Topping this week’s BostInno Business Wrap headline is New England travel startup Kayak’s first public quarterly earnings report, and how they trumped Wall Street assumptions. In other business news, the only thing not changing is the fact that things are constantly changing. Read about ShopAdvisor’s new-found partnership, Digital Lumens’s pertinent relocation, and Best Doctor and Ginger Software’s generous investments. And as always, have a great weekend.
Kayak Soars with First Public Earnings Over $76M in Revenue.
Travel search giant Kayak’s IPO on July 20 was much anticipated, and for good reason. On top of its stock climbing from an initial $26 per share to just over $30, Kayak released its first public quarterly earnings. Kayak pulled in $76.9 million in revenue, a $7.3 million net income. The report notes that the earnings equate to a 36 percent increase year-over-year and a 93 percent increase year-over-year, respectively.
Co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner was quoted in the report saying, “We’re off to a strong start as a public company, with record revenues and adjusted EBITDA. Our focus remains on ensuring that KAYAK is the best place to plan and book travel globally.” The company processes over 100 million user queries each month and operates websites in 18 countries, including the U.S.,Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Russia and Brazil. KAYAK also offers a leading travel app with over 17 million downloads, available for free on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Mobile 7 and Nokia devices
ShopAdvisor Partners with Zinio to Help Track Prices for Prospective Products
Boston startup ShopAdvisor announced on Monday that it is partnering up with San Francisco startup Zinio to help track prices for consumer goods. ShopAdvisor is a deferred shopping platform that connects consumers’ initial interest in a product with their eventual purchase. Zinio is the largest digital newsstand platform in the world.
With the help of Zinio, ShopAdvisor now has “Watch” buttons embedded in editorial and advertising pages of fashion, electronics, and home decor magazines to track prices, availability, and reviews of items the user is considering purchasing. Scott Cooper, CEO of ShopAdvisor noted in the press release, “Our partnership with Zinio demonstrates an innovative way to marry the digital consumer to content and products they love. Furthermore, the integration takes this effort one step further.” ShopAdvisor has $1.95 million in seed funding and has surpassed 3 million users. Their app is available on all iOS and Android devices.
LED Lighting Developer Digital Lumens Moves to Boston’s Innovation District
In order to accommodate rapid growth and innovation, Digital Lumens has relocated to the right place: Boston’s revived Innovation District. On Wednesday, the LED intelligent lighting system developer now has double the space it did in its former location, allowing it to expand research and development facilities, sales, and support areas. Digital Lumens’s systems reduce industrial customers’ lighting-related electricity expenses by up to 90 percent.
Commenting on the move, Mayor Thomas Menino said, “I am delighted that Digital Lumens has chosen to relocate their headquarters within the city and expanded the ranks of cleantech companies calling the Innovation District home.” Earlier this year, Digital Lumens was named a “Best Place to Work” by Boston Business Journal and also received a “Boston Green Business Award.” The company was founded in 2008 and has over $16 million in venture funding.
Best Doctors Inc. Secures Largest Funding Yet with $45M Investment
On Tuesday, Best Doctors pulled in its largest funding round to date with $45.5 million. The investment comes from Boston-based venture capital firm Brown Brothers Harriman. Best Doctors helps people get the right diagnosis and treatment, though Vice Chairman Evan Falchuk notes, “While we use technology systems to support it, there is no algorithm that replaces a human talking to another human about their health.” As cited on MassHighTech, last year the company, which now has 30 million members, handled close to 10,000 cases in the U.S. where 29 percent of the cases were misdiagnosed. Now with deeper pockets, Best Doctors will invest in its infrastructure and technology, while also stimulating company growth by increasing the number of employees.
Siri and Nuance Competitor Ginger Software Rakes in $5.4M
Based in Lexington, Ginger Software posted on its blog on Wednesday that the speech recognition software developer has secured a $5.4 million funding round from Horizon Ventures and Harbor Pacific Capital. The two venture firms contributed $5 million while the additional $400,000 came from existing investors. This brings Ginger’s total venture funding to $21 million.
Ginger Software develops speech software products that allow users to proofread for grammatical and spelling errors, translate languages, and employ text-to-speech services all in real-time. CEO Netanel Jacobsson told TechCrunch “Currently we only have desktop and browser extensions but there is no question that mobile is where everything is going and we are working on a number or mobile products to address this opportunity.”
