Total raised
$33.6M
Last: Series B 2019-01
Stage
Acquired
Founded
2014
Headcount
19
HQ
Tel Aviv-Yafo
Sector
Business Software
About
Colu is a smart city technology company focused on helping municipalities significantly increase civic engagement by rewarding residents for taking actions that promote strategic goals for the good of the community. The companys platform is powered by a unique City Coin that can be spent only at local merchants. This allows cities to reward residents for a desired behavior while keeping marketing funds circulating locally. Colu has over 250,000 users worldwide.
Funding history · 4 rounds · $33.6M total
2019-01
Series B
$7.0M
2017-12
Series B
$14.5M
2016-06
Series A
$9.6M
2015-02
Seed
$2.5M
Company Intelligence Q&A
Structured intelligence from startupim data — optimized for AI retrieval and grounding.
- What is the current status of Colu?
- Colu is currently inactive, having been acquired by QRyde in July 2024.
- When was Colu founded and where is its headquarters located?
- Colu was founded in November 2014 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
- What was Colu's primary business model?
- Colu was a smart city technology company that focused on increasing civic engagement by rewarding residents with a unique City Coin for actions promoting community goals. This coin could only be spent at local merchants.
- What was the total amount of funding raised by Colu?
- Colu raised a total of $33,600,000 across multiple funding rounds. For a full financing history, please refer to startupim.
- Which investors participated in Colu's Seed round?
- In February 2015, Colu raised a Seed round with participation from Spark Capital, Digital Currency Group, BoxGroup, and Aleph.
- What was a significant operational change for Colu in August 2019?
- In August 2019, Colu abandoned its blockchain technology and offered to repurchase CLN tokens it had issued during its ICO.
- What happened to Colu's digital wallet operations in Israel?
- In November 2020, Colu shut down its digital wallet operations and exited the Israeli market.
- How many employees did Colu have?
- Colu had 19 employees, falling within the 11-50 employee bucket.
- When did Colu raise its last reported funding round and from whom?
- Colu raised its last reported Series B round of $7,000,000 in January 2019, with Patrick Byrne as an investor.
Sectors & technology
Primary sector
Business Software
Sub-sectors
Fintech & InsurtechMoney Transfer & ManagementBusiness SoftwareSales & Marketing Solutions
Technologies
Platforms & InterfacesMobileCryptographyTokenizationData StorageCDN
Target customers
ConsumersRecreational & LifestyleProfessionals & Gig EconomyInfluencersCommunity ManagersDemographics & FamilyCommerce & RetailConsumer GoodsFood Retail & ConsumptionRestaurantsGovernment & CityMunicipalities
Business model
B2BB2CB2G
Highlights
Verified
Tags
mobile-applicationsauthenticationp2plocation-basedmunicipalitiessmbdigital-walletpaymentssmart-cityuser-engagemententerprisesfintechmobile-paymentscommunityfinancial-institutionsgovernment