Colu

Company Overview

Snapshot

Founded in November 2014 by Amos Meiri and Ortal Cohen Tevel, Colu operates with 11–50 employees. The company has secured funding across 4 rounds from 7 investors. Colu was acquired by QRyde in July 2024.

Business overview

Colu is a smart city technology company that develops a platform to enhance civic engagement by incentivizing residents for actions that support community goals. Its core product utilizes a unique City Coin, a local in-app currency spendable only at local merchants, ensuring marketing funds circulate within the local economy. Colu's platform serves municipalities and local businesses, operating within the Business Software sector, specifically focusing on money transfer and management, and sales and marketing solutions.

Strategic signal

In July 2024, Colu was acquired by HBSS Connect Corp., the company behind QRyde, to integrate Colu's expertise in digital reward schemes with QRyde's transportation platform. This acquisition signals a strategic pivot for Colu's technology towards optimizing municipal government expenditures and enhancing community services through a blockchain-based transportation system, aiming to promote economic growth and reduce fraud in government spending.

Company Intelligence Q&A

What was the most recent significant corporate event for Colu?

In July 2024, Colu was acquired by QRyde, a company under HBSS Connect Corp. This acquisition aims to integrate Colu's digital reward expertise into QRyde's blockchain-based transportation system to optimize municipal spending and enhance community services.

What was Colu's strategy regarding its digital wallet and market focus in late 2020?

In November 2020, Colu announced it was closing its digital wallet app and ceasing operations in Israel and Europe to focus on the US market. The company planned to offer its platform to other entities under a white-label model and was in negotiations with several US cities.

Which investors participated in Colu's seed funding round?

In February 2015, Colu secured seed funding from investors including Spark Capital.

What was Colu's approach to blockchain technology and its tokens in 2019?

In August 2019, Colu abandoned its blockchain project and offered to repurchase its CLN tokens, shifting its focus to its City Currency activity which does not rely on blockchain technology.

How did Colu expand its local currency initiatives in early 2017?

In February 2017, Colu launched a localized digital currency, the Liverpool Pound (LLP), in the United Kingdom, which gained over 3,000 users within a month. The company planned to launch another digital currency in East London the following month.