- General
- August 1, 2018
- 6 minutes read
E-commerce startup Brandless raises $240 million Series C round from Softbank, GV, NEA and 2 others
image credit : Brandless Brandless, The e-commerce startup whose site launched just last year and is notable for its…
image credit : Brandless
Brandless, The e-commerce startup whose site launched just last year and is notable for its store which sells everything for the price of $3 has now raised $240 million in a Series C round led by Softbank with participation from 4 other firms consisting of Alphabet’s GV, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Redpoint Ventures and Sherpa Capital.
The 4 other VC firms participating in this round are notable returning investors having participated in Brandless’ 3 previous rounds where the San Francisco based e-commerce company raised $49 million in total.
Brandless is putting this funding towards expanding its logistics and data investments as well as putting more resources into faster product manufacturing and distribution.
Launching just July last year, Brandless now offers over 300 branded products and ships to 48 states across the U.S. having also donated over 1.5 million meals to non-profit food bank network Feeding America as part of its one-for-one social mission business model.
This funding round marks another major investment led by Softbank’s Vision Fund, The $100 Billion investment vehicle renowned for its several huge bets on various tech and data driven companies including Uber, Cruise, DoorDash, Roivant, Flipkart, Slack, Light and PolicyBazaar.
Writing on the investment in a recent blog post, Brandless co-founder and CEO Tina Sharkey stated:
- “SoftBank thinks longer term and bigger. They are investing in founders that are building new industries, not just fixing broken systems. When Ido (co-founder) and I shared our vision for Brandless, our progress, and our dreams, they smiled and began to sketch the possibilities with us.”
Sharkey previously held positions at digital media companies AOL, BabyCenter and iVillage and left the position of CEO at entrepreneur and startup consultancy service Sherpa Foundry to start Brandless along with Israeli-born Australian serial entrepreneur Ido Leffler launching on the 11th of July 2017 to several mixed reviews and notable ones with Fortune magazine dubbing it “the next Procter and Gamble for millennials.”
Brandless with this round which values the startup at just over $500 million now has access to solid capital and Softbank’s renowned companies and investment network which counts related e-commerce and data driven startups which would be of good advantage to Brandless’ ecosystem.
With this investment, Softbank Managing Partner Jeff Housenbold is joining the board of the 90 employee grocery e-commerce startup.
