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GGV, Tencent invest $13m in US tracking device maker

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Tile, a US start-up that makes devices used to track lost items, has raised $13 million in funding from China-based investors.

The funding comprises a $9.5 million Series A round led by GGV Capital and a $3.5 million seed round led by Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings.

Jeff Richards, GGV's managing partner, will join the board of directors at Tile. Other investors include Tandem Capital, Rothenberg Ventures, Slow Ventures and AME Cloud Ventures.

Tile was founded in 2012 and is based in San Mateo, California. It produces devices that connect objects, such as keys and wallets, to an iPhone app. The company began shipping its devices in May and there is currently a waiting list for new orders. To date, it has sold more than 300,000 devices, at $20 each, in over 30 countries.

The new capital will be used to expand its technology to work on Android-enabled handsets.

"The internet of things market is about to go mainstream and Tile is poised to be a dominant player because of its incredibly innovative product platform which provides simple, elegant, 'every day' functionality to any consumer with a mobile device," GGV's Richards said in a statement.

Operating offices in China and the US, GGV raised $622 million for its fifth Sino-US venture capital fund in May.

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