US-based mattress provider Casper has raised $100m in funding from investors including retail chain operator Target, valuing it at $1.1bn, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
Venture capital firms Norwest Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates and, according to TechCrunch, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) also took part in the round along with angel investors Dani Reiss and Gordon Segal. It increased the company’s overall funding to $340m.
Casper provides high-end memory foam mattresses in addition to adjacent products such as bedding, pillows and bed frames. It primarily sells the goods through its website but also maintains a network of showrooms that it has begun complementing with full retail stores.
The company said it generated more than $400m in revenue in 2018, but The Information reported yesterday that it made a $64m net loss for the year. A Reuters report on Tuesday stated it plans to start interviewing banks next month to oversee an initial public offering.
IVP led a $55m series B round for Casper in 2015 that included NEA, NVP, Lerer Hippeau, Vaizra Investments, Queensbridge Ventures, Slow Ventures, SV Angel and the Pritzker Family, valuing it at $555m.
Target reportedly invested $75m to lead Casper’s $170m series C round in mid-2017 at a $920m post-money valuation, participating with IVP, NEA, Lerer Hippeau, NVP, Tresalia, Irving Capital and angel investors from the sports and showbusiness spaces.
The company’s earlier backers include Brand Capital, Silas Capital, Cendana Capital Crosslink Capital, A-Grade Investments, Consigliere and Correlation Ventures, in addition to NEA, which led its series A round, Slow Ventures, NVP, Lerer Hippeau and Vaizra Investments.
Philip Krim, co-founder and CEO of Casper, said in a statement reported by TechCrunch: “We are in the very early chapters of our growth story as demand for Casper products continues to expand across the globe.
“Today’s financing accelerates Casper’s vision to become the world’s largest end-to-end sleep company. Our growth will continue to be catalysed by state-of-the-art sleep products, best-in-class customer experiences, and world-class leadership.”
Image courtesy of Casper.
