Earlybird Venture et al. invest $2.8m in Versus IO

Ellie Pullen
16 May 2013

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Earlybird Venture Capital, 500 Startups, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and two angel investors have backed product comparison platform Versus IO in a $2.8m series-A funding round.

Earlybird led the round and is a new investor in Versus IO, along with HTGF and the two angel investors, Lars Dittrich and Dario Suter. 500 Startups had previously invested in the company.

Earlybird is believed to have invested via its Earlybird V fund, which held its first close last April on $100m. Earlybird V has a target of $200m. The fund typically invests €1-5m in its initial investment, with the ability to invest up to €15m over the holding period. The firm prefers to invest in European start-ups.

500 Startups typically invests up to $250,000 per company and had already invested $100,000 in Versus IO last December.

HTGF is believed to have acquired a 15% stake in the company. The firm invests only in technology-based businesses and, according to its website, typically offers a subordinated convertible loan to a prospective portfolio company alongside its investment in return for a 15% stake, which will not be increased should the existing convertible loan be converted to equity if later-stage financing is required.

HTGF is believed to have invested in Versus IO via its High-Tech Gründerfonds II fund, which held its second close last December on €301.5m, having launched in October 2011.

Versus IO has received $3.8m in funding to date, including this latest round.

Company
Versus IO was launched in 2011 and is based in Berlin. The company provides a product comparison engine, which currently offers comparisons for a range of electrical devices including phones, tablets, monitors, e-readers and televisions. Versus IO offers 25 million comparisons to users, which are available in 18 languages.

Since the launch of the site in 2011, the company has reported a monthly traffic increase averaging at around 35%. The site now attracts 2.2 million visitors monthly.

People
Ramin G Far is the CEO and founder of Versus IO. Christian Nagel is a partner and co-founder at Earlybird. Dave McClure is the founding general partner at 500 Startups.