E-commerce startup VTEX announced Wednesday it closed on a $225 million Series D round led by Tiger Global, Lone Pine Capital, Constellation, Endeavour Catalyst and SoftBank. This fresh funding brings the company’s total valuation to $1.7 billion, elevating it to unicorn status.
Founded in 2000, VTEX helps businesses develop their e-commerce strategy, working with them to ensure they operate and scale more efficiently. The company counts major brands like Sony, Coca-Cola and Walmart among its thousands of customers across the retail, manufacturing, grocery and consumer packaged goods industries.
Interest in VTEX has surged amid the pandemic, with 98 percent growth in platform adoption in just the last several months, according to the company. It has also added 1,000 new customers and hired more than 100 new developers to improve product capabilities in the last year.
VTEX isn’t the only company of its kind that’s been growing lately. Boston-based Salsify has seen a surge in use of its e-commerce platform over the last several months and raised $155 million in September. Another startup with a big Boston presence, Mirakl, just raised $300 million and achieved unicorn status with a $1.5 billion valuation.
Overall, the online sales market in the United States is projected to be worth more than $6 trillion by 2023, signaling a mass shift among consumers to the convenience of e-commerce that is being sped up by the pandemic.
“The pandemic is challenging brands in unprecedented ways, and this funding will help us bring our collaborative commerce platform to more brands so they can achieve rapid time-to-revenue despite the challenges they face now and in the future,” said Amit Shah, VTEX’s chief strategy officer and U.S. General Manager, in a statement. “It’s exciting to see both B2B and B2C sellers across the globe finding success with collaborative commerce in ways they didn’t think possible.”
This funding round brings VTEX’s total money raised to $365 million and will be used to accelerate product development, fuel further global expansion and grow its team. The company currently has dozens of open positions at its headquarters in NYC and various offices around the world.
“We are excited to grow quickly in new and existing markets, and offer even more brands a platform that embraces the future of commerce, which is about being collaborative, leveraging marketplaces, and delivering customer experiences that are second to none,” co-founder and co-CEO Mariano Gomide de Faria said in a statement. “This inflection of funding will undoubtedly support us in achieving our mission to accelerate digital commerce transformation around the world.”
