Glovo closes 30M€ Series B funding round with investment from Rakuten and Cathay Innovation
May 4, 2020
Europe
Glovo closes 30M€ Series B funding round with investment from Rakuten and Cathay Innovation
Both investment funds along with Seaya Ventures lead the series B round of the on-demand delivery start-up.
Niall Wass, former Senior Vice President, International at Uber, is also joining the company as an advisor.
Barcelona, 4th October 2017.- Glovo, the Barcelona based start-up has successfully closed its Series B funding round of €30 million led by Rakuten and Cathay. The operation has been closed as part of a new funding round to continue international expansion that also included investment from current investors, Seaya Ventures, Entreé Capital, Caixa Capital Risk and Bonsai Venture Capital.
Founded in Barcelona in January 2015 by Oscar Pierre and Sacha Michaud, Glovo has revolutionized the way consumers can buy, receive and send products in their city, allowing them to order anything from anywhere and get it delivered within minutes. Rakuten Capital, the investment arm of Rakuten, a global leader in e-commerce and fintech services and the main global partner of FC Barcelona and the Global investment fund Cathay Innovation, both committed to supporting digital businesses, have seen in Glovo an innovative and promising business model that is transforming consumer habits and disrupting last mile delivery in major cities.
“This funding will be used to strengthen our market position, continue to invest in our technology platform and to optimize the synergy between the three pillars of the marketplace: users, glovers and stores,” explains Oscar Pierre, co-founder and CEO of Glovo, who adds that “we are very excited to have the support of these new investors who will also help us boost our international projection. In the same way, we are pleased to see our main current investors continue to believe in what we are doing”
In this regard, the company will also be incorporating Niall Wass, who was previously in charge of leading the international expansion at Uber across more than 50 countries. Wass, who has a successful career in tech-companies, will be working with the management team and board directors, helping the company with the expansion strategy.
According to Pierre “Glovo´s focus will be to continue to improve the customer experience of current categories as well as adding new ones in the future. By offering a great service in multiple categories we clearly differentiate ourselves from our competitors.”
“Rakuten Capital sees great potential in Glovo’s unique value proposition with its innovative multi-category urban delivery services,” says Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, managing partner at Rakuten Capital. “We are very impressed with Glovo’s strong leadership, rapid volume growth and great potential to expand across multiple international markets.”
Likewise, Jacky Abitbol, partner at Cathay Innovation explains that “we have been impressed by Glovo’s excellent business model, which fits perfectly with Cathay Innovation’s ambition to support the growth and international development of start-ups. Delivery is booming in Europe and we are convinced that Glovo, with its talented team and differentiating approach, is very well positioned to scale up in a very competitive market. “
Currently the app is available in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Zaragoza, Seville, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao, Rome, Milan and Paris and has over 250,000 users and 3,000 partners. In July 2017 the platform passed one million orders.
About Glovo
Glovo is an app that allows you to buy, receive and send any product within the same city. It has more than 250,000 users and 3,000 associated partners. Today, the service is available in the urban areas of Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Zaragoza, Seville, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Milan and Paris and is expected to expand and open in new cities in the coming months.
About Rakuten Capital
Rakuten Capital is a corporate venture capital group that provides funding, sector experience and operational support to its portfolio companies across the world. Rakuten Capital is part of the Rakuten Group, one of the world’s leading internet service companies. Rakuten has built and invested in innovative internet businesses in e-commerce, financial services, digital content and advertising since 1997. Rakuten is ranked as one of “Top 30 Most Innovative Companies” by Forbes and operates in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The company is headquartered in Tokyo and is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. For more information visit: https://capital.rakuten.com
About Cathay Innovation
Cathay Innovation is a global venture capital fund, created in affiliation with Cathay Capital Private Equity. It was founded around the shared conviction that supporting digital entrepreneurs by providing them with a platform bridging 3 continents – North America, Europe and China – constitutes a particularly powerful value-creation strategy. As a multi-stage fund, Cathay Innovation partners with visionary entrepreneurs, committed to driving change through technology. Such transformation is accelerated by leveraging Cathay Capital Private Equity’s extensive network with corporates and solid experience in operational excellence. Cathay Innovation has offices in San Francisco, Paris, Beijing and Shanghai. To learn more, please visit www.cathayinnovation.com.