A D.C.-based transportation tech startup hit the funding trail and came back with a double portion of growth capital.
TransitScreen has closed on a $3 million investment from Vancouver-based TIMIA Capital. The capital raise more than doubles the company’s total funding, bringing it to $6.1 million since its founding in 2014.
TransitScreen, founded by Matt Caywood and Ryan Croft, is known around the District for displays in office and apartment buildings showing location-based, real-time information about transportation options. The data it tracks includes traditional public transportation like subways and buses, as well as private options like scooters, bikeshare and ride-hailing services.
Croft said the company is using the fresh capital to continue expanding its sole D.C. office, with plans to double its staff of 35 within the next two years. Many of those hires will be software engineers and data scientists.
“That’s where D.C. thrives, in some ways: We have these government-related data employees who move around a bit, but also a bunch of NGOs here and interesting, non-traditional tech companies finding success with people who wanted to enter tech and were coming from somewhere like the State Department,” Croft said. “We think it’s a perfect market for us.”
The largest objective for the company following the raise, he said, is scaling its B2B mobile app, CityMotion, which launched late last year. It allows employees of corporate clients and tenants of their buildings the ability to see TransitScreen data on smartphones for personalized use. The startup plans to expand its list of large corporate clients, which Croft said are investing big money into fighting employee churn – starting with their commute.
With coverage of the U.S. and Canada locked down, the company also recently started its international expansion by hiring international data expert Diego Canales. Croft said TransitScreen has two major projects underway in Latin America and Europe that will be bolstered in coming months by additions to its international data team.
Its previous angel and seed funding rounds in 2015 and 2016 netted the company $2 million, including investments from accelerator and coworking space 1776, of which it was a member before moving to its own D.C office.
