What is Esper?
Esper operates a sophisticated cloud-based platform designed to empower organizations in managing and optimizing fleets of dedicated devices. Its comprehensive suite of tools enables businesses to efficiently deploy, configure, monitor, and update a wide array of edge devices, including kiosks, point-of-sale systems, tablets, and other specialized hardware. By integrating remote management capabilities with automated deployment and configuration tools, Esper ensures enhanced security, streamlined operational workflows, and consistent device performance. The company serves a diverse clientele spanning sectors such as retail, hospitality, healthcare, logistics, and education, providing critical infrastructure support for their digital operations.
How much funding has Esper raised?
Esper has raised a total of $10.7M across 2 funding rounds:
Angel/Seed
$2.7M
Series A
$8M
Angel/Seed (2016): $2.7M, investors not publicly disclosed
Series A (2021): $8M led by Stand Together Ventures Lab, 8VC, Gaingels, and Cota Capital
Key Investors in Esper
8VC
8VC is a leading technology investment firm, investing in visionary teams and backing industry-transforming companies. The partners have a proven track-record as founders, engineers, and operators of successful companies including Palantir, Addepar, Affinity and OpenGov, amongst others. 8VC was founded in 2012 and manages $3.6 billion in committed capital. The firm invests primarily in smart enterprise platforms across industries including financial services, healthcare, logistics, Bio-IT, and others.
Gaingels
Gaingels is the leading investment syndicate in support of and representing the LGBTQ community and allies in the venture capital space. With over $380,000,000 deployed into a portfolio of over 600 companies since 2014, Gaingels is also the co-founder of Mathison.io and provides an internal at-cost diverse board member/observer recruitment advisory for the company's portfolio companies. Gaingels invests in companies with LGBT founders and C-suite leaders at all stages of growth, as well as in other high-growth companies resolved on building more inclusive teams. Gaingels is a founding co-signer of the Diversity Term Sheet Rider Initiative to increase access to venture funding events for non-traditional check writers, and regularly co-invests with select VC leads across a variety of sectors, from technology, to B2B, healthcare and consumer, in competitive and over-subscribed rounds from Seed to Growth/pre-IPO.
Cota Capital
Cota Capital is an investment firm that focuses on early-stage technology companies addressing innovative challenges in the enterprise sector. They combine financial investment with deep operational expertise and industry insights to empower founders in building transformative businesses. The firm believes that knowledge is the ultimate capital, leveraging a vast network and investment rigor to help entrepreneurs succeed. Their portfolio includes a diverse range of companies that are pioneering new technologies and solutions.
What's next for Esper?
With the recent infusion of capital, Esper is poised for accelerated growth and further development of its device management and DevOps platform. The company's focus on enterprise-level solutions suggests a strategic push towards expanding its market share within industries that rely heavily on dedicated device infrastructure. Future initiatives are likely to involve enhancing platform capabilities, broadening industry-specific applications, and strengthening its competitive position against other players in the device management and IoT sectors. This major funding round signals strong investor confidence in Esper's business model and its potential to address complex operational challenges for large organizations.
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