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Kima Labs is a technology company.
Kima Labs develops innovative mobile applications designed to streamline the mobile shopping experience for consumers. Its core products include Barcode Hero, a mobile barcode scanning application that empowers users to quickly access product information, and TapBuy, a mobile payment and purchasing platform. The company focuses on leveraging smartphone capabilities to bridge the gap between physical retail and digital purchasing, making transactions more intuitive and accessible directly from a mobile device.
The company was founded by Blake Scholl and Jason Crawford, both veterans of Amazon, who brought extensive experience in large-scale e-commerce and consumer technology. Their shared insight recognized the nascent but growing potential of mobile devices to transform retail, particularly the need for frictionless shopping solutions. Scholl and Crawford identified a market opportunity to simplify the often-cumbersome process of purchasing goods via mobile, leading to the creation of their user-centric applications.
Kima Labs primarily serves everyday mobile consumers who seek efficiency and simplicity in their shopping journeys. The company's vision centers on enabling a seamless and convenient mobile commerce ecosystem, where product discovery and secure transactions are just a tap away. It aims to empower shoppers with tools that enhance their purchasing decisions and facilitate effortless engagement with products through their smartphones.
Kima Labs has raised $770K across 1 funding round.
Kima Labs has raised $770K in total across 1 funding round.
Kima Labs has raised $770K in total across 1 funding round.
Kima Labs's investors include Prefix Capital, South Park Commons, Naval Ravikant, Owen Van natta, Ronald Conway, Washington Post Company.
Kima Labs has raised $770K across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $770K Seed in July 2010.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2010 | $770K Seed | Prefix Capital, South Park Commons, Naval Ravikant, Owen Van natta, Ronald Conway, Washington Post Company |
Kima Labs was a San Francisco-based technology startup that developed mobile apps for barcode scanning and payments, including Barcode Hero (a mobile barcode reading app) and TapBuy (a mobile payment app), aimed at simplifying mobile shopping and commerce[1][2]. The company targeted merchants and consumers in the early mobile e-commerce space, addressing the need for quick barcode scanning and seamless in-app payments at points of sale, but it was acquired by Groupon in February 2012 after raising $770K in funding, with no further independent operations post-acquisition[1][2].
Founded by Amazon veterans, Kima Labs launched amid the rise of mobile commerce but quickly became part of Groupon's expansion into mobile tools for local transactions and merchant services[1][2].
Kima Labs was founded in 2011 by Blake Scholl and Jason Crawford, both former Amazon executives with deep e-commerce experience; Scholl and the team's chief engineer Andrew Miner had also worked together at Pelago (acquired by Groupon in 2011)[1][2]. The idea emerged from their expertise in mobile shopping solutions, starting with Barcode Hero as the flagship product, followed by TapBuy to enable mobile payments[2].
Early traction came from high-profile backers like Naval Ravikant, Ron Conway, Owen Van Natta, and the Washington Post Company, leading to the pivotal moment of Groupon's acquisition on February 18, 2012—part of Groupon's buying spree to bolster mobile capabilities, announced alongside the Hyperpublic deal[1][2].
(Note: Post-acquisition details on product evolution are unavailable in sources, as Kima Labs ceased independent operations[1].)
Kima Labs rode the 2012 mobile commerce wave, as smartphones enabled on-the-go shopping and payments, coinciding with Groupon's aggressive expansion beyond daily deals into a "local commerce operating system"[1][2]. Timing was ideal: Groupon sought mobile tools amid international growth challenges and competition in POS tech, using Kima's apps to enhance merchant networks and deal redemptions[1][2].
It exemplified early M&A trends where nimble startups fueled giants' mobile pivots, influencing the ecosystem by accelerating integration of barcode scanning and payments into platforms like Groupon, paving the way for modern apps like Square or Shopify's mobile features[1][2].
Post-2012 acquisition, Kima Labs effectively dissolved as an independent entity, with its tech absorbed into Groupon's merchant tools amid that era's mobile commerce frenzy[1][2]. No recent activity appears in available data, suggesting its innovations were integrated or phased out as trends evolved toward NFC, QR codes, and app-less payments.
Looking ahead, Kima's legacy underscores how acqui-hires like this shaped Big Tech's mobile dominance; founders Scholl (later Boom Supersonic) and Crawford advanced to bigger ventures, while similar tech now powers ubiquitous retail apps amid AI-driven commerce trends[2]. Its story ties back to pioneering mobile scanning—once a startup novelty, now table stakes in a trillion-dollar digital payments ecosystem.