• BitGo

  Participated · Series A · Jun 2014

  BitGo is a cryptocurrency custody specialist focused on institutional custody of digital assets. The firm supports backup of fragmented master keys and the use of hardware security modules (HSMs) to secure client holdings. Brink's has made a strategic investment in BitGo; financial terms were not disclosed. BitGo intends to leverage Brink's global secure logistics network and footprint of secure locations to support expansion into regions like Asia Pacific and EMEA. Company leaders say the partnership will bolster security protocols and locations and provide peace of mind to BitGo’s growing client base. Brink's prior work with Swiss custody firm Metaco in 2022 underscores its ongoing move into digital assets. BitGo offers wallet solutions and custody infrastructure focused exclusively on institutional clients. The company operates a qualified trust company (launched in 2018) and established a New York Trust in 2021, and has expanded into institutional-grade staking, DeFi, NFT and Web3 services. BitGo supplies the security and operational backbone for more than 1,500 institutional clients across 50 countries, including regulated entities, cryptocurrency exchanges, and customers such as Nike. Founded in 2013 and led by CEO Mike Belshe, the company intends to use new capital to pursue strategic acquisitions and further consolidate its global position. Financially, BitGo recently completed a $100M Series C at a $1.75 billion valuation. BitGo provides institutional investors with security, compliance and custodial solutions for blockchain-based currencies and is led by CEO Mike Belshe. The company is a large processor of on-chain bitcoin transactions, handling about 15% of global bitcoin transactions and roughly $15 billion per month across all cryptocurrencies. BitGo serves the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges and customers across more than 50 countries. It recently launched BitGo Trust Company, described as the first qualified custodian purpose-built for storing digital assets. The company intends to use the new funds to support development of its $1 trillion crypto wallet. BitGo is based in Palo Alto and also maintains offices in Sioux Falls, London, Singapore and Tokyo. BitGo provides a technology platform that enables custodial institutions and businesses to integrate digital currencies into existing financial systems. The company is led by CEO Mike Belshe and Chairman Bill Lee. BitGo processes more than $8 billion monthly and counts customers such as Kingdom Trust, CME Group and The Royal Mint. Kingdom Trust, a federally approved custodian, is cited as an example customer that uses BitGo to offer Bitcoin IRAs and custody services. The company intends to use new funding to accelerate enabling businesses to integrate digital currencies into their financial systems. BitGo is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. BitGo builds a web-based, multi-signature Bitcoin wallet that uses a 2-of-3 key model to reduce single-point-of-failure risk. Its wallet requires three keys — an online transactional key that lives in the browser, a backup offline key (vault or paper), and a third key retained by BitGo — to sign transactions. After creating the multi-signature wallet, BitGo has been branching out and calls itself a security-as-a-service platform for Bitcoin. On top of the consumer wallet it offers BitGo Enterprise, a multi-user, multi-signature product for corporations and financial institutions. The company recently raised $12 million in a Series A led by Redpoint Ventures and has attracted a broad group of investors. BitGo has recruited talent such as Ben Davenport (from Facebook Messenger) and faces well-funded competitors like Coinbase, Xapo, and Circle, who have each raised roughly $20M or more.

• Twist

  Participated · Series A · Jul 2012

  Twist builds a mobile app that automates arrival-time notifications for meetings by sending participants ETA updates as users head to and approach destinations. Users enter the destination, time, and contact info for a meeting; the app sends a start message, an about-to-arrive message, or an updated late ETA when delays occur. The company personalizes estimates using each user's historical travel patterns and has refined its ETA algorithm for driving, biking, walking, and public transit; early users and testers reported ETA accuracy up to 98%. Twist spent more than a year developing the app and commissioned a Harris Interactive survey that found 24% of Americans have sent a text or email while driving to say they're running late. The team says there is no pressure to monetize immediately but is considering selling the ETA technology via an API to other businesses. The company is led by co-founders Bill Lee (CEO) and Mike Belshe (CTO).

• J. Hilburn

  Led · Series C · Jun 2011

  J. Hilburn is a custom men’s clothing company that started with dress shirts and has expanded into pants, sweaters, more casual wear and now suits. It operates as both manufacturer and retailer, cutting out middle layers of retail distribution to control quality and margins. The company’s suits will be manufactured in Portugal in the same factory used by Armani and Zegna, and a comparable J. Hilburn suit is priced at about $800 versus roughly $1,700 for a Zegna suit. J. Hilburn uses a hybrid sales model: a direct sales force of roughly 1,000 “style advisers” who visit customers for consultations and fittings, and recently launched online sales to transition relationships from offline to online. Operating metrics show rising customer spend — average sales per customer expected at $500–$600 this year (up from $400 in 2010) — and management projects revenue of $20–$25 million this year, up from $8 million last year, saying the business is running 20% ahead of plan. Management is developing an iPad point-of-sale app for style advisers and is focused on accelerating new product development and inventory support. J. Hilburn sells custom men’s shirts and other luxury men’s clothing direct to consumers, sourcing fabric directly from Italy to shorten the supply chain and lower prices. The company offers shirts at $79, $99, and $149 and reports a five-week delivery time for custom orders. It operates a network of more than 300 personal style advisers around the U.S. who take measurements, place orders, and deliver to over 7,500 customers. Customers can also buy clothing directly from the J. Hilburn website. The business emphasizes a tech-enabled approach to create a smaller, more efficient supply chain and lower retail prices. The company recently completed external fundraising, reflecting investor interest in its model.

