Norway-based customised product marketplace Gelato raised $240m in funding from investors including telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 yesterday.
Investment banking group Goldman Sachs’s Asset Management unit also took part in the round, which was led by private equity firm Insight Partners and backed by Dawn Capital, SEB Pension Fund, Tellef Thorleifsson and Gelato chairman John Hepburn. The company’s valuation stands above $1bn, according to Bloomberg.
Founded in 2007, Gelato has built an e-commerce platform that enables merchants to create and sell bespoke products including clothing, books, wall art and stationery items. The company has partners across 32 global locations that help produce and deliver the items locally.
The cash will allow Gelato to expand its presence into the US and Asia and form new partnerships with local service providers including 3D printing firms.
SEB Pension Fund had led a $20m round in 2018, investing alongside existing investors including Dawn Capital, which had invested in Gelato eight years before.
Hepburn had led a NOK75m ($9.3m) round in 2015 that valued Gelato at $186m. It featured individuals including Marcus Wallenberg, Harald Mix and Urban Jansson.
Anthony Doeh, partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, the SoftBank subsidiary that manages the Vision Funds, said: “Gelato’s customised software platform connects two of the world’s largest industries, the $230bn digital production industry with the rapidly growing e-commerce sector.
“Long-term, we believe that Gelato’s curated marketplace can redefine manufacturing, breaking through previous barriers for individual sellers to access a global consumer base, faster and at a lower cost.”
