Sleep Startup Casper Raises $13.1 Million in Series A Funding

Furniture World News Desk on 8/15/2014

Casper, the sleep startup announced  the close of a $13.1 million Series A funding round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA). New participants include Ron Conway's SV Angel, Ashton Kutcher's A-Grade Investments, Slow Ventures, Mike Duda's Consigliere Brand Capital, Silas Capital, Cendana Capital, and fashion designer Steven Alan. Existing investors, including Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital, Vaizra Investments, Queensbridge Ventures, and Correlation Ventures, also participated in the round.

Tony Florence (NEA) and Ben Lerer (Lerer Hippeau Ventures) will join the Board of Directors. In March 2014, Casper closed a $1.85M seed round led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures.

Casper launched in April 2014 and says it has generated millions in sales to date. The company's first product, the Casper (priced $500 – $950), was engineered in-house with a team led by Jeff Chapin, a former IDEO designer. The patent-pending sleep surface is made in America, and unites memory and latex foams to provide healthy bounce, cool sleep, and proper anatomic support. It ships free in a "how-did-they-do-that" sized box, and is backed by a 100-day in-home trial period and 10-year warranty.

The new investment will advance product design and innovation, allowing Casper to expand its sleep offerings. With sales growing month over month, Casper strikes a chord with a consumer demographic alienated by the industry.

"Since launching this spring, we have been inundated with requests to expand our product line," says Philip Krim, CEO and co-founder. "We're excited to explore new opportunities with the same innovation, engineering, and testing that allowed us to develop our critically-acclaimed mattress."

"Casper resonates with a generation that has been encouraged to pull all-nighters and work around the clock, despite the research that ties sleep to increased productivity, creativity, happiness, and health," says Ben Lerer, Managing Director at Lerer Hippeau Ventures. "The team re-engineered the experience to connect with consumers every step of the way— from the product and design to customer support and social engagement."

"It's rare to enter a mature industry with a brand and product as differentiated as Casper's," says Tony Florence, General Partner at NEA. "As an early stage company, they have already made a mark on an industry where consumers spend over $20B annually, and I'm thrilled to join the board as Casper continues to grow rapidly."

About Casper: Casper is a sleep startup that is sold directly to consumers. The sleep surface was developed internally by product engineers with experience from IDEO and NASA, has a sleek design, and is delivered right to customer's door in a mini-fridge-sized box. For more information visit www.caspersleep.com