Latest news with #TouringCapital
Finextra
29-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Wingspan raises $24m for embedded contractor management in HR platforms
Wingspan, the first modern payroll platform purpose-built for contractor management, announced that it has raised $24 million in Series B funding led by Touring Capital, bringing its total capital raised to $54 million. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Long Journey Ventures, Distributed Ventures, Company Ventures, and 186 Ventures also participated. Wingspan is on a mission to make contract work effortless for everyone. In less than three years, the company expanded its customer base by 200%, increased average ACV by 5x, supported 12x more contractors, and processed $3B+ in payments. Wingspan's rapid adoption across various industries signals that businesses are urgently seeking infrastructure to manage this workforce transformation. 'From day one, we knew the real problem existed at the intersection of company and contractor. We strategically started by building for freelancers—learning their pain points around income, benefits, and taxes—then leveraged those insights to create the comprehensive platform that businesses desperately need. We've now completed the circle with the only solution that truly works for both sides,' said Anthony Mironov, Co-founder and CEO of Wingspan. 'The workforce composition is changing, and platforms that plan for this shift now will be well-positioned for the long haul.' Roughly 40% of U.S. workers have performed contract work in the last year, and businesses increasingly rely on contingent labor to scale efficiently. More than $1.4 trillion dollars is paid out to contractors annually, or 4% of GDP, across an estimated 74 million contractors, per MBO Partners. In many ways, contractors are the backbone of the U.S. economy. By 2027, half of American workers are projected to earn some income from independent contracting, marking one of the most significant shifts in modern employment composition. Wingspan is utilized by a range of contractors, from Omni's gig workers to CRU Group's insurance adjusters. Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) leverages Wingspan to provide its 10,000 healthcare providers with a seamless payment experience, saving the company an average of 28 hours per month on payment processing. "Working with Wingspan has completely transformed the way Teladoc manages 1099 Provider Payroll,' said Tricia McGimpsey, VP, Payroll at Teladoc Health. 'It's an incredibly seamless process now.' In addition to its Series B raise, Wingspan is announcing Wingspan Embed, a new solution that enables HR platforms to transform the way they manage and support contractors. The comprehensive feature set goes beyond contractor onboarding, tax automation, and payments to elevate the contractor experience with value-added financial services including tax withholding, debit cards, instant payouts, and insurance. Wingspan Embed's modular and embeddable API-first architecture plugs directly into any HR platform; partners can choose from a white labeled solution, modular pre-built UI components, or a deeper, native integration. With Wingspan Embed, HR platforms become the central hub for managing a modern, flexible workforce. 'Wingspan Embed fundamentally changes what HR platforms can offer their customers. Instead of forcing businesses to juggle multiple systems, they can now manage their entire contingent workforce where they already work,' continued Mironov. 'This funding accelerates our ability to help HR platforms unlock new revenue streams, reduce customer churn, and handle compliance complexities that have held them back from serving the contractor economy.' The funding will accelerate Wingspan Embed's adoption across HCM and HR platforms while expanding the company's footprint in key verticals—healthcare, insurance, staffing, and professional services—where flexible workforces dominate. Wingspan will continue to invest in its world-class team while launching AI-powered products that apply the latest advances in AI technology to automate contractor compliance, streamline payments, and solve the complex challenges of managing flexible workforces at scale in ways that were never possible before. 'Wingspan is a scalable, intuitive product solving a critical market need, led by a visionary founding team,' said Priya Saiprasad, General Partner at Touring Capital. 'The company's extraordinary growth and rapid adoption by prominent HR platforms gave us the conviction to lead this funding round. We are proud to support Anthony, Greg, and the entire Wingspan team as they continue to modernize the infrastructure for contract work.' 'Wingspan cracked the code on making flexible work work—for platforms and the businesses they serve. Every platform will need a contractor stack—the smart ones will embed Wingspan,' said David Ulevitch, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
AU Financial Review
06-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
How digital business cards led to the creation of a $200m business
An Australian start-up that is trying to become the default option as a business card for the digital era has pulled in major US investment that values the company at $200 million, after global user numbers surged to over 2.5 million. It may sound like a simple idea, but Blinq has turned an entrepreneur's hunch that a dynamic digital contact profile could replace the centuries-old calling card, into a viable business that has just closed a $US25 million ($38.7 million) funding round, led by US-based Touring Capital.