• BuzzLogic

  Led · Series C · May 2011

  BuzzLogic has pivoted from social media monitoring to an online media company that aims to improve brand metrics and ROI via a media index and analytics platform. The company now positions itself as helping brands engage and activate media across the social and conversational web rather than only listening. CEO Dave Hills says BuzzLogic is growing revenues greater than 50 percent a quarter and is now listening and engaging at huge scale. The funds from the recent round will be used to introduce new advertising products for the social and conversational web and to expand the sales force. BuzzLogic announced a $7.8 million Series C and has raised $28 million in total funding to date. Investors in the round included Bridgescale Partners, Adams Capital Management, investment banker Bob Colman, Bridge Bank (which provided debt) and others. BuzzLogic operates an advertising platform that identifies and targets audiences engaged in specific blog conversations. Its core technology includes the Conversational Ad Targeting Platform, which uses advanced content and social analysis to target ads to blog readers. The company also launched BuzzRoll™, a content distribution ad unit designed to help brands create more meaningful connections with blog readers and to work in conjunction with its targeting platform. BuzzLogic plans to use the new capital to scale its national sales team and invest in additional product development. The company appointed John Donahue (formerly of Omnicom Media Group) as CTO. Financially, it closed an $8.8M Series B round to fund these initiatives. BuzzLogic operates the Conversation Ad Network, an ad platform that uses algorithms to identify major and second-tier influencers and place targeted ads on their blogs. The company evolved from a brand-monitoring service that tracked who was talking about brands and how influence spread across the web. Unlike next-generation social-targeting platforms that use cookies and behavioral analysis, BuzzLogic's approach does not rely on behavioral data. After several months of testing the ad product, the network includes over 500 blogs and can be used to refine campaigns on AdSense and other major networks. BuzzLogic is capitalized to about $13.5 million and has gone live commercially. A pilot with Military.com surfaced over 2,000 blogs and news sites for a niche audience, placed ads on roughly 250 sites, and delivered readers who arrived in larger numbers and spent more time on site.

• Digital Chocolate

  Participated · Series D · Feb 2011

  Digital Chocolate develops social games that run across Facebook, Google+, personal computers, consoles, mobile devices and tablets. Led by Trip Hawkins, the company focuses on original brands and has created more than 100 award-winning games, including Zombie Lane, Army Attack, Millionaire City, MMA Pro Fighter and the cross-platform title Galaxy Life. It works with roughly 200 web and mobile channel partners in 80 countries and maintains operations in San Mateo, Seattle, Helsinki, Barcelona, St. Petersburg, Bangalore and Mexico. The company was a top App Store downloader and the fastest-growing maker of Facebook social games with virtual goods in 2010. Headquartered in San Mateo, Digital Chocolate used a newly closed $5.0 million venture loan to finance key growth initiatives. Digital Chocolate is a game developer that publishes popular casual games for iPhone and other mobile phones, the Web, Facebook and Xbox LIVE. Its titles include Millionaire City, Island God and Vegas City, and the company says it is one of the top five global games publishers on Facebook. Digital Chocolate has achieved more than 100 million mobile downloads. The company announced a $12 million Series D led by Intel Capital, bringing its total funding to $54 million. It plans to use the new funding to expand scale, improve cross-platform capabilities, and grow its geographic reach. Recently the company sued Zynga over the “Mafia Wars” trademark and the dispute was settled a few weeks later. Digital Chocolate publishes mobile and social games across platforms including Apple iPhone, smartphones, Xbox LIVE, the web and mobile phones in over 80 countries. The company has launched Facebook titles such as NanoStar Siege, MMA Pro Fighter, NanoStar Castles, Millionaire City, Safari Kingdom, NanoTowns and Tower Bloxx. Its games and distribution reach are supported by partnerships with major mobile and media companies including AT&T, Vodafone, Paramount, HBO, Fox, Verizon, Google, Samsung, Nokia and Sony/Ericsson. Digital Chocolate operates offices in Bangalore, Helsinki and Barcelona in addition to its San Mateo base. The company recently secured additional liquidity in the form of a "multi-million" dollar revolving line of credit. Proceeds from the financing will be used for general corporate purposes. CEO Trip Hawkins said Bridge Bank's financing will help the company grow faster and reflects confidence in its performance and market position.

No current team members are available.