A Clearwater-based startup with ties to PODS moving and storage giant has raised $13 million in its latest funding.
Red Rover, which was founded in January 2020, has raised $13.6 million from 46 investors, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company, also known as Easy Moves Holdings LLC, previously raised $10 million in late 2020.
The company was created by Peter Warhurst, who originally founded moving and storage company PODS. Red Rover is an improvement upon that model, Warhurst said in a previous interview with Tampa Bay Inno. The "fetchable" solution with a patent-pending ramp system offers trucks for free at various locations and then charges for the cost of the container.
Warhurst said the new funding will be used for market expansion, but "with expansion come personnel (hires)."
"Once we put this to work and create additional value we will see where we are before we decide next steps," he said.
The latest funding comes after Red Rover expanded to Long Island, New York to take advantage of the mass exodus currently occurring amid the novel coronavirus.
"We're fortunate: A lot of people believe in our vision, we're very well-funded, we have ambitions of first quarter of 2021 opening in several other markets," he said in December.
The company has roughly 20 employees and Warhurst said he hopes to be in half a dozen markets by the end of this year, with a dozen by 2022.
The $13 million is a big win in the Tampa Bay funding scene and follows other large raises that have already been secured this month. Aspen RxHealth, which connects users with pharmacists to deliver clinical services, received a $23 million investment led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Marketing technology firm SiteWit, best known for its brand Kliken, received $3.6 million. And Tampa biotech firm InflammX Therapeutics, Inc. raised $7 million, according to SEC filings.
