Property imaging firm Giraffe bags £18m in new funding
Cash includes £13.2 million in VC funding and nearly £5 million in long-term loans as it launches new camera.
Property imaging platform Giraffe360 has raised £13.2 million from both existing and new investors.
The funding round has been led by US venture capital firm Founders Fund and coincides with the launch of its new Go Cam camera, which is faster, more powerful and lighter than previous units.
Founders Fund, which is based in San Francisco, has backed several winning horses including Airbnb, Spotify and Elon Musk’s SpaceX and before that, the payment platform he helped found, Paypal.
The VC fund says it has led the funding round for Giraffe because it looks for businesses run by ‘smart people solving difficult problems’ by advancing their respective fields through technology.
Elon Musk
Other venture capital firms that participated in the latest round included the existing investors LAUNCHub Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, HCVC (Hardware Club) and Change Ventures.
In addition to the VC fund cash, Giraffe has also borrowed some £4.95 million in long-term loans from the London-based venture debt provider Columbia Lake Partners. This takes, along with a previous raise, the total funds raised by Giraffe to grow its business to over £23 million.
No brainer
Founders Fund principal Delian Asparouhov says: “After being involved in a number of PropTech startups such as OpenDoor, we’ve recognised that some of these tech forward companies aren’t having their needs met, which means that the mass market definitely isn’t having their needs met.
“Giraffe360 was a no-brainer, and is really well suited to meet the needs of the market from both the hardware and software front.”
Subscription-based Giraffe launched in the UK during early 2019 after CEO Mikus Opelts moved its HQ from Latvia to London after securing £1 million in seed funding.
