Backed by $3.5 million, SnowShoe debuts clever, plastic ‘stamps’ that unlock content on mobile phones

Backed by $3.5 million, SnowShoe debuts clever, plastic ‘stamps’ that unlock content on mobile phones

By Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

SnowShoe_TechCrunchImagine being able to touch a toy figurine to your phone’s screen in order to see the character transported into your video game, or touching another small piece of plastic to the phone in order to unlock exclusive content, like a new video or iTunes download. A startup called SnowShoe has developed technology that does just this – it has created clever, plastic “stamps” that interact with the touch sensors on mobile phones by way of the web browser.

Today, the company is announcing $1 million in a second round of seed funding led by Lowercase Capital aimed at increasing its manufacturing capabilities in order to meet demand from larger clients.

Also participating in the new round are Collaborative Fund and MESA+ Capital. Prior to this, SnowShoe had raised an additional $2.5 million from previous investors, Foundry Group’s AngelList Syndicate, 500 Startups, TechStars, Ludlow Ventures, Queensbridge Capital, BAM.vc, Scott Banister, Hiten Shah, and other angels.

SnowShoe CEO Claus Moberg, a former TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon winner who left his Ph.D. studies at the University of Wisconsin, says the idea for the startup actually grew out of earlier efforts to develop loyalty apps for grocery stores. The team was first trying to build a way to authenticate digital coupons outside the store’s point-of-sale system, when they invented the SnowShoe stamp. Read more …