Hyperpublic

Hyperpublic, founded in 2009 by Jordan Cooper and Doug Petkanics, was a New York-based technology startup focused on organizing hyperlocal data. The company operated as a geo-local data provider, creating an open database platform that aggregated information about places, people, events, and deals tied to specific locations. Its core business involved pulling data from numerous sources through APIs and web crawling, then structuring this information for developers to build location-based applications. This allowed developers to access organized data on recent check-ins, daily deals, and reviews, which they could then integrate into their own products.

The company's primary offering was its suite of APIs, which provided the structured local data. For instance, its Places+ technology could aggregate deals, business information, and social data into a single, usable format. The business model was centered on providing this data infrastructure as a service to the developer community. The engineering challenge was significant, requiring the team to gather, normalize, and cross-reference vast amounts of unstructured data with high frequency and accuracy across dozens of cities. The founders, Cooper and Petkanics, both possessed strong technical and entrepreneurial backgrounds. Cooper had experience in venture capital at Lerer Ventures and General Catalyst Partners, while Petkanics had a background in data-focused architecture and software development. Their combined expertise was pivotal in tackling the complex data problems Hyperpublic aimed to solve.

After raising a $1.15 million seed round in 2010 from investors including Lerer Ventures, Softbank Capital, and SV Angel, Hyperpublic operated for roughly two years before a major milestone. In February 2012, the daily deals company Groupon acquired Hyperpublic for an undisclosed amount. Groupon acquired the company for its technology and its rich local database to enhance its own understanding of the local environments where its users were active. Following the acquisition, Hyperpublic ceased providing its data services to external developers as its infrastructure was integrated into Groupon's operations. Both founders went on to co-found another startup, Wildcard, and have since pursued other ventures in technology and venture capital.

Keywords: hyperlocal data, location-based services, data aggregation, API platform, geo-local data, developer tools, local search, Groupon acquisition, Jordan Cooper, Doug Petkanics, New York tech, data infrastructure, place database, web crawling, data normalization, local intelligence, unstructured data processing, seed funding, venture capital, mobile local