AU Financial Review
06-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
How updating business cards has created a $200m Australian business
An Australian start-up that is trying to become the default option as a business card for the digital era has pulled in major US investment that values the company at $200 million, after global user numbers surged to over 2.5 million. It may sound like a simple idea, but Blinq has turned an entrepreneur's hunch that a dynamic digital contact profile could replace the centuries-old calling card, into a viable business that has just closed a $US25 million ($38.7 million) funding round, led by US-based Touring Capital.
TechCrunch
06-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Blinq lands $25M to further its mission to make business cards passé
It's 2025, but business cards are still in vogue — just visit any conference or industry expo and you'll end up with a pile that's likely to be discarded sooner than later. But as smartphones have become our repositories of information and contacts, people are understandably keen to try out digital alternatives to business cards. Blinq, a startup out of Melbourne, bet that trend would take off when it started off as a hobby project in 2017, offering a digital business card app with a QR-code widget. Today, the company is making off with a bag of gold: It now has more than 2.5 million users — both individual customers and across 500,000 companies in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia. Off the back of that progress, the startup has now raised a $25 million Series A funding round led by Touring Capital. Returning backers Blackbird Ventures and Square Peg Capital also participated in the round, as did new investor HubSpot Ventures. '[The Blinq's QR] was a simple, personal way to share who you are, and it worked well between iPhone users. But it wasn't until late 2019 when most Android devices caught up on QR scanning, and adoption started to grow,' Jerrod Webb, CEO and founder of Blinq, told TechCrunch. 'Then came COVID — QR codes went mainstream, in-person meetings became more intentional, and Blinq's focus on making those moments seamless and memorable started to take off.' The startup has taken the B2C2B route ever since. The app lets users create several customized digital business cards for different needs and connect with contacts using them. The app can also automatically capture details and sync them with CRM systems such as HubSpot or Salesforce by using QR codes, email signatures, NFCs, short links, or video call backgrounds. Blinq is used by individuals, small businesses, and global enterprises, and 80% of its customer base is located in the U.S., Webb said. Its team has scaled from five employees based in Melbourne to 67 across Sydney, Melbourne, New York, and San Francisco, supporting its product development and go-to-market efforts. 'Every time someone uses Blinq, they're introducing it to someone new. And further, we see more frequent usage by active users the longer they're on the platform,' Webb said. 'That built-in virality drives organic growth and keeps our customer acquisition costs low. On the business side, companies pay per seat. As more employees adopt the product, teams grow organically, creating expansion revenue over time.' Techcrunch event Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | BOOK NOW Blinq competes with several companies providing similar digital business card services, including Mobilo, Popl, Wave, and Wix. Of course, the app also has to contend with social networking platforms like LinkedIn, landing pages, and services like Linketree. But Webb feels Blink is more suited to building relationships, and provides users more ways to follow up and engage with new contacts. Webb sees digital business cards as more than just an endpoint. 'They're our wedge. Because when you are the trusted tool at the moment a relationship begins, you earn the right to shape what follows. We're focused on giving people everything they need to turn first impressions into real momentum — from dynamic, context-rich profiles to smart ways to stay top of mind. That means expanding into new markets, deepening our presence with businesses and enterprises, and continuing to evolve how people connect in a world that's changing fast.'
