"From private rides to hamburgers to marijuana, there is perhaps no better time in history to get anything delivered with little more than a tap of a smartphone button."
And now, shipping packages. That's the NYT's Mike Isaac on Shyp, a company that lets customers ping to have parcels quickly picked up, packed and shipped, says it has raised $50 million in venture capital.
Snip:
The new round values Shyp at just above $250 million, according to two people with knowledge of the financial terms, who requested anonymity because the deal talks were private. A Shyp spokesman declined to comment on the company's valuation.
The funding is another significant bet on the future of on-demand start-ups by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the storied venture capital firm that led Shyp's new financing round and that recently won a case against a former partner who alleged gender bias at the firm.
With the round, which also includes participation by previous investors Homebrew and SherpaVentures, John Doerr, a Kleiner executive, will join the board of directors at Shyp. Kleiner has also put money in to other on-demand companies like Uber and DoorDash.
Shyp operates in in San Francisco, New York City and Miami, and will soon launch pilot service in Los Angeles.
Shyp LA beta is now live in select neighborhoods! Sign up here for an exclusive shipping offer http://t.co/PRf7rTvuBK pic.twitter.com/6o9tDYuuFF
— Shyp (@shyp) April 21, 2015
— Jonathan Marino (@JonMarino) April 21, 2015