SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Extend, the leading provider of modern extended warranty and product protection plans for merchants and consumers through API-first solutions, today announced a $260M Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2*. The funding round also includes participation from existing investors Meritech Capital Partners, PayPal Ventures and GreatPoint Ventures, and welcomes new investors Nationwide, Tomales Bay Capital, Launchpad Capital, 10X Capital and 40North. The oversubscribed round brings Extend’s total funding to more than $315M and cements the company’s unicorn status with a $1.6B+ valuation. This new round of funding will be used to continue to scale the Extend team, accelerate its technology footprint, and expand its suite of services that improve customer loyalty and drive revenue for merchants.
Since its launch in 2019, Extend has experienced rapid growth as it focused on modernizing the antiquated extended warranty industry through its AI technology and proprietary insurance stack. In the company’s first full year (2020), high demand for Extend’s modern protection plan offering generated a 40x revenue increase. Based on a strong first quarter and robust pipeline, the company projects that its revenue will continue to climb by more than 400% in 2021. Additionally, Extend sold over 300,000 protection plans in 2020, and is on track to sell more than three million protection plans in 2021 alone. During this monumental growth, Extend has continued to expand its marquee merchant partners which now include Peloton, iRobot, Harman/JBL, Backcountry, Balsam Hill, BlendJet, RealTruck, Traeger Grills and hundreds of other leading brands.
“With this new injection of capital and vote of confidence from our investors, Extend is in a strong position to continue to invest in building best-in-class product protection that serves our merchant partners and their customers,” said Woodrow Levin, CEO and Co-founder of Extend. “We started Extend to provide a product protection solution that eliminated the frustration and ‘gotchas’ associated with the legacy offerings in the market today. SoftBank equally shares in our long-term vision and we are thrilled to welcome them, and our other new investors, to the company.”
“As more consumers shop online, merchants are keen to provide customers with a greater peace of mind when making purchases. We believe Extend is reinventing the extended warranty industry through its leading platform, API solutions, and consumer-first approach,” said Nagraj Kashyap, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “We are pleased to work with Woody and the Extend team to support their ambition of providing a better way for consumers to protect the products they love.”
Extend is disintermediating the antiquated extended warranty and protection plan industry by putting customers first, and delivering a digitally native and elegant customer experience from offer presentation to claim resolution. When merchants provide customers a more seamless claims experience, it is shown to increase their loyalty by 2x1 – that’s why Extend developed Kaley, a 24/7 customer service chatbot driven by machine learning, who can adjudicate claims in seconds. Extend’s transparent, white-glove experience means fewer headaches and faster resolution for customers, turning potential detractors into advocates.
Extend gives customers greater peace of mind and confidence when making purchase decisions. As a result, the company’s merchant partners have seen double-digit increases in overall purchase conversion rates after integrating with Extend. Now more than ever, merchants have an abundance of choices in ecommerce tools and Extend has quickly become an essential part of the modern ecommerce stack. Extend’s ability to prolong the lifespan of merchants’ products, allows those brands to further engage with customers after the initial purchase, unlocking the opportunity for them to increase brand loyalty, open new revenue channels, and create lasting customer relationships.
“Our products become an integral part of our customers’ lives in sharing great experiences with family and friends,” said Corey L. Savory-Venzke, VP CX and Service at Traeger Grills. “Extend enables us to take more ownership over our post-purchase relationship and provide options to our customers to ensure they can use their grills and share amazing meals and moments for years to come. We see Extend as a strategic offering that increases our product lifespan, creates advocates and improves our customer loyalty.”
Extend is redefining the $100B product protection landscape by focusing on three key areas:
- Distribution - Before Extend, only the top 1% of merchants were able to benefit from offering extended warranties and protection plans. Extend’s easy to integrate API-first solution allows merchants of all sizes to generate incremental revenue and give their customers greater peace of mind when making purchase decisions.
- Customer Experience - Extend is eliminating the ‘gotchas’ by up-leveling the customer experience and providing a modern digitally native experience complete with an AI-driven claims bot that successfully handles 98% of customer claims in under 60 seconds.
- Data and Analytics - Extend is a technology-first company that invests heavily in data and machine learning to analyze its rich datasets. Its analytics system can dynamically optimize merchant offers based on consumer engagement and quickly resolve claims for customers.
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP acted as outside counsel to Extend for this transaction.
For more information, please visit: extend.com.
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About Extend:
Extend is an API-first company that allows any merchant to easily offer extended warranties and protection plans while providing the merchant's end customers with a vastly improved and modern support experience that eliminates many of the issues customers face today with legacy providers. Extend works with leading retailers across consumer electronics, appliances, auto parts, sports and fitness, and more. The company’s modern and digitally-native solution delivers an up-leveled product protection experience that results in a win for merchants and their customers. Extend works with leading merchants including Peloton, iRobot, Harman/JBL, Backcountry, Balsam Hill, BlendJet, RealTruck, Traeger Grills, and more across the United States and Canada.
*As of the date of this press release, SoftBank Group Corp. has made capital contributions to allow investments by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 ("SVF 2") in certain portfolio companies. The information included herein is made for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy limited partnership interests in any fund, including SVF 2. SVF 2 has yet to have an external close, and any potential third-party investors shall receive additional information related to any SVF 2 investments prior to closing.
1lkower, D. (2020, July 14). Three Keys to a Positive Claim Experience for your Customers. After, Inc.
