About CIR
CIR is a Media & Entertainment company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2011, and was acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group in December 2015. Personalized breaking news updates are delivered via mobile app. CIR has raised $2.61 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Sinclair Broadcast Group, Lerer Hippeau and Advancit Capital. The company has 24 employees. Its focus areas include Internet First Media, News Portals, Aggregators and Summaries. Its legal entity is CIRCA INC. Its competitors include News Break, SmartNews and MSN; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
The company was founded in 2011 in San Francisco, United States, within the news media sector. A mobile app was operated to facilitate consumption and engagement with daily news through concise bullet-point formats. Users were enabled to follow specific stories and receive updates as events developed. Operations were halted in May 2015 due to funding shortages, followed by acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group in December 2015 for a planned relaunch.
- Headquarters San Francisco, United States
- Employees 24
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Website cir.ca
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group (Dec 2015)
- Legal Name Circa Inc
- Total Equity Funding$2.61M (USD)
in 3 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$1.09M (USD), Seed
Aug 2013
- InvestorsSinclair Broadcast Group
& 8 more
- Employee Count24
- Acquired bySinclair Broadcast Group
(Dec 2015)
Funding Insights of CIR
CIR has successfully raised a total of $2.61M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Seed round of $1.09 million completed in August 2013. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $2.61M
- Total Rounds 3
- Last Round Seed — $1.09M
- First Round $750,000
(Apr 2012)
- Investors Count 8
All 3 funding rounds of CIR with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2013 | $1.09M | Seed | – | – | – |
| Nov 2012 | $770,000 | Seed | – | – | – |
| Apr 2012 | $750,000 | Seed | – | – |
9 investors in total: 6 institutional and 3 angel.
Investors in CIR
CIR has secured backing from 9 investors, including venture fund, angel, and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Sinclair Broadcast Group, Lerer Hippeau and Advancit Capital.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
USA focused VC firm investing in seed and early stage startups | 2010 | lererhippeau.com | New York, United States | |
Tech focused VC firm investing in early-stage startups in the US | advancitcapital.com | New York, United States | ||
Early-stage venture capital firm investing in AI, healthcare, and tech sectors. | menlovc.com | |||
Pre-seed investments are made in US startups across tech sectors. | quotidian.co | Brooklyn, United States | ||
Seed-stage US companies are invested in by SK Ventures. | skvcap.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Television stations and channels are owned and operated nationwide. | 1986 | sbgi.net | Cockeysville, United States | |
DC David Cohen | Founder of Techstars, angel investor, supports Indian startups | unknown_c76ae498b19444278 | ||
DT David Tisch | Angel investor, co-founder of BoxGroup, active in Indian startups | unknown_35696d37dc514eb1a | ||
DK David Karp | unknown_ed95f652763b46dea |
Investor details for CIR
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
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- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of CIR
4 dated milestones of CIR across 4 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded CIR is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $750K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Seed, of $1.1M.
- Exit Acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Competitors of CIR
CIR has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include News Break, SmartNews and MSN.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| newsbreak.com | 2015 | Mountain View, United States | $140.24M | 122 | Multi-category news is aggregated online by News Break. | |
| smartnews.com | 2012 | San Francisco, United States | $410.2M | Personalized news stories are discovered via machine learning algorithms. | ||
| msn.com | 1995 | Redmond, United States | Operates a web portal that aggregates news and delivers various online services to users. |
Detailed competitors of CIR
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of CIR
Websites that share an audience with CIR (cir.ca).
Websites whose visitors overlap most with CIR. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fresconews.com | 100% | View details |
Top companies in DTC Media Innovators
3 companies that operate in the same segment as CIR (DTC Media Innovators) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Multi-category news is delivered through an app-based platform. | 2016 | Arlington, Virginia, United States | USD 30 M | 356 | ||
Online platform publishing content focusing on investment | 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 60.4 M | |||
Subscription-based sports media is delivered to local premium audiences. | 2016 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 134.42 M |
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Related news about Cir
Complete news archive for CIR
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- Brand-specific news history
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Frequently Asked Questions about CIR
CIR was founded in 2011 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
CIR is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.
CIR is a funded company, having raised a total of $2.61M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $750K, raised on Apr 2012.
CIR has 24 employees.
The company was founded in 2011 in San Francisco, United States, within the news media sector. A mobile app was operated to facilitate consumption and engagement with daily news through concise bullet-point formats. Users were enabled to follow specific stories and receive updates as events developed. Operations were halted in May 2015 due to funding shortages, followed by acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group in December 2015 for a planned relaunch.
CIR's top competitors include News Break, SmartNews and MSN.
CIR has 9 investors. Key investors include Sinclair Broadcast Group, Lerer Hippeau, Advancit Capital, Menlo Ventures, and Quotidian Ventures.
CIR operates through Circa Inc.
Yes. CIR was acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group in December 2015.