Venture Capital Investment Involving Square, Inc. (April 2011)

Square, Inc. is a privately-held mobile payments processor for mobile devices. The private payment processing company makes a unique physical card reader that can be plugged into iPhones, iPads, and Android mobile phones to allow mobile device users to take physical credit card imprints. Square, Inc. ships the physical swiper at no cost. The venture capital-backed payments firm also makes two apps. Card Case, which debuted in November 2011, uses location-based services to allow iPhone users to pay without ever taking out a phone or credit card. Register, which Square released in March 2012, is an iPad-based app that, combined with Square's card reader appendage, creates a virtual register for businesses. Square's backers include a who's who of Silicon Valley angel investors and large venture capital firms, as well as payment network giant Visa, Inc. The company received an investment from Richard Branson in November 2011, who endorsed the company as an "incredible technology that inspires and empowers everyone to be an entrepreneur." Founded in 2009 by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Square, Inc. has headquarters in San Francisco, California.