Mashery gets $5.5 million in a third round of funding

Mashery Inc., which helps retailers like Best Buy Co. Inc. and Netflix Inc. open their web site technology platforms to outside developers, has raised $5.5 million in funding from an investment group led by Internet infrastructure company Cisco Systems Inc.

Mashery says it will use the funding to expand its product offerings, as well as its sales and marketing operations to take advantage of a growing demand among companies who want to share the application programming interfaces, or APIs, with outside developers.

Mashery serves as a gateway that allows outside developers to access the APIs of Mashery’s clients.

For instance, at Best Buy, several technology developers are using Mashery as a gateway to access the API to the retailer’s online product database to develop new ways of getting Best Buy’s products before online consumers. One project has been working on a way for consumers to share audio files of product reviews through online communities.

“Cisco is a long-standing leader in Internet networking and will clearly play an integral role in future innovation to enable new video, mobile and cloud services,” says Oren Michels, Mashery CEO and founder. “To have Cisco as an investor is not only exciting but also validates the critical role that APIs play in transforming the way business is conducted online as companies move beyond the web site.”

Other investors participating in the funding are existing Mashery investors Formative Ventures, First Round Capital and 406 Ventures. This is Mashery’s third round of investor funding, bringing the total outside investment in the company to $13.7 million, a spokeswoman says.

“APIs have the potential to transform the way organizations do business online in much the same way web sites once transformed how people receive, consume and interact with information,” says Josh Kopelman, chairman of Mashery and managing partner of First Round Capital. “Mashery is at the center of this rapidly evolving market, driving phenomenal momentum for the company and the broader API movement.”

Gina Debogovich, who manages online communities for Best Buy, will be speaking at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition, June 8-11 in Chicago, in a workshop session entitled Social Media and E-Retailing: Harnessing the Hottest New Trend.