Checkmate From left to right: Rory Garton-Smith, Frederique Dame, Harry Dixon, and Elliot Rampono

Seventy-six percent of Americans shop on mobile devices today, and those shopping experiences should be easy and rewarding. Mobile commerce is fast becoming shoppers' preferred channel. Retail mobile commerce sales are expected to double by 2025, reaching $728.28B, and account for 44.2% of retail e-commerce sales in the U.S.

Although the last decade has seen a boom in e-commerce, our mobile shopping experience hasn't changed to match modern consumer needs and behaviors. We constantly scroll for new items, take screenshots, and leave tabs open; we look through crowded inboxes for tracking numbers to locate orders. We're searching for great deals now more than ever in a sea of inconsistent mobile shopping experiences and the clamor of online commerce.

Last September, Checkmate launched a mobile savings app and browser extension to create a breakthrough in digital shopping. The app is designed for consumers craving simpler, more personalized shopping experiences and retailers looking to build loyalty to modern brands. Checkmate automatically finds and applies coupon codes at checkout. The service also aggregates email promotions, personal coupons, and active orders. The extension works on Chrome and mobile Safari and supports 40,000 retailers today.

I first met co-founders Harry Dixon and Rory Garton-Smith late last year, a couple of months after they launched the app. They moved from Australia to the U.S. and planted roots in Los Angeles' thriving tech ecosystem. The co-founding team has a set of highly complementary skills. Harry has a keen eye for partnerships and built a solid base of affiliate partners and brands from the outset. Rory has deep knowledge of the Apple ecosystem, and co-founder Elliot Rampono complements the team with a machine learning and data science skill set. As someone with a background leading product and engineering efforts at Uber — and an immigrant to the U.S. myself — I was immediately struck by their keen sensibility for consumer tech products, their passion, and their incredible hustle.

The Checkmate team is fearless in its experimentation, creativity, and finding new ways to connect with Gen-Z audiences. They have found artful ways to reach 600,000 followers across the company's TikTok and Instagram accounts, and developed a student program of Campus Ambassadors to grow app installs and signups on campuses across the U.S.

Checkmate hit #1 in the Apple App Store at the end of last year and has surpassed 400,000 users; this viral growth demonstrates strong early product-market fit. People spend millions through the Checkmate extension each week, and it's helped people save hundreds of thousands of dollars. As a result, it has quickly become a more delightful way to experience mobile shopping for consumers and retailers alike.

We sense it's only the beginning: Today, we're thrilled to announce our support of Checkmate on this journey, with $15M in Series A funding led by GV. We're excited to partner with Harry, Rory, Elliot, and the team as they continue building an end-to-end shopping experience that helps people from browsing to buying to delivery.

Laura Gifford

Laura Gifford

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