Discovery startup Dojo has become the first company to be invested in by the London Co-Investment Fund (LCIP) -- an initiative launched last year by London Mayor Boris Johnson to support tech innovators in the capital.
The investment, led by early-stage investment fund Playfair Capital, is part of an £800k seed round.
Founded in 2014 by Bristol graduates, Nick Dart, Robin Schimmin and Devran Karaca, Dojo lets users locate quirky independent cafes and pop-up bars as easily as they would a mainstream retail chain. "People our age want unique, different experiences and this is exactly what we specialise in," said CEO Shimmin, who asserted that it was the startup's understanding of how young Londoners wanted to spend time in the city that set them apart from the crowd.
Since its launch on the App store in last August, Dojo's visual, curated suggestions on what to check out in the city, has garnered a solid user base. The startup is set to spend its £180,000 investment on launching on Android next month and overseas expansion in 2015. "We see a future where somebody will arrive in a city and check into a room with Airbnb, go on Dojo to find somewhere cool, then book an Uber to get there, all within five minutes -- without leaving their smartphone," said Schimmin.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
