Pirq announced today that the company has raised $2 million in its first venture capital funding effort. The funding was led by Rally Capital, a venture capital firm based in Kirkland, WA, headed by former Nextel CEO and board member, Dennis Weibling.

James Sun, CEO of Pirq, said the funding will be used to roll out new versions of the mobile app, add more restaurants in Seattle and expand into new geographic markets. As to why Rally Capital was the right partner for Pirq: "We talked to a lot of VCs down in the Valley as well as the Seattle area, and we felt Rally Capital had the right perspective of wireless and software and a long-term perspective of building a business," said Sun.

Pirq is a free smartphone app for iPhone and Android devices that gives users exclusive deals at nearby restaurants. Pirq also delivers tremendous value to vendors with its SmartYield™ technology that automatically and intelligently schedules deals for the restaurant. Pirq is one of the first mobile companies to offer a yield management solution to vendors and, with this innovative system, restaurant managers do not need to manually enter specific time frames to run the deals. Instead, the SmartYield™ recognizes when a restaurant is busy and when it is not, then automatically makes real-time adjustments to the amount of offers available to maximize customer traffic during both off-peak and peak hours.

"Our business model is working really well, and consumers are loving the app," said Sun. "Our vendors have also been extremely pleased with SmartYield™, and now they really understand how we're different from the various other deal sites and applications that are currently in the market. If you think about it, we have a platform and software solution that truly helps restaurants predict their customer traffic and, with that critical piece of information, vendors can now better utilize their resources, which ultimately increases profit."

Using Pirq is simple:
--Consumers download the app on their iPhone or Android phone
--The Pirq app displays deals near their current location (or where they're headed)
--Consumers click COMMIT on the app to reserve a deal with no credit card or prepayment needed
--Consumers then click REDEEM and scan a Microsoft Tag at the restaurant, which authenticates the deal
--Consumers save 20-50% off their entire bill

As a result of the funding, Rally Capital's Dennis Weibling and John Mark Duncan have joined the board of Pirq.

"Rally Capital is very excited to partner with a dynamic and entrepreneurial management team and board," said Weibling. "Pirq is focused uniquely on their restaurant clientele's profitability and yield management. Rally believes the combination of applying new technologies along with professionals who have been successful working with restaurateurs is very powerful. We look forward to a very exciting future with Pirq."

About Pirq:

Pirq is free smartphone app that gives users exclusive deals at nearby restaurants. Users love Pirq because they receive 20%-50% off their entire bill all day, everyday at a variety of local restaurants. Pirq also delivers tremendous value to vendors with its pioneering SmartYield™ technology that automatically and intelligently adjusts deals in real-time to maximize a restaurant's off-peak and peak hours, which helps deliver new customers and increase profit for the restaurant. www.Pirq.com