About Essential
Essential is a company based in Palo Alto (United States) founded in 2015 by Matt Hershenson was acquired by Nothing in February 2021. Essential has raised $330 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including Tencent, Nothing and Foxconn Electronics. The company has 120 employees. Essential has completed 1 acquisition, including CloudMagic. Essential operates in a competitive market with competitors including Motorola Mobility, Apple, Meizu, Sonim Technologies and Lume Cube, among others.
- Headquarter Palo Alto, United States
- Employees 120
- Founders Matt Hershenson
- SectorsConsumer
- Email••••••••
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website essential.com
- Social X Facebook
- Acquired by Nothing (Feb 2021)
- Legal Name Essential Products, Inc.
Funding Insights of Essential
Essential has successfully raised a total of $330M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $300 million completed in October 2017. 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 $330M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Series B — $300M
- First Round $30M
(Jun 2016)
- Investors Count 7
All 2 funding rounds of Essential 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2017 | $300M | Series B | – | – | |
| Jun 2016 | $30M | Series B | – | – |
8 investors in total: 8 institutional.
Investors in Essential
Essential has secured backing from 8 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Tencent, Nothing and Foxconn Electronics.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Startups are accelerated and funded through Amazon's corporate venture capital. | – | developer.amazon.com/alexa-fund | Seattle, United States | |
Tech-focused VC firm funding companies in the US | – | accesstechnologyventures.com | New York, United States | |
Redpoint Ventures is engaged in venture capital investments. | – | redpoint.com | Woodside, United States | |
Venture capital fund focused on tech startups | – | playground.global | Palo Alto, United States | |
Long/short equity hedge fund and VC fim | – | altimeter.com | Boston, United States | |
Value-added internet, mobile, and telecom services are provided in China. | 1998 | tencent.com | Shenzhen, China | |
Electronic products and components are manufactured globally by Foxconn. | 1974 | foxconn.com | Taipei, Taiwan | |
Multi-category electronics are provided by an internet-first brand. | 2020 | nothing.tech | London, United Kingdom |
Investor details for Essential
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
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People of Essential
1 people are tracked at Essential (1 in leadership); the tracked headcount is 120.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Matt Hershenson | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Essential
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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Investments & Acquisitions by Essential
Essential has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 1 company. Notable acquisitions include CloudMagic.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A web-based platform is offered for managing multiple email accounts. | cloudmagic.com | Palo Alto, United States | 2010 | Dec 2018 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Essential
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
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- Deal sources
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Timeline of Essential
5 dated milestones of Essential across 6 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Essential is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $30.0M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $300.0M.
- Acquisition Acquires CloudMagic.
- Exit Acquired by Nothing.
Competitors of Essential
Essential operates in a dynamic and competitive business environment, facing competition from various established players and emerging companies in the market. The competitive landscape includes prominent companies such as Motorola Mobility, Apple, Meizu, Sonim Technologies and Lume Cube, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| motorola.com | 1928 | Chicago, United States | $10M | 950 | Mobile devices, cases, tablets, and screen protectors are offered online. | |
| apple.com | 1976 | Cupertino, United States | – | 2 | Consumer electronics, computers, and software are designed and sold worldwide. | |
| meizu.com | 2003 | Zhuhai, China | $958.36M | – | Multi-category consumer electronics are provided by an internet-first brand. | |
| sonimtech.com | 1999 | San Mateo, United States | $106.11M | 36 | Internet first brand of mobile and its accessories | |
| lumecube.com | 2014 | Carlsbad, United States | $250,000 | 44 | Multi-category consumer electronics are provided by an internet-first brand. | |
| renpho.com | 2016 | Eastvale, United States | – | – | Sells smart scales, massagers, and fitness devices for health monitoring. | |
| aluratek.com | 2006 | Irvine, United States | – | 16 | Manufacturer and brand of mobile accessories & digital frames | |
| caeden.com | 2014 | New York, United States | $2.37M | – | Internet-first brand of electronic products |
Detailed competitors of Essential
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- Full competitor set
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Web traffic of Essential
The website of Essential (essential.com) receives about 26.6K visits a month.
- Monthly visits26.6K
▲ 14.8% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Essential. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
usearchmedia.com | usearchmedia.com | 100% | – | – | – |
google.com.co | google.com.co | 100% | – | – | – |
| bing.com | 100% | 3.5B | #10 | View details | |
utils.babylon.com | utils.babylon.com | 100% | – | – | – |
Latest news on Essential
Complete news archive for Essential
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
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- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Similar companies to Essential
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Essential (Consumer Electronics), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Microsoft is recognized for software, hardware, and gaming solutions. | 1975 | Redmond, Washington, United States | – | USD 281.72 B | 228,000 | |
Consumer electronics, computers, and software are designed and sold worldwide. | 1976 | Cupertino, California, United States | – | USD 416.16 B | 164,000 | |
Consumer electronics and entertainment products are designed for global markets. | 1946 | New York, New York, United States | – | USD 78.25 B | 112,300 | |
Manufacturer of consumer electronics and home appliances products | 1984 | Qingdao, Shandong, China | – | USD 43.1 B | 122,730 | |
High-end audio equipment is manufactured for home and automotive sectors. | 1965 | Worthing, United Kingdom | USD 37.6 M | – | – | |
Multi-category electronics are provided by an internet-first brand. | 2020 | London, England, United Kingdom | USD 448.3 M | – | – | |
Speakers and headphones are designed and marketed by Beats Electronics. | 2008 | Santa Monica, California, United States | USD 560 M | – | – | |
Mobile technologies for Nokia are manufactured and supplied globally. | 2016 | Espoo, Finland | USD 610 M | USD 189.56 M | 68 | |
Mobile devices, cases, tablets, and screen protectors are offered online. | 1928 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 10 M | USD 329.65 M | 284 | |
Multi-category consumer electronics are manufactured and distributed globally. | 1969 | Qingdao, Shandong, China | – | USD 8.23 B | 18,100 |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Essential
Essential was founded in 2015 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Essential is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States. It is registered at Palo Alto, California, United States.
Essential is a funded company, having raised a total of $330M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series B of $30M, raised on Jun 2016.
Essential has 120 employees.
Essential was established in 2015 in Palo Alto, United States, with Matt Hershenson serving as co-founder. Operations are centered on the consumer electronics sector, where smartphones and related accessories are produced. The company maintains its headquarters in the United States and operates through the domain essential.com. Focus is placed on hardware development, though specific services beyond manufacturing are not detailed in available profiles.
Essential's top competitors include Apple, Motorola Mobility and Meizu.
Essential has made 1 acquisition, including CloudMagic.
Essential has 8 investors. Key investors include Tencent, Nothing, Foxconn Electronics, The Alexa Fund, and Access Technology Ventures.
Essential operates through Essential Products, Inc..
Yes. Essential was acquired by Nothing in February 2021.