Near field communications (NFC) specialist Tapit Media has completed a USD2.3m series A round led by MPC Ventures, a subsidiary of Sydney based Monash Private Capital.
Other investors in the consortium include IT entrepreneurs David Shein and David Thrum, as well as global venture capitalist Jon Medved’s ourcrowd.com.
The transaction marks one of the first NFC content delivery related series A rounds in the world and one of only a handful of series A transactions in Australia.
Tapit has created an enterprise grade NFC ecosystem to simplify the way people get content and information when they are out and about. People tap one of the Tapit symbols with their phone and they access information immediately. No application on the phone is required; the technology reduces the need for search, QR and thumb typing.
Tapit encoded NFC chips are placed in or on physical objects such as outdoor advertising, retail shelves, product packaging, transport timetables, shop windows, food court tables and tourist information points. Once tapped, by an NFC enabled phone, they direct the phone to the Tapit cloud based infrastructure which then delivers the content, coupons or information via mobile data networks. The system then profiles engagement delivering clients detailed reports on people’s physical interactions with the “tapified” objects.
Jamie Conyngham chief executive and co-founder of Tapit, says: “The series A expansion capital will propel Tapit and our concept of ‘Impulse Content’ onto the global stage. The Monash team is the definition of ‘smart money’, as lead investor they are bringing a wealth of high-level contacts, associated companies, financial and M&A experience. This will assist in accelerating Tapit’s growth.”
Geoff Levy and Joey Fridman, co-founders of Monash Private Capital, said: “We have been impressed with the Tapit product offering and management team, and the traction that they have already established with their blue chip customer base. We look forward to working with Jamie, Andrew and team, and assisting them achieve their global expansion strategy”.
The funds will be used to continue Tapit’s rapid traction in the area of NFC marketing with an international focus.
