New York-based tech startup Firstbase bags $13M Series A funding to let companies track and manage physical equipment assets

Firstbase, a New York-based tech startup and a Saas provider of remote infrastructure for global teams, today announced $13 million in Series A funding to fuel its rapid growth plans through hiring, product development, and increased customer deployment. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from B Capital Group, and Alpaca VC.

This round of funding follows a $2 million seed investment led by Alpaca in August 2020 with participation from Acceleprise, Remote First Capital, and Backend Capital. In conjunction with the funding, Firstbase also announced it has added Andreessen Horowitz’s David Ulevitch to its Board of Directors.

Firstbase, headquartered in the U.K. and New York, was founded in 2019 by Chris Herd and Trey Bastian. The entrepreneurs were initially forming a fintech startup, but quickly pivoted their focus when they identified the common equipment infrastructure challenge among their business customers. Herd, a former operations manager, was responsible for outfitting oil rigs in remote locations.

He saw firsthand that it was expensive, time-consuming, and nearly impossible to get assets back when they were deployed remotely. As a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Airforce, Bastian managed the deployment, support, and training of mission-critical cybersecurity systems and technical infrastructure in the most challenging environments globally. Applying what they learned in these environments to the obstacles of physical provisioning for remote office workers, exacerbated by a global pandemic, led to the creation of Firstbase.

Firstbase’s SaaS platform helps companies set up, manage, maintain and retrieve all physical equipment remote workers need to work from home comfortably and effectively. From laptops and monitors to mics and headsets, and ergonomic chairs and adjustable desks, Firstbase handles deployment of assets, IT installation and upgrades, ongoing repairs, culture and perks, and asset collection when a worker leaves.

Commenting on the funding,  Chris Herd, Co-founder and CEO of Firstbase, said: “Most organizations underestimate the complexity and cost of going remote. Typically, HR, IT, and facilities teams are involved in getting a single employee set up with hardware, access, and security.”

Herd continued, “With so many people involved, mistakes are often made, costs are incurred and time is wasted. Our solution removes the hassle and friction from the remote setup and promises a better experience for everyone – emotionally, logistically, and financially. The same is true on the other end, when an employee leaves, we take the headache out of collecting, tracking, and redeploying the equipment.”