THE WORLD’S MOST SOPHISTICATED PRODUCT COMPARISON PLATFORM VERSUS IO CLOSES $2.8M SERIES A ROUND FROM EARLYBIRD VENTURE CAPITAL, 500 STARTUPS AND MORE

VERSUS IO, the world’s most sophisticated product comparison platform, today announced it has completed its Series A funding round led by Earlybird Venture Capital. VERSUS IO enables users to compare consumer technology products like smartphones and tablets, cities and more. Using VERSUS IO, consumers are able to view results in a simple and clear format, without ‘information overload’ and ultimately allowing consumers to digest complex product data quickly and efficiently.

VERSUS IO uses a unique sophisticated natural language algorithm and user interface styling that presents its results in a way that appeals to a users’ logic psyche and is incredibly useful. There are now 25 million comparisons available to consumers on the site in 18 languages. Since its launch in July 2011, VERSUS IO traffic has increased on average by 35% each month and is now attracting 2.2 million unique visitors each month.

The round also includes additional investments from 500 Startups led by Dave McClure who initially invested $100K in December 2012, seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds and angel investors Lars Dittrich and Dario Suter. To date VERSUS IO has raised $1M in total.

“We have worked very hard to build an amazing platform and, as a result, have experienced impressive growth and extremely positive feedback from our users,” said Ramin G. Far, CEO and founder at VERSUS IO. “The closure of our Series A round is further evidence of the significant opportunities that are emerging in the comparison landscape. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

“We’re very excited to be investing in VERSUS IO and believe it has the potential to disrupt the product comparison scene” said Dr. Christian Nagel, Co-founder and Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital. “VERSUS IO’s exponential growth over the past year reflects a massive demand among consumers who want to make more informed purchase decisions. Ramin and his team have an ambitious and exciting growth plan and we are looking forward to being part of its execution.”

“VERSUS IO’s ability to take a sophisticated algorithm and make it so incredibly simple to use is one of the main reasons it caught me eye,” commented Dave McClure, Founding General Partner at 500 Startups. “I’ve enjoyed working closely with Ramin in recent months and I’m looking forward to the next stage of VERSUS IO’s journey. I’m predicting big things.”

ABOUT EARLYBIRD Established in 1997 Earlybird currently manages over $700M in assets. We have backed more than 80 companies, some of which have sparked significant innovations in business and technology and resulted in large scale ($1bn+) IPOs and trade sales. Earlybird backs European companies with global ambitions and our active portfolio currently includes more than 20 companies across the consumer internet and enterprise services space such as 6Wunderkinder, Auctionata, B2X Care Solutions, Carpooling.com, Madvertise, Peak Games, Socialbakers, Smava, Traxpay, THE Football App and VERSUS IO.

Further information is available at www.earlybird.com, follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/earlybirdvc, or LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/earlybird-venture-capital or become a friend on Facebook: www.facebook.com/EarlybirdVC.

Earlybird’s investor base includes some of the most renowned institutional investors worldwide. The capital committed by the EIF to the Earlybird 2012 Fund comes from the European Recovery Program (ERP) – EIF Facility; and the LfA-Gesellschaft für Vermögensverwaltung mbH (LfA) – EIF Facility.

ABOUT VERSUS IO VERSUS IO aims to be the #1 destination for users who want to make informed, online buying decisions. With a keen eye on the user interface we turn raw data into natural language and simplify complexity and presenting facts stripped of any marketing influence that is easy to digest. The data presented as natural text and easy comparable format beyond table-based data representations. Raw specification and data is compiled into natural language and in any language. VERSUS IO employs world’s first & only multi-language all-algorithm generating natural text fully automated. The company is building a business around consumers’ information demand with a focus on data-driven buying decisions. VERSUS IO shows strong traction from start: 35% avg. growth/month, 2.2M monthly uniques and 27M comparisons online. For more information: https://versusio.com, https://twitter.com/versus_io, https://facebook.com/versusio VERSUS IO’s investors include Earlybird, High-Tech Gründerfonds, 500 Startups, JMES, Lars Dittrich and Dario Suter.

PRESS CONTACT EARLYBIRD
Christine Höfer
+49 30 46 72 470 20
press@earlybird.com

PRESS CONTACT VERSUS IO
Dan Walsh
Mustard PR
+44 1753 656 661
dan@mustardpr.com