Bluedot

Bluedot is a location technology company that provides a high-precision geofencing platform for mobile applications, enabling businesses to engage with customers based on their real-world behavior. The company's origin stems from a personal frustration experienced by its co-founders, Emil Davityan and Filip Eldic, in Melbourne, Australia. They conceived the idea after realizing they couldn't use their phones for mobile toll payments due to the inaccuracy and unreliability of GPS technology at high speeds. This specific challenge sparked the development of a more precise location technology, initially intended for hands-free tolling.

Founded in 2013 by Davityan and Eldic, Bluedot pivoted from a consumer-facing tolling app to a business-to-business software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform after recognizing the broader applicability of their core technology. The founders have notable backgrounds; Davityan served as a cyber policy advisor to Australian Prime Ministers, while Eldic has experience in launching location-based apps and was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 for Technology. The company has secured significant funding over several rounds, including a Series A in 2018 led by Transurban and a Series B in 2020 led by Autotech Ventures, totaling over $23 million. Milestones include opening a San Francisco headquarters in 2017 and being named to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2022.

Bluedot's business model is centered on providing its geofencing Software Development Kit (SDK) and APIs to companies in sectors like quick-service restaurants (QSR), retail, transportation, and grocery. Revenue is generated through a subscription model, where pricing is based on the number of location-based actions rather than the number of end-users or locations. This allows clients such as McDonald's, Dunkin', and Transurban to integrate Bluedot's technology into their own mobile apps. The platform offers patented "Geolines™" technology, a virtual tripwire that is significantly more precise—claiming up to 20 times the accuracy of standard mobile OS location services—with minimal battery consumption and without requiring any physical hardware like beacons. This precision enables a variety of use cases, including optimizing drive-thru and curbside pickup by detecting customer arrivals in real-time, automating loyalty programs, and delivering personalized marketing messages. The technology can differentiate between a customer at a curbside spot versus one inside the store, streamlining operations and enhancing the customer experience.

Keywords: location services, geofencing, location-based marketing, mobile engagement, customer experience, drive-thru automation, curbside pickup, location analytics, mobile tolling, GPS accuracy, SaaS platform, location-aware applications, Geolines, customer arrival detection, proximity marketing, retail technology, QSR technology, transportation logistics, mobile commerce, user journey