HeadSpin, a mobile app testing startup, raises $20 million

Over three-fourths of Americans own smartphones, which means that it’s incredibly important for tech companies to nail their mobile apps. But testing those apps to make sure they’re working correctly can be a hassle.

HeadSpin, a Silicon Valley startup, allows developers to easily test, debug and monitor mobile apps and sites in real-time on actual devices. Oftentimes, developers use a simulator on their computers to test these apps, but even then, there might be unexpected bugs on the actual mobile app when used by real customers on a real phone.

And investors see potential for this idea: On Tuesday, HeadSpin announced $20 million in Series B financing. With this funding, HeadSpin’s valuation is now north of $500 million, just three years in.

As an engineer, HeadSpin co-founder and CEO Manish Lachwani has worked on a wide variety of projects, from online games at Zynga to YouTube and Chrome at Google. But one problem stood out to him: testing apps. And it was “nearly impossible” to pinpoint why mobile apps sometimes failed.

“There was no way of understanding whether something would work or not,” Lachwani told Business Insider. “That’s where a number of these games failed. We had a very hard time.”

HeadSpin can solve these problems within five minutes, Lachwani says, and being able to test apps can save developers both time and money.

With the funding, HeadSpin plans to incorporate more automation into the app to identify high-priority issues for apps.

“All this learning helped us create a platform that helps you understand what to fix prior to launch,” Lachwani said. “Developers can see, this is where the problem is.”