Tampa tech company raises $15M

Homee, a Tampa company that uses technology to match skilled service providers with home owners and property managers, has closed a Series B funding round.

The $15 million round, led by Forte Ventures and Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, gives Homee capital to launch in new markets and to expand its service provider network nationwide, a news release said.

The investment is one of the larger capital raises by Tampa-St. Pete companies in 2019, equal to the $15 million raised earlier this month by cybersecurity services firm Digital Hands in Tampa.

There have been a growing number of eight-figure deals for local startups, a signal that the technology industry is maturing in the area.

Closer look: Largest funding deals to date in 2019

$300 million – KnowBe4, cybersecurity training, Clearwater

$20 million – Actio Analytics Inc., software, Tampa

$15 million – Digital Hands, cybersecurity services, Tampa

$15 million – Homee, on-demand home services platform, Tampa

Source: PwC-CB Insights MoneyTree, PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor

Homee is a three-year-old company that uses GPS-enabled smartphone technology. Service providers on the Homee network accept new job requests under a minute on average and arrive at the job location for repairs, improvements or maintenance in an average of 30 minutes or less. Every service provider on the network is background-checked and screened by the company’s operations team and is continually monitored by the app’s provider rating system to ensure ongoing quality service.

Homee is one of the fastest growing companies in the Tampa area with an estimated $13.3 million in revenue, according to research firm GrowjoUS.

Homee “has achieved tremendous traction to date by successfully addressing key industry challenges,” said Tom Hawkins, managing partner of Forte Ventures. Hawkins will be joining the Homee board of directors.

In addition to Forte Ventures and Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, new strategic investors in the latest funding round were The Hartford, State Farm Ventures, and Ferguson Ventures. Existing investors Activate Capital Partners, Florida Funders, Deepwork Capital, and Engage also participated.

“This financing round is especially exciting for the company as we are pleased to have the participation of three innovative leaders within the insurance industry and Ferguson, the world’s leading distributor of plumbing products and a major HVAC distributor,” Doug Schaedler, Homee co-founder and CEO, said in the news release. “We look forward to working with all our new strategic partners and servicing their home improvement needs across the country.”

Homee raised $11 million last year, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing said, and has raised a total of $30 million from investors overall.