felt Raises $4.5M to Revolutionize How You Think with Maps

The Rise of Collaborative Mapping with Felt

Maps are essential tools for visualizing spatial data and understanding impact, ranging from vaccine rollout strategies to tracking wildfires and even planning social events. Felt, a newly established startup based in Oakland, California, co-founded by Sam Hashemi and Can Duruk, is dedicated to broadening the accessibility of this powerful medium.

Felt Secures $4.5 Million in Funding

Felt is a software company focused on simplifying the process of map creation online. The company recently announced the successful completion of a $4.5 million funding round, spearheaded by Bain Capital Ventures. Additional investors included Designer Fund, Allison Pickens, Akshay Kothari (COO of Notion), Dylan Field (CEO of Figma), John Lily (former CEO of Firefox), Julia and Kevin Hartz, and Keval Desai.

Expansion and Beta Launch

These funds will be allocated to expanding Felt’s fully remote team of six. The company intends to hire additional engineers specializing in front-end and back-end development, as well as product and brand designers. Concurrently with the funding announcement, Felt is initiating a private beta program to gather insights into early user adoption and platform engagement.

Data Integration and Map Building

Felt empowers users to construct maps enriched with integrated datasets. For instance, a user could begin with a map of California and then incorporate data from Felt’s library concerning wildfires and smoke patterns. The utility of the map is amplified through the addition of further integrations; combining wildfire data with census information, for example, could help stakeholders assess the potential impact on businesses.

Community and Collaboration

As the platform evolves, Felt users will have the ability to discover and interact with maps created by others, as well as collaborative team projects. Users can duplicate existing maps for customization or provide feedback to foster a supportive community environment.

Target Audience and Business Model

While a free tier is planned for future consumer access, Felt’s primary focus is on attracting a paying customer base that will consistently utilize mapping software for professional purposes. The company differentiates itself from GPS navigation services, instead catering to organizations that already rely on mapping as an integral part of their operations.

Building on Past Successes

Felt represents a continuation of the trend toward collaborative software, exemplified by tools like Google Docs, Notion, and Figma. It also builds upon Hashemi’s prior venture, Remix, a city transportation planning startup acquired by Via for $100 million. His experience with Remix highlighted the scarcity of skilled mapmakers and the broad applicability of mapping technology beyond urban planning, extending into fields like education, science, and journalism.

Aspirations and Competition

“Our ambition is to achieve something far more expansive, ultimately resulting in a fundamentally different kind of company,” Hashemi stated. A significant competitor in the mapping software landscape is ESRI’s GIS, a tool established in 1969 and currently employed by a vast number of organizations.

Climate Change and Crisis Response

The increasing urgency of climate change is anticipated to drive demand for collaborative mapping solutions. Duruk, previously involved in product development at Uber and VGS, emphasized the critical role of crisis response, referencing the widespread reliance on air quality, weather, and fire maps during last year’s wildfires in the Bay Area.

Addressing Potential Misuse

Duruk acknowledged the potential for misuse of mapping tools and the importance of implementing safeguards to prevent malicious actors from exploiting mapping information. Felt is actively exploring methods to incorporate accountability measures and systematic processes to mitigate such risks.

Empowering Users Through Map-Ability

Currently, the startup is concentrating on enabling expression as a means of understanding the capabilities of its product. With its increased funding, Felt aims to empower individuals by expanding the world’s capacity for map creation and utilization.