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Venture Capital News: Circle Media Receives $10M Series A Round

2017-05-25
PORTLAND, OR, Circle Media, a leading developer of products used by families to manage all their connected devices, today announced that it has received $10 million in Series A financing.
This is the first round of financing raised by the company, which is already generating revenue, and has a large installed base of customers and a sizeable retail distribution footprint. The round was led by Relay Ventures, an early stage venture fund based in Menlo Park, Calif. Circle will use the funds to accelerate the growth of its user base in the U.S., expand its reach to new global markets, and enhance its product offering to meet the evolving mobility needs of customers.

Circle's flagship product - branded as Circle with Disney - connects to the home Wi-Fi network and automatically identifies all of the devices (smartphones, tablets, computers, and gaming consoles) on the network so that parents can manage them through a simple companion app. Each user's profile and settings can be completely customized based on age and parents' preferences, with core features including content filters, time limits, setting bedtimes, pausing the Internet, and staying informed about how kids are spending time online. To extend that same functionality to outside the home, parents can add the subscription service called Circle Go.

"We have a solid retail footprint in the U.S., both online and in-store, and have seen consistent growth," said Lance Charlish, chief executive officer, Circle. "With the additional capital, we will further expand our product offering, enter new markets, and pursue growth opportunities to continue to position us as the undisputed leader of technology to help parents raise their kids in the digital age."

"We live in an era where parents need solutions to help manage their family's persistent access to the internet," said Kevin Talbot, managing partner, Relay Ventures. "As a happy Circle customer I proactively tracked them down and decided to invest because their product simply works exactly as advertised."

The Circle with Disney device is available in the US for $99 at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, DisneyStore.com, and Circle's website. Earlier this month, 3,700 Walmart stores began carrying the product.

The Circle app can be downloaded for FREE for iOS or Android from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Circle Go subscription extends all the same features of Circle with Disney to any network, including cellular networks, for $9.95 per month on up to 10 devices.

About Circle Media Inc.
Founded in 2014 and with offices in Portland, Ore. and Cypress, CA, Circle Media Inc. exists to develop family-centric products that redefine how we connect. www.meetcircle.com.

About Relay Ventures
Relay Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on mobile software, services, content and technology. Today, 1 in 2 smartphones in the world run software from a Relay portfolio company. With offices in both Menlo Park and Toronto, Relay invests throughout Canada and the United States. www.relay.vc
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