Button Raises $12 Million to Connect Apps

Less than one year after launching, New York-based Button has raised a $12 million Series A round, led by Redpoint Ventures. The company aims to make it easier to make mobile purchases and navigate between apps.

Using “deep linking” technology, Button works by integrating features from one app into another app. Button facilitates app partnerships, including one with Uber and Resi, where users can seamlessly book a car after making a dinner reservation.

“Interconnectedness is not something that’s really been developed or harnessed in mobile yet,” said CEO Michael Jaconi. Button is “bridging those connections between apps.”

Jaconi previously worked at Japanese e-commerce site Rakuten and has brought alums from Google Wallet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Venmo (NASDAQ:EBAY) on board to the Button team. Jaconi hopes that the team will draw on their commerce background to build a better mobile purchasing experience.

Chris Moore, who invested in Button through Redpoint, told FOXBusiness.com that “the phone is about tapping and swiping to get things done.” But right now, with apps, it is “very hard to navigate from one to another.”

Button focuses on e-commerce solutions, taking a cut of the purchases made through linked apps. Moore is optimistic about app commerce, saying that there is a “multi-billion dollar market opportunity to deliver that purchase intent” and he’s “hoping that Button can capture some of that.”

Moore says that he expects Button to capitalize on the “on-demand economy,” where consumers are used to ordering goods and services in an instant. He expects Button to partner with local services surrounding food and delivery.

Other participating investors include Greycroft, DCM, Atlas, VaynerRSE, Slow Ventures and NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern. Button previously raised a seed round last summer.

“We’re driving transactions across the mobile economy,” said Jaconi. “Button can offer anything you need at the touch of a button.”