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Powered by $43M in Series C Funding, SafelyYou Tackles Senior Living's Critical Need for Predictive Care with AI Solution
Touring Capital leads the funding round SafelyYou to extend reach of world-leading AI offering, addressing acuity, staffing, and resident turnover in the senior living industry SAN FRANCISCO, January 28, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SafelyYou, the leader in empowering safer, more person-centered care across senior living through world-leading AI, industry-changing hardware, and remote expert clinicians, has announced the close of a $43 million Series C financing round led by Touring Capital, a growth stage firm focused on AI-powered SaaS startups. The funding fuels SafelyYou's ability to help solve critical challenges in senior care, including how accurately and efficiently operators can predict residents' care needs. Foundation Capital, Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc., Founders Fund, Cross Creek, Samsung Next, and Qualcomm Ventures also contributed to the funding round. This brings the total funding raised by SafelyYou to over $100 million. Founded in 2016 by George Netscher, SafelyYou launched its first product, SafelyYou Respond™, to address falls in memory care, as those with cognitive decline fall twice as often as those without. Falls can be the beginning of serious health decline for seniors and are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for those over 65. SafelyYou Respond™ is proven to reduce falls by 40% and fall-related ER visits by 80%, improving outcomes for residents and reducing costs for families and communities. SafelyYou is trusted by 50% of the industry's largest providers. Justin Skiver, President of Senior Care at ProMedica, said, "SafelyYou has helped us create better outcomes for our residents. We firmly believe SafelyYou will become an industry norm, and we're leading the way in this improved quality of care. From our vantage point, predictive technology like what SafelyYou is currently creating will transform senior living, and we want to be an integral part of that change." Building off the success of its original world-leading AI solution, SafelyYou now offers a suite of products to address resident well-being, staffing challenges, and accuracy in billing for operators. This new round of funding will help support the expansion of these products, including SafelyYou Clarity™, which offers senior living's first and only choice for accurate care measurement without wearables, and SafelyYou Aware™, which leverages the company's unique dataset to provide unprecedented insight into resident wellness, significantly improving outcomes. Additionally, SafelyYou will use data to help operators predict residents' care needs, making care delivery in the industry more efficient and effective than ever before. And setting a new standard of care with a single solution. "We're so grateful for this funding at a critical juncture in care delivery for senior living, when SafelyYou's solutions are more important than ever," said SafelyYou founder and CEO George Netscher. "I started this company to help my mom and to help so many families like ours who have a loved one living with dementia. And we've grown to provide broader care support in senior living. Now, at a time when resident acuity is increasing, care demands are greater, and staffing continues to be a crisis, we'll be able to empower operators to predict care needs with unmatched speed and accuracy, revolutionizing how senior care is provided." "SafelyYou is revolutionizing senior living care by addressing one of the industry's most critical challenges—predictive care for an aging population," said Nagraj Kashyap, co-founder and general partner at Touring Capital. "Their innovative suite of AI-powered solutions, from fall prevention to care measurement, demonstrate unmatched precision and impact, driving key outcomes like extended resident stays and improved operational efficiencies. We're excited to support their mission as they redefine the standard for care and wellness in senior living communities." The funding comes on the heels of significant successes for SafelyYou, as leading providers StoryPoint Senior Living, Benchmark Senior Living, Midwest Health, and Senior Star have added the company's services to their offerings. SafelyYou has also recently released a landmark three-year study, proving that SafelyYou Respond™ increases length of stay by an average of more than four months for residents. These incredible results significantly reduce turnover for operators, and demonstrate for the first time a correlation between fall risk reduction and better occupancy rates in senior care. About SafelyYou Originating in 2015 as the doctoral research of CEO George Netscher—and inspired by his own family's experience with Alzheimer's disease—SafelyYou was spun out of UC Berkeley's Artificial Intelligence Research Lab, one of the top five AI research groups in the world. The company's passionate mission is to empower safer, more person-centered care across senior living through world-leading AI, industry-changing hardware, and remote expert clinicians. SafelyYou is solving critical challenges in senior living, from resident falls and ER visits to staffing concerns, LOS, and NOI. All helping ensure that communities reach both their clinical and financial goals. SafelyYou is used by skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities all across North America—from the largest national organizations to regional and local ones, too. SafelyYou is one of five most innovative fall technologies referenced in the Senate Falls Report (2019), a winner of the McKnight's Tech Partner of the Year, and has been named to Fortune's Impact 20 list. For more on SafelyYou, visit: Connect with SafelyYou on LinkedIn: View source version on Contacts For media inquiries, please contact:Kristin Faulder (on behalf of SafelyYou)(586) 419.4652kristin@ Sign in to access your portfolio
