SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shipt, the nation’s fastest growing online grocery marketplace, today announced that it has secured $20.1 million in Series A funding. Participants in the round included Greycroft Partners, Harbert Growth Partners and e.ventures.
“The grocery ecommerce space is an extremely competitive environment but, in spite of the odds, Shipt has reached a dominant position in a short period of time,” said Ian Sigalow, co-founder and partner of Greycroft Partners. “We seek to partner with capital-efficient businesses that are on rapid growth trajectories, and look forward to working with Shipt and playing a role in the continued advancement of the company.”
Shipt will use the funds to continue to scale its business to new markets, develop additional partnerships with leading grocery retailers and invest in its team. The company plans to add alcohol delivery to its platform later this year.
“Harbert invests in emerging growth companies that are attacking high growth addressable markets, and have the leadership, technology platform and operational infrastructure to deliver market differentiated results,” said Bob Crutchfield, general partner at Harbert Growth Partners. “Under CEO Bill Smith's leadership, Shipt has quickly become a nationally recognized company in the home grocery delivery space. We are pleased to invest in the company at this point of accelerated growth and as they expand to additional markets across the nation.”
Since its launch in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2014, Shipt has grown to deliver groceries in 27 cities across 10 states with a community of more than 5,000 shoppers.
“We invest in disruptive early-stage companies at their points of inflection, and we have a history of backing winning startups outside of Silicon Valley, including Sonos, Angie’s List and FarFetch. We’re excited to add Shipt and Birmingham, Alabama to that list,” said Tom Gieselmann, general partner at e.ventures. Vice President Brendan Wales added, “The grocery delivery space is growing at an aggressive pace, and we are impressed to see a company with such robust traction like Shipt coming out of the Southeast.”
Shipt partners with leading grocery retailers and a community of shoppers to provide members with fresh groceries from the brands they trust.
“Over the past year, we have laid a strong foundation for our business and scaled our service across the country. This funding is the catalyst that will propel us to the next level,” said Bill Smith, founder and CEO of Shipt. “We are ready to put this funding to work strategically, so we can cultivate new partnerships and continue building the best way to buy groceries.”
Through the Shipt app, members select their preferred retailer, browse a full selection of grocery items and choose a convenient one-hour delivery window. A Shipt Shopper visits the local store to hand pick and deliver the items as soon as one hour after the order is placed.
Shipt leads the industry in offering a membership-based option for grocery delivery. For $99 per year, Shipt members receive unlimited grocery deliveries on all orders over $35.
About Shipt
Shipt delivers fresh groceries from local grocery stores through a community of shoppers and a convenient app. Actively delivering to 27 cities across the country, Shipt is the nation’s fastest-growing online grocery marketplace. Shipt partners with leading grocery retailers and local stores to provide members with unparalleled convenience and exceptional service that simplifies the grocery shopping experience. Shipt offers unlimited grocery deliveries for $99 per year. The company has offices in Birmingham, Alabama, and San Francisco. For more information, visit Shipt.com.
About Greycroft Partners
Greycroft Partners is a leading venture capital firm focused on investments in the Internet and mobile markets. With offices in the two media capitals of the world - New York and Los Angeles – Greycroft is uniquely positioned to serve entrepreneurs who have chosen us as their partners. Greycroft leverages an extensive network of media and technology industry connections to help entrepreneurs gain visibility, build strategic relationships, successfully bring their products to market, and build successful businesses. Greycroft manages $800 million and has made over 100 investments since inception, including leading companies such as AppAnnie, Baublebar, Braintree, Buddy Media, Collective, Extreme Reach, Huffington Post, JW Player, Klout, Maker Studios, Plain Vanilla, Pulse, TheRealReal, Trunk Club and WideOrbit. For more information please visit the Greycroft Partners website at www.greycroft.com.
About Harbert Growth Partners
Harbert Growth Partners is an emerging growth stage investor focused on rapidly growing technology and healthcare companies headquartered in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. Harbert Growth Partners is an affiliate of Harbert Management Corporation (“HMC”), an alternative asset management company which manages approximately $4.4 billion in AUM as of June 30, 2016, from offices in 11 locations across the United States and Europe.
About e.ventures
Founded in 1998 and built on a strong, shared culture of entrepreneurship, e.ventures is a leading early stage venture capital firm with global scale. The firm invests out of dedicated funds in six geographies and combines a global investment strategy and philosophy with local presence and insights. Focused exclusively at the intersection of consumer internet, media and mobile, e.ventures partners with visionary company founders to disrupt global markets and build category creating companies. Existing investments include Acorns, Farfetch, The RealReal, AppAnnie, Deposit Solutions, Segment, NGINX, When I Work, Munchery, Nativo and Azmo. Among our historical investments are innovators like Angie’s List, Groupon, Delicious, Sonos, Sapato, and AppFolio. www.eventures.vc
