Funding & Acquisitions Roundup: Zendrive closes a $1.5M funding round to help drivers measure their driving skills

By Brian Kovalesky, StartUp Beat Editor

Today’s early-stage startup funding and acquisitions news:

Zendrive, startup that has created a platform that helps measure driver behavior via smartphone sensors, has closed a $1.5 million Seed funding round. Investors include First Round Capital, Max Levchin, Jerry Yang and Tim Ferriss. The company claims that the app, which has not been released yet, will measure users’ driving habits—clocking speed, acceleration and braking, common routes, and frequent destinations. It will then use the data to create individual user profiles which can be compared to other drivers, allowing for a comparative measurement of driving habits. Zendrive was founded earlier this year and is based in San Francisco.

Vital Info.:

Website: www.zendrive.com

HQ: San Francisco

Founders: Jonathan Matus, Pankaj Risbood

Year Founded: 2013

Seed Investors: First Round Capital, Max Levchin, Jerry Yang, Tim Ferriss

Innovation: Utilizes driving data to create individual user profiles which can be compared to other drivers, allowing for a comparative measurement of driving habits.

Total Funding: $1.5 million

(Sources: Zendrive, GigaOm)

More funding and acquisitions news…

trueAnthem Raises $2.6 Million In Funding; Continues To Grow Its Social Influence Platform (via Digital Journal/company press release)

ShopPad Raises $500K To Instantly Turn Online Shops Into iPad-Friendly Websites (via TechCrunch)

Trendrr Joins Twitter (via GigaOm)

# # #