Google buys VC-backed Pointy

Following the acquisition, Pointy intends to build new features, and further expand its products and services offering, according to a statement.

Previous funding
Following an initial seed round of $1.2m received from Frontline Ventures, LocalGlobe, Seed Camp and Audrey Capital in May 2015, the company raised $6m in a series-A funding round led by Vulcan Capital, Frontline Ventures and Draper Associates in September 2017.

Subsequently, Polaris Partners and Vulcan led a $12m series-B round for the business in July 2018. Several angel investors also took part in the investment, including Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress; Lars Rasmussen, co-founder of Google Maps; Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of Transferwise; and Michael Birch, co-founder of Bebo.

Company
Pointy specialises in helping local stores to be more visible online and ensure their current inventory is displayed on their websites. The company offers a device, the Pointy Box, which is able to connect to a store's barcode reader; the device automatically scans every item in store and lists them online, optimising the listing for search engines.

Pointy has partnerships with several companies offering point-of-sale services to local retailers, including Square, Clover and Lightspeed.

People
Pointy – Mark Cummins, Charles Bibby (co-founders).
Google – Peter Chane (senior director for small- and medium-sized business products).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Technology
• Support services
• Venture
• Ireland
• Polaris Private Equity