Bain Capital Ventures Invests in Kiva Systems; Firm Leads $6.5 Million Series B Funding Round to Drive Commercialization of Company's Mobile Fulfillment Solutions.BOSTON -- Bain Capital Bain Capital LLC is a Boston, Massachusetts-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by Mitt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts, and two other partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company: T. Coleman Andrews III and Eric Kriss. Ventures, the venture arm of Bain Capital, today announced the completion of Series B funding of $6.5 million for Kiva kiva (kē`və), large, underground ceremonial chamber, peculiar to the ancient and modern Pueblo. The modern kiva probably evolved from the slab houses (i.e. Systems Inc. Kiva Systems, a fast-growing developer of breakthrough mobile solutions for the dynamic storage, movement and sortation Identifying objects that are stamped with a bar code and routing them to the appropriate destination. Sortation is typically a high-speed process used in the transportation industry by companies such as Federal Express, UPS and others. See sort and bar code. of inventory, will use the funds to deliver on pilot contracts it has secured with Fortune 500 companies and scale the organization for future growth. "Our unique approach to automated material handling has generated tremendous excitement among customers in the distribution and fulfillment ful·fill also ful·fil tr.v. ful·filled, ful·fill·ing, ful·fills also ful·fils 1. To bring into actuality; effect: fulfilled their promises. 2. segments and we are extremely pleased to be working with Bain Capital Ventures to address this market need," said Kiva Founder and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Mick Mountz. "Bain Capital Ventures provides valuable go-to-market expertise and a vast network of relationships within our customer base which make it an ideal early stage partner for Kiva Systems." Kiva Systems provides breakthrough mobile solutions for the dynamic storage, movement and sortation of inventory that enables truly adaptive fulfillment operations. An innovative combination of mobile hardware and powerful software, Kiva's solutions dramatically change the fulfillment game, improving productivity three-fold over conventional methods while simultaneously increasing the speed, accuracy and flexibility of distribution operations. "We were attracted to the strength of innovation and IP that is at the core of Kiva's solution," said Ajay Agarwal, a Venture Partner with Bain Capital Ventures who, as part of the transaction, will join Kiva's Board of Directors. "Mick and his team have built a truly disruptive technology A new technology that has a serious impact on the status quo and changes the way people have been dealing with something, perhaps for decades. Music CDs all but wiped out the phonograph industry within a few years, and digital cameras are destined to eliminate the film industry. that will revolutionize rev·o·lu·tion·ize tr.v. rev·o·lu·tion·ized, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·ing, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·es 1. To bring about a radical change in: Television has revolutionized news coverage. 2. how distribution centers operate." About Kiva Systems Kiva Systems, formerly Distrobot Systems, Inc., provides breakthrough mobile solutions for the dynamic storage, movement and sortation of inventory that enables truly adaptive fulfillment operations. An innovative combination of mobile hardware and powerful software, Kiva's solutions dramatically change the fulfillment game, improving productivity three-fold over conventional methods while simultaneously increasing the speed, accuracy and flexibility of distribution operations. Using Kiva's systems, companies can achieve a one-year return on investment and provide their customers with breakthrough service levels. For more information on the Company and its solutions, please visit www.kivasystems.com About Bain Capital Ventures Bain Capital Ventures, the venture capital arm of Bain Capital, leverages the institutional advantages and consulting-based approach of Bain Capital to build industry-leading businesses. Focusing on sectors such as software, wireless, healthcare, business services, and consumer, Boston-based Bain Capital Ventures benefits from the broader resources of Bain Capital, which includes over 160 investment professionals, a network of over 225 portfolio companies, over $23 billion of assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. , and the knowledge from 20 years of successful venture investing venture investing The acquiring of a stake in a start-up company by a brokerage firm or analyst by obtaining discounted, pre-IPO shares. Critics claim venture investing causes analysts to have a vested interest in seeing a stock appreciate in value and so . For more information, visit www.baincapitalventures.com |
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