CellSavers raises $20m from Red Dot, Sequoia, Carmel

Eyal Ronen and Itai Hirsch Photo: PR
Eyal Ronen and Itai Hirsch Photo: PR

The company provides house-calls for broken mobile telephones.

CellSavers has raised $20 million in its B round, after raising $15 million last August, sources inform "Globes." As far as is known, $10 million was raised from Israeli venture capital fund Red Dot in the current round, and $5 million from Sequoia Capital and Carmel Ventures, two venture capital funds that previously invested in the company.

The new investor in CellSavers, Red Dot, began operating only a year ago. It is financing by Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd., a Singapore government company. The fund's chairman and managing partner is Israeli venture capital pioneer Yoram Oron. The only angel investor in CellSavers is Robert Antokol, founder and CEO of Playtika, the most successful game company in Israel, which was sold to a consortium of Chinese companies for $4.4 billion.

CellSavers has developed a platform for matching consumers with trained professionals in real time. "CellSavers works to provide an unusual customer experience, and to verify that the repairs and support for the device - the company is initially focusing on smartphones and other mobile devices on demand - will be as rapid and convenient as possible, while minimizing the time in which the consumers must do without a functioning device. Qualified and vetted local 'Savers' aim to reach customers within 60 minutes, regardless of their location, carrying out precise guaranteed repairs," the company stated at the time. CellSavers’ service is already available across the United States in 18 major metropolitan areas including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta.

CellSavers cofounder and CEO Eyal Ronen said at that time, "CellSavers’ vision is to reliably, easily, and quickly repair or replace any malfunctioning technology product. For this purpose, we have built a very sophisticated technology infrastructure, which allows a real-time matchmaking between technicians, skills, parts and consumers. In the near future, when any electronic device - game console, smart TV, Wi-Fi router, or any other device - will need to be fixed, a skilled technician, specifically trained for the task and equipped with all necessary replacement parts, will arrive at the location of the consumer’s choice within 60 minutes. The technician will provide a professional, warranty-backed service, complemented with full customer service.”

Founded: 2015

Founders: Eyal Ronen (CEO), Itai Hirsch

Capital raising to date: $38 million

Number of employees: over 30 (the company also employs over 500 technicians in the US)

Principal shareholders: Venture capital funds Sequoia Capital, Carmel Ventures, and Red Dot, Playtika founder and CEO Robert Antokol

Source: IVC Online and the company itself

Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on July 13, 2017

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017

Eyal Ronen and Itai Hirsch Photo: PR
Eyal Ronen and Itai Hirsch Photo: PR
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