Foursquare raises $33 million from investors including Simon Ventures

Sarah
Jacobs

• Foursquare has just closed $33 million in funding from
  investors including Union Square Ventures, Korean search engine
  Naver Corp., and Simon Ventures — an investment group backed
  by the world’s largest property owner Simon Property Group.
• Foursquare CEO Jeff Glueck says that the partnerships with
  Simon Ventures and Naver Corp. are strategic, and paves the way
  for the company’s future ambitions.

Since Foursquare was founded nearly ten years ago, the company
has evolved from a consumer-focused social media app to a
powerful geo-location tool utilized by companies like Microsoft,
Tinder, Twitter, and Spotify.

Now, the New York-based startup is opening a new headquarters in
the Flatiron district, and announcing $33 million in funding from
investors including Union Square Ventures and Simon Ventures — an
investment group backed by the world’s largest property owner
Simon Property Group.

Foursquare last raised $45 million in 2016, in a deal that was
said to
have valued the company at about half of the $650 million
valuation it held in 2013. The company declined to share its
current valuation following this new round of funding, but
confirms that it’s higher than in the 2016 deal. 

For Foursquare CEO Jeff Glueck, the deal with Simon
Ventures is more about making a new strategic partner than it is
about raising capital. “It’s about cementing these leading
customers who want to be advocates for us,” Glueck said. “For the
next few years, our focus will be on retail, dining, and media
publishers.”

As the largest shopping mall operator in the US, Simon
Property Group’s partnership with Foursquare could yield a myriad
of new business opportunities for both parties, Glueck
says. 

As Glueck points out, Foursquare’s ability to provide
location-driven datasets is a compelling lure to many brick and
mortar retailers. “In 2018, retailers need new ways to address
the stresses of the market, to apply analysis and measure trends,
and to find out what drives people into their stores,” Glueck
said. 

This is exactly the sort of data which, in recent years,
has become Foursquare’s flagship product: A trove of
location-rich analysis powered by more than one billion monthly
users that can help determine exactly what snags consumer
interest. “We’re able to help
brands figure out what costumers will be excited to hear
about…down to what messages inspire people to enter a store,”
he said.

Among Foursquare’s other lead investors on the Series F round is
South Korean search engine Naver Corp., which Glueck said will
further the company’s ambitions in Asia, where “we’re only just
getting started.” Foursquare already  operates a Singapore
office, and has partnered with a number of large Asia-based
companies including DiDi, Samsung, and Tencent.