Editor’s note: Beaconstac rebranded to Uniqode in January 2024.
QR codes have been around for decades, but they never really took off in the U.S. until the Covid-19 pandemic forced restaurants to come up with an alternative to paper menus.
Now that people have become comfortable using QR codes, they are being used on television, billboards and product packaging. A study by Insider Intelligence estimates that the number of adults who scan at least one QR code per year will increase from 83.4 million in 2022 to 99.5 million in 2025.
The rapid adoption of QR codes has been profitable for NYC tech company Beaconstac, an enterprise-grade QR code marketing and management platform. After doubling its revenue in 2022, Beaconstac announced Tuesday that it will scale its business with a $25 million Series A financing round led by Telescope Partners. Accel also participated in the funding round.
Beaconstac, which designs end-to-end QR code experiences for clients, said it has worked with more than 20,000 customers, including large enterprises like Revlon, Nestlé, FedEx and Marriott.
“Creating QR codes has always been free but the ability to manage the QR codes at scale, run campaigns on top of these codes and, most importantly, track them is what Beaconstac can help streamline,” Sharat Potharaju, Beaconstac co-founder and CEO, told Built In via email. “Also, as QR codes emerge as the de facto way to bridge the physical and digital divide, businesses need enterprise-grade features, like security and scalability, that cannot be delivered by free tools.”
Potharaju said the new funding will be used to further develop Beaconstac’s platform and more than double its headcount from 75 employees to 200 this year. The company has offices in New York and Bangalore, India. More than 10 of its current 75 employees are based in NYC.
“It’s clear QR codes are becoming an integral part of how businesses communicate with their customers,” Mickey Arabelovic, Telescope Partners founder, said in a statement. “The flexibility and insights Beaconstac delivers for businesses sets it apart from competitors. We believe the company has the vision and ability to become the largest player in the market.”
