LG Electronics will be the lead investor in a Series A equity financing for Washlava, a Tampa-based company that has brought its cashless mobile technology to the laundry industry.
Terms of the financing, including how much will be invested, has not been disclosed.
Washlava, with technology that enables laundry customers to reserve and pay for washers and dryers from their smartphones, raised $1.05 million earlier this year in what founder and CEO Todd Belveal described as a bridge financing.
LG Electronics, with global headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, creates consumer electronics, appliances and mobile devices – including laundry equipment that ranges from basic washers and dryers to fully integrated smart solutions with a variety of clothing care options.
“We could not be more excited about this important partnership with LG,” Belveal said. “LG’s capabilities and standing in the industry, combined with Washlava’s proprietary IoT technology and user experience, create a platform that cultivates growth and innovation in a market that is primed for modernization.”
Washlava highlighted its partnerships with other technology companies in a recent news release. Amazon Web Services hosts its technology platform. Stripe, a software platform for internet businesses, handles debit card, credit card and prepaid card transactions. Washlava also is the exclusive laundry partner of software company CBORD, which means that students at select schools have the ability to use their student ID cards as a form of payment in the Washlava mobile app.
Washlava opened its first smartphone-enabled laundromat in Tampa in 2017 and now has shared laundry centers in six cities. It also has laundry operations at New Jersey’s Monmouth University, as well as multi-family housing units in Tampa, Orlando and Austin, Texas, and in a Courtyard Marriott in Orlando.
