- General
- August 8, 2018
- 4 minutes read
E-commerce unicorn LetGo gets another $500 million in funding from Naspers
LetGo co-founders Alec Oxenford, Enrique Linares and Jordi Castello image credit : LetGo New York based e-commerce startup and unicorn LetGo…
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| LetGo co-founders Alec Oxenford, Enrique Linares and Jordi Castello
image credit : LetGo
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New York based e-commerce startup and unicorn LetGo has now picked up $500 million in funding from South African e-commerce and media giant Naspers which it’s taking to double down on growth of its platform known for being a marketplace for second hand goods in addition to other forms of listings including housing it launched in recent times.
The exact valuation remains undisclosed but with LetGo previously being valued at around $1 Billion after being merged with classified ads startup Wallapop in 2016, An additional $500 million would value the company at over $1.5 Billion pre-money with a notable increase for the just 3 year old startup.
The South African based Naspers which made this investment throughits OLX e-commerce arm is also noted for investments in other technology startups including Flipkart, Swiggy and mainly Chinese internet giant Tencent which has reaped the biggest profits so far for the company with its Tencent stake being valued at well above $100 Billion.
“We are extraordinarily fortunate to have investors who believe so strongly in our vision and team,” said letgo cofounder Alec Oxenford. “We are fueling unprecedented growth in the secondhand economy through meaningful innovation. Our app makes it simple for tens of millions of buyers and sellers to connect in their own neighborhoods so they can put more money in their pockets, declutter their lives and put their space to better use.”
Oxenford is notably a co-founder of OLX having led the company as CEO before departing to start LetGo.
“letgo has established itself as one of the most promising startups in the world by injecting excitement, new technology and fresh thinking into a space that’s lacked all of the above for decades in the U.S.,” said Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO of OLX Group, through which Naspers has invested in letgo.
With over 100 million downloads and 400 million listings hosted on its platform, The NY based startup stands as one of the fastest growing in the e-commerce space as confirmed by comScore.
LetGo has now raised nearly $1 Billion in capital including this funding marking as one of the most heavily funded startups in the e-commerce industry with previous backers including Insight Venture Partners (IVP), New Enterprise Associates, Accel, Eight Roads Ventures, H14, FJ Labs, Mangrove Capital Partners and others.
