Bump Technologies, which makes an app that allows people to share contact details, photos and money by touching their phones together, recently raised $16.5 million in venture capital to fund its ongoing expansion and port its technology beyond social-networking applications.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company's app was conceived to simplify exchanging contact information, but has proven even more popular as a way to share photos and music. Each day, users now share about 40,000 contacts and nearly a million photos. People can also friend each other on Facebook, compare contact lists to find mutual friends, and schedule appointments on one another's calendars.
The app works by sensing a "bump" with the phone's accelerometers and comparing the location and timing of the bump to determine which two users are trying to connect. The phones then exchange content through Bump's servers.
IPhone owners make up the bulk of Bump's 7 million active users, but an Android app is also available with a reduced feature set. The company intends to bring it to parity with the Apple version soon.
"It's a proximity-based social network, for people and things you're actually physically interacting with," said David Lieb, co-founder of the company.
Despite the cash infusion, Bump remains focused on building its user base rather than finding profits. But going forward, the company could make money by licensing its technology -- PayPal uses it for a person-to-person payment app -- or from merchants interested in giving users location-relevant information or coupons. Bump's founders have said they've been approached by music labels and bands who want to use the service to communicate with fans at concerts.
With a wider range of development made possible by its recent cash influx, Bump's technology could be coming to more mobile devices in unexpected ways.
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