StackMob stacks up $7.5M to be Heroku-style backend for mobile developers

StackMob, a backend development platform for mobile applications — in the vein of the successful Ruby-backend platform Heroku — has announced that it has raised $7.5 million in its first round of funding.

Currently in a private beta, the startup targets mobile developers and looks to provide them with a complete solution to host, manage, and deploy their mobile applications. It also offers developers the ability to create APIs, push notifications, measure analytics, integrate with social graphs like Twitter and Facebook, and monetize their application, essentially reducing the hassle for them to build out basic and rudimentary features of each application.

StackMob is currently focused on the iOS platform, but will eventually work across all platforms, including Android and Windows Phone 7. It currently offers its base services for free and charges developers for each additional functionality, working from a freemium model.

Four years ago, YCombinator-funded Heroku looked to do the same for developers on the Ruby on Rails platform, and went on to quickly become a popular choice for developers on the platform. The startup raised $13 million and eventually sold to Salesforce.com for a reported $212 million cash. If growth in the mobile app ecosystem is of any indication, StackMob has the chance to reach similar bounds.

The startup is based in San Francisco and has a team of five. The round was led by Trinity Ventures, with existing investors Harrison Metal and Baseline Ventures participating.

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