Startup News: Demandbase and Spiffy receive new funding infusions

Demandbase, Spiffy Receive Fresh Funding

As businesses, Demandbase and Spiffy have little in common.

San Francisco-based Demandbase provides sales and marketing support to B2B companies. And North Carolina-based Spiffy sends out a fleet of vans to offices and homes that provide automobile owners with services such as oil changes and detailing. But in the past two weeks, both privately-held firms have received fresh injections of funds.

Demandbase, which was valued at $1.33 billion as of May 2021, recently announced $175 million in new financing from Vista Credit Partners, a subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners. The investment will be used strategically to support Demandbase's next wave of platform innovation. “This comes on the heels of a successful Q4 and FY2022, including strong revenue growth and record Q4 bookings,” the company announced in a press release.

And Spiffy announced the closing of its Series C financing round, raising $30 million to drive growth across the business and fuel Spiffy’s private-label hardware and software-as-a-service offering for automotive dealers. The round was led by Edison Partners, with participation from existing investors including Tribeca Venture Partners, Bull City Venture Partners, IDEA Fund Partners, and Trog Hawley Capital. The latest funding brings the company’s valuation to $133 million as of February 2023.

According to a profile on Spiffy in The News & Observer, based in Raleigh, N.C., Spiffy now has 500 technicians across 45 markets, and an additional 80 employees at its Durham, N.C. headquarters. The company says it performs between 3,000 to 4,000 services each day and has grown by more than 90% in each of the past two years. This expansion has been powered, in part, by the company’s focus on servicing larger fleets of commercial vehicles like those at rental car agencies.

FoodTech Wonder Pivots to Meal Deliveries

Meanwhile, Wonder, a five-year-old food-tech startup launched by tech entrepreneur Marc Lore, has completely revamped the way it does business and residents of Manhattan may be the better for it.

According to a profile on the Business Insider website, Wonder, which was valued at $3.5 billion as of June 2022, originally “prepared meals in vans parked outside customers' homes in New Jersey but is pivoting to delivering meals from storefronts using couriers on electric bikes.” The company launched its new service from a storefront on the Upper West Side of Manhattan this week.

In an interview with Business Insider, Lore, who started e-commerce site Jet.com in 2014 before selling it to Walmart two years later, said that by shifting Wonder’s business model to delivery or takeout from a fixed location, Wonder can scale faster. “Storefronts can offer consumers up to 30 food brands for delivery from one location, while the van model was limited to two menus per van,” the article stated.

Jasper Hosts First Generative AI Conference

Finally, in a further sign that generative AI has arrived, the hot tech sector finally got its first trade conference in mid-February. According to an article on the CNBC website, a crowd of over 1,000 people including executives with OpenAI and Anthropic and venture capitalists attended the conference in San Francisco hosted by Jasper, a generative AI startup that has raised over $140 million. “The tech industry may seem like it’s in a lull, plagued by widespread layoffs at major tech companies and a down economy, but that air of doom wasn’t apparent at a gathering of [AI] techies and investors,” wrote CNBC.

About the Author

John Kimelman is a veteran journalist who has worked at Barron’s and CNBC covering such topics as investing and commercial banking. Mr. Kimelman has received compensation from Forge Global, Inc. for authoring this article. Read more from John.

Please Read These Important Legal Notices & Disclosures

The information and material presented in this article is provided for your informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer by Forge Global, Inc., Forge Securities LLC or any of its affiliates (collectively, "Forge") to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities and may not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities. An offer or solicitation can be made only through the delivery of final offering document(s) and purchase agreement and will be subject to the terms and conditions and risks delivered in such documents.

To the extent information about or defining specific terms is provided herein, Forge makes no representations as to its accuracy and has no duty to update such information. Such information is based on Forge’s experience and the meanings and connotations of terms as Forge typically uses and interprets them. Others may construe such terms differently, and you should do your own research and consult with financial, legal and tax professionals regarding any such concepts included herein.

This article does not constitute an offer to provide investment advice or service. Registered representatives of Forge Securities LLC do not (1) advise any member on the merits or prudence of a particular investment or transaction, or (2) assist in the determination of fair value of any security or investment, or (3) provide legal, tax, or transactional advisory services. Securities referenced in this article may be offered by Forge Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

Forge Securities LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Forge Global, Inc. Certain affiliates may act as principals in such transactions. Forge Data LLC is an affiliate of Forge Global, Inc. and Forge Securities LLC.

Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors. An investment in private company securities is highly speculative, involving a high degree of risk, and investors should be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities. Each investment also carries its own specific risks and investors should conduct their own, independent due diligence regarding the investment, including obtaining additional information about the company, opinions, financial projections and legal or investment advice. Accordingly, investing in private company securities is appropriate only for those investors who can tolerate a high degree of risk and do not require a liquid investment. Past performance Is not indicative of future results.