CrowdFlower was founded in 2007 by Lukas Biewald and Chris Van Pelt, as "Dolores Labs." CrowdFlower received $1,200,000 in seed funding in March 2009 from K9 Ventures, Quest Venture Partners, Gary Kremen, FF Angel, and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, among others. In January 2010, CrowdFlower raised a $5,000,000 Series A that included Bessemer Venture Partners, Trinity Ventures, and Founders Fund. In March 2011, CrowdFlower raised a $9,300,000 Series B followed by a $12,500,000 Series C in September 2014, this time led by Canvas Venture Fund. In October 2014 the company laid off half of it's staff due to "growth problems in the platform."