18 Jun TrafficCast secures $2M from Phenomenelle Angels, NEW Capital Fund
Madison, Wis. – TrafficCast International, a global provider of digital traffic data, will receive $2 million in new angel funding in a round led by two Wisconsin-based investment funds, Phenomenelle Angels Fund I of Madison and NEW Capital Fund of Appleton.
The close of the Series A Round coincides with the release of TrafficCast’s signature product, Dynaflow, which offers real-time speed estimates based on impact modeling of weather, incidents, and construction.
TrafficCast will use the funds primarily for technology development and for sales and marketing expansion. The company forecasts rapid growth and anticipates attracting additional institutional funding in a Series B round later this year.
Connie Li, co-founder and CEO of TrafficCast, said in a release that the Series A round and existing lines of credit will be the foundation for providing predictive information to travelers.
“We are pleased to have found investors who share our vision,” she said, “and we are confident that their expertise will add considerable value to our team.”
Attractive investment
TrafficCast is based in Madison and has a branch office in Shanghai, China. Executives in Phenomenelle Angels and NEW Capital Fund gave several reasons why they considered the company an attractive investment.
Charlie Goff, general partner of NEW Capital Fund, said TrafficCast is well positioned across key distribution channels with a roster of market-leading clients, including Yahoo, Google, and the Department of Defense.
He said the fund’s objective is to provide investment in Wisconsin-based companies with distinct competitive advantages in “large and growing markets,” and TrafficCast fits the bill.
“TrafficCast is a good example of a Wisconsin-based, early-stage company that possesses unique technology addressing an emerging market,” Goff said.
Joe Hildebrandt, managing director of Phenomenelle Angels, said the market for traffic information is evolving rapidly and TrafficCast has “exceptionally valuable IP and patents” in place to take advantage of emerging opportunities.
He cited market-leading research in vehicle-probe technology, and referred to Dynaflow as an example of “above-the-curve technology” being deployed on cell phones and Global Positioning Systems.
“It’s an attractive investment because of the superior technology in a fast-moving and emerging field,” Hildebrandt said. “We believe its contracts with Google, Yahoo, Weather Central, and a number of TV and radio outlets will provide the basis for a very strong play in a field that is growing rapidly and consolidating.”
Additional investors
Phenomenelle Angels and NEW Capital Fund were joined by the investment group Women Angels of Milwaukee and Florida, and by a syndicate of individual investors.
Also supporting the round was the conversion of certain debt obligations to equity, including those held by Weather Central, a supplier of weather data and production tools to media. TrafficCast previously secured a $1 million line of credit from SVB Silicon Valley Bank and has additional debt in place with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.
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