FedBid.com Pulls in $5M in Funding

By Nick Wakeman, Staff Writer


JULY 26 ? FedBid.com, an online auction and purchasing site for the federal government, has raised $5 million in its first round of venture capital funding.


Leading the first round of investors was H.I.G. Ventures along with Sun Capital, Washington Capital Partners, Beagle Ltd., Afton Capital and Horizon Capital.


FedBid of Germantown, Md., had a controlled launch of its site in June with a full launch expected later this summer.


"FedBid.com will use the funds raised in our Series A to strengthen our position in the federal open-market credit card arena," said Phillip Fuster, FedBid president and chief executive. "As we grow, these funds will allow us to continue to build our strategic network of partners to make sure we provide value to both the government and vendor communities."


FedBid operates a site that allows users to aggregate purchases into pools. Buyers then can get lower prices through an auction process, even though individual buyers may only be purchasing one or two items.


The site targets government credit card users making micropurchases, which are under $2,500 in value, in IT.


With the funding, FedBid also will be looking at other vertical markets, such as services, medical and office supplies.


"Our software was designed for the federal government, but it clearly has applications in state and local government, international markets and in the commercial world," Fuster said.