhone, Android and an iPad app which allows merchants to process and manage credit card transactions with a handy little credit card swiping device that plugs into the headset/microphone jack. The device and service is the brainchild of Twitter co-founder and recently appointed product lead Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, and recently raised $27.5 million in new funding. Visa And Square: Why Goliath Is Investing In David. Square Starts 2011 with A New Round At A Big Valuation.