When the Quicken Loans family of companies launched the M@dison Building building a few years ago, it envisioned the building serving as a hub for high-growth tech startups. Startups like iRule, a M@dison Building-based company that just raised $2.5 million in venture capital.
The five-year-old company makes a cloud-based universal remote control system for entertainment centers that can be operated from the user's mobile device. The $2.5 million will go toward the further development of the company’s product line.
"It will continue to fuel our growth both in terms of products and manpower," says Itai Ben-Gal, CEO of
iRule.
The $2.5 million in seed capital comes from existing investors like
Detroit Venture Partners and new investors like AOL co-founder
Steve Case. Ben-Gal says this round of venture capital is a Series AA for his firm.
The tech startup has grown its revenue by 50 percent over the last year and Ben-Gal expects his company to do it again in 2015. That has allowed
iRule to hire seven people over the last year, including four in the last quarter. It currently has a staff of 21 employees and two interns and is looking to hire several software developers.
"We're always interviewing for that position," Ben-Gal says. "We're constantly growing so if the right person walked through the door, we would find a way to bring him onboard."
Source: Itai Ben-Gal, CEO of iRule
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.