BOGOTÁ, Colombia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Tul, an e-commerce platform that strengthens developing communities by providing locally-run hardware stores with consistent access to construction materials, inventory management capabilities, invoicing services and opportunities to diversify revenue streams, announced it has secured a $181 million Series B. The round was led by 8VC and extended by Avenir, bringing Tul’s total funding to date to nearly $210 million.
The company plans to use the funding to fuel its expansion into Brazil and other markets across Latin America, where more than 600,000 locally-owned community hardware stores account for 50% of the region’s hardware sales, representing a total addressable market of $120 billion. These hardware stores are often the backbone of their respective communities where most homes are “do-it-yourself” or self-built. Due to the stores’ small scale they often struggle with supply chain issues and inventory management.
“We are very excited about the opportunity for Tul to support the development of local communities in Latin America by partnering with their hardware stores,” said Enrique Villamarin, CEO and Co-founder of Tul. “We built this platform to enable the smallest business in the most remote regions—who are serving as pillars in their community—to be able to order products, manage their inventory, and open up other streams of revenue just as if they were a Home Depot or Lowe’s in a major American city. The potential to improve lives through technology is astounding and the market opportunity is massive.”
“We are excited to double down into Tul as they continue to empower the underserved hardware store ecosystem. Tul serves self-built home neighborhoods in developing nations which is critical to the growth and advancement of these regions,” added Jake Medwell, a Founding Partner at 8VC. "I have known the founders since ideation and have watched them scale rapidly. They are by far some of the strongest operators in our portfolio.”
“Latin America’s construction material supply chain has historically underserved the neighborhood hardware store; Tul’s tech platform benefits all participants, especially business owners, by utilizing never-before-seen data in this analog industry. Tul has a significant runway for continued growth as its managed e-commerce marketplace further digitizes the construction industry through fintech and other value-added services,” said Jamie Reynolds, a Partner and Co-founder at Avenir.
The company was launched in Colombia in March 2020. It currently operates in five cities in Colombia, two cities in Ecuador, as well as in Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico. Tul has strong, established relationships with some of the region’s largest construction suppliers, including Gerdau, ArcelorMittal, Ternium, Sika, Wavin, Henkel, Phillips Assa Abloy, Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee, Cemex and others.
Other investors in this round include Monashees, Lightrock, Coatue, Tiger Global, Foundamental, Vine, Marathon Labs and H20.
About Tul
Tul is a mobile app and B2B e-commerce marketplace that optimizes the construction-material supply chain for hardware stores across Latin America. Launched in March of 2020, its vision is to fully digitize the operations of remote, local hardware stores which represent 50% of the regions’ construction material sales. Tul operates in Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico with plans to expand into Brazil and other Latin American markets. For more information visit https://tul.com.co/.
About 8VC
8VC is a leading technology investment firm, investing in visionary teams and backing industry-transforming companies. The partners have a proven track-record as founders, engineers, and operators of successful companies including Palantir, Addepar, Affinity and OpenGov, amongst others. 8VC was founded in 2012 and manages $3.6 billion in committed capital. The firm invests primarily in smart enterprise platforms across industries including financial services, healthcare, logistics, Bio-IT, and others. For more information, please visit http://8VC.com
About Avenir
Avenir is a growth stage investment firm with over $2.5 billion in assets under management. Avenir takes a first-principles based approach to identify large markets that are being disrupted by new technologies and changing end user preferences. The firm invests globally in high-growth, category-defining companies that are capitalizing on these paradigm shifts. The firm has made growth investments in marketplaces including Drizly, Zetwerk, Tul and Dandy; internet-enabled companies including DuckDuckGo, Savage x Fenty, Spinny, Bevi, Fabletics and Cometeer; software companies including Latch, Mark43, Alloy, Shift Technology, Pax8 and Drift; and financial technology companies including Flutterwave, Current, Till Payments, and Ramp among others. Avenir was founded in 2017. For more information, please visit https://www.avenirgrowth.com/