AREA360
Launch release
FINAL
UNDER EMBARGO / FOR RELEASE ON THURS, 3/9/2015, 5 AM NZST
New Zealand Startup AREA360 Closes $5.5 Million NZD in Series A Funding from Top US Technology Venture Group
STQRY Creator Expands Wellington Office, Opens Seattle Headquarters and Receives New Investment to Scale its
Location-Based Experience Products
SEATTLE – September 3, 2015 – AREA360, creator of STQRY, today announced the closing of a $5.5 million NZD Series A round of financing led by top technology
investor Madrona Venture Group. In addition, the company announced the opening of their US headquarters in Seattle, Washington and the hiring of a
top-notch executive team. The company’s products are built for large and frequently visited locations such as airports,
hospitals and museums, enabling non-technical managers to easily create meaningful experiences based on location data,
harnessing the power of beacons, GPS, WiFi and more. AREA360 products are already in use by more than 400 customers
worldwide including Emirates Airlines, , Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington
D.C.
While most beacon-related systems have been commercialised with a focus on marketing in the retail industry, AREA360 has
developed a broadly applicable and elegant solution for any industry. Drawing on the company’s rich history of
connecting digital content to physical locations through the STQRY app, AREA360’s advanced solutions now enable
proximity based content delivery down to one to three meters, providing the tightest correlation of any
beacon/location-aware platform on the market.
“We started AREA360 to give organisations the ability to enhance their customer experience by providing navigation as
well as relevant information and unique opportunities along their path” says Chris Smith, AREA360’s founder and CEO.
“Using beacon and other location data, our platform enables customers to create a broad portfolio of useful services.
“For example,” Smith continued, “airports can deliver navigation to and from gates, along with a stop at the nearest
Starbucks; museums can bring to life that new piece of art by presenting a video on the artist’s inspiration; and an
operations manager can track their most valuable assets in real time. The support from New Zealand’s startup community
helped us to thrive and our customer response has been overwhelming. We look forward to continuing to grow our business
in the U.S., New Zealand and the rest of the world.”
The company saw an opportunity to rapidly advance its business by opening a Seattle-based headquarters, while
simultaneously growing the Wellington, New Zealand office into a development powerhouse. AREA360, led by serial New
Zealand entrepreneur, founder and CEO Chris Smith, recruited a Seattle-based head of operations in the former GM of OnlineShoes.com, Dave Martine, and a head of marketing in former T-Mobile US leader Nathan J. Peterson, to join Seattle's VP of Global Sales, Jennifer Smith. The company also recruited head of technology Andrew Reid from Zeacom and Navman to lead the thirty person, Wellington-based development group with plans to grow the team to
more than forty developers by the end of the year.
AREA360 was formed in 2012 in Wellington and has grown under the leadership of Chris Smith and Ezel Kokcu, enabling the
rapid expansion to Seattle, with multiple global offices in the works. The New Zealand community has been a huge
supporter in the growth of AREA360 and STQRY, including advisors Gareth Morgan, Dion Mortensen, Alan Gourdie and Sven
Baker, as well as organisations such as Callaghan Innovation, NZTE, Grow Wellington, and the ICE Angels.
Quotes:
“Location-aware services provide a delightful customer experience that modern consumers will come to expect,” comments
Paul Goodrich, managing director at Madrona Venture Group. “Chris and his team have built an advanced platform that has
already reached millions of consumers. We are excited to support them as they continue to expand their business and
bring delightful navigation, content and other services to the next million.”
“We congratulate AREA360 on their ongoing growth and success, in particular in the United States,” says New Zealand
Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) Customer Manager Mike Evans. “They are a great example of an ambitious New Zealand tech
company growing internationally by entering new markets. Their partnership with Madrona is an important endorsement of
their already considerable success. We look forward to continuing to work with the AREA360 team on their ongoing growth
in the US and in other markets."
About AREA360
AREA360 is the creator of an innovative mobile location technology platform for large and frequently visited locations
such as airports, hospitals and museums that want to enhance the way their customers discover, connect and engage with
what's around them. The platform allows any organisation to easily create meaningful experiences based on accurate
location data, harnessing the power of beacons, GPS, WiFi and more. AREA360 has more than 400 customers including
airlines like Emirates, airports like Denver and Seattle-Tacoma International and museums like the Smithsonian and The
Walt Disney Family Museum. AREA360 is based in Seattle. Learn more here.