The laundry room is getting full in Chicago.
The on-demand dry cleaning app Washio launched in Chicago on Wednesday, allowing customers to select pickup and drop off times from their phone and a Washio “ninja” will return with clean clothes in 24 hours. The payment is handled in the app, which is available on iPhone and Android.
Washio, which first launched in California in 2013, is currently available to those in the The Loop, Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Wrigleyville, Gold Coast and River North neighborhoods from 6 a.m. to midnight. Washio CEO Jordan Metzner decided to launch the app in advance of the winter season when people are less motivated to trek out of the house to the laundromat.
“Now is the perfect time for Washio to come to Chicago,” Metzner said in a statement. “The city is a natural choice for the company to expand our nationwide service. We’re excited to help the people of Chicago through the winter and expand our coverage beyond the East and West Coasts. We expect the smart, savvy and hard-working people of Chicago to embrace Washio and we look forward to getting to know them.”
Chicago is the fourth city for Washio, following Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.
If the app sounds familiar, it’s because it does essentially what DRYV has been doing in Chicago since December 2013. DRYV will also pick up your dry cleaning or laundry and return it in 24 hours. Another startup in the laundry space and new to Chicago is Starchup, a similar service aimed more towards dry cleaning businesses. It was recently announced as one of the tenants in 1871’s newly formed veteran-focused incubator The Bunker.
And of course Postmates, the utility player of delivery startups, will handle your laundry, or whatever else you need.
But the differentiator for Washio among its Chicago competitors is cash, and it’s got an impressive lineup of investors. So far it has raised $14 million from VCs like Canaan Partners, Pejman Mar Ventures, Sherpa Ventures and Jerry Yang. A handful of celebrities have also invested in Washio, including Ashton Kutcher, Nas, and Calvin Harris. Talent managers of some of music’s biggest stars have also jumped on board, including Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber), Jay Brown (Roc Nation), Larry Rudolph (Britney Spears) and Guy Oseary (U2, Madonna).
So, is there room for all the on-demand dry cleaning players in Chicago? We’ll see. As the sharing economy continues to grow, there may be enough dirty laundry to go around. Either way, I think this calls for another Chicago Inno app challenge.
Image via Washio
