TaskRabbit Takes In $5M Series A

San Francisco-based TaskRabbit, an online service-networking startup with roots in Boston, said today it has closed $5 million in Series A financing led by Shasta Ventures, with Baseline Ventures, First Round Capital, Floodgate, Collaborative Fund, and 500 Startups also participating in the round. The company, led by founder and CEO Leah Busque, runs a marketplace for connecting people who need errands done with “runners” who can get them done. TaskRabbit, formerly known as RunMyErrand, went through the inaugural session of Facebook’s fbFund incubator program and is live in the Bay Area and Boston (its first market). My colleague Wade most recently profiled TaskRabbit last summer, after it opened its marketplace in San Francisco. The company says it is looking to expand its service to multiple cities nationwide.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.