Irish startup &Open bags €24.6M for its gifting platform; also launches an On-Demand marketplace

Dublin-based &Open, a gifting platform that sends digital and physical gifts at scale from brands to people around the world, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $26M (approximately €24.69M) in a Series A round of funding. 

The company has now raised a total of $33.2M to date.

The round was led by Molten Ventures. First Round Capital, LocalGlobe, Tribal VC, new investor Middlegame Ventures and other new and existing investors also contributed to this round.

Nicola McClafferty, partner at Molten Ventures, says, “Now, more than ever, companies are looking for ways to retain employees and foster real connections with customers and partners. Working with some of the largest global businesses and brands, &Open has proven that gifting, when done right, is an incredibly powerful tool to increase brand loyalty and build advocacy.”

“We’ve been highly impressed with how the team have built out a global platform that makes carefully crafted, sustainably-sourced and beautiful gifts more accessible to people and companies across the globe. Jonathan, Ciara, Mark, and the team approach the business in the same way they do gifting — with immense thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and a focus on how to make a difference. We are excited to be supporting &Open as it launches On-Demand and continues to build on its existing success,” adds McClafferty.

“Thoughtful gifting for businesses that care”

&Open was founded in 2017 by Jonathan Legge, Mark Legge and Ciara Flood, with the aim to inspire brand loyalty with thoughtful acts of care. The platform helps companies to send meaningful gifts at scale. 

From the curation of thoughtful gifts to seamless sending, &Open helps build loyalty between brands, their customers, and their employees. The company’s SaaS platform can be integrated with an organisation’s existing processes and workflows, enabling them to have gifts delivered to customers, clients, prospects, and employees globally.

Currently, the platform is active in more than 120 countries to help brands curate high-quality, design-led, and responsibly-sourced gifts for customers around the world.

According to a statement, &Open has witnessed a period of exponential growth with Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) increasing by over 376 per cent and new clients growing by 270 per cent in the last year alone.

Launching of &Open On-Demand

Co-founder Jonathan Legge says, “&Open is where some of the world’s best brands come to build loyalty. With the support of our investors, we are excited to launch On-Demand to expand our reach and accelerate our growth as we fix corporate gifting and craft an operation that is rapidly becoming part of the solution.”

The launch of On-Demand not only enables the company to extend its offering to more companies globally, but also provides a platform for emerging brands, local vendors, causes, and subscription services to reach new audiences.

Starting June 22, 2022, companies can officially join the waitlist for the public beta launch of &Open On-Demand. Unlike &Open’s Enterprise solution, On-Demand allows SMEs the opportunity to browse “best-in-class” brands, in one place, with no annual contract or SaaS fee. 

Companies can easily search for gifts according to their values (eg. LGBTQ+, BIPOC- and female-owned, sustainably sourced, etc.) and choose from over 250+ gift options ranging from food and flowers to donations and subscriptions. On-Demand comprises a curated community of exceptional vendors exclusive to &Open, including FLOWERBX, Flamingo Estate, MasterClass, Momofuku, and more.

With this new offering, &Open will also provide access to a comprehensive reporting dashboard that will provide the performance of each campaign, inventory, and feedback from recipients.

Capital utilisation

&Open says it will continue to invest to build brand loyalty through thoughtful “acts of care”. The company, which has a team of 90+ employees across Ireland, the UK and the US, plans to open an office in New York City in the next year. 

The funds will help expand &Open’s reach as a scalable consumer-grade enterprise platform serving brands such as Airbnb, Peloton, Spotify, Hopin, Intercom, Wayflyer, and Better-Up.

Building on the success of its core business, the funding will also enable &Open to expand to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its latest offering, &Open On-Demand

Hayley Barna, partner at First Round Capital, says, “&Open is bringing care and consideration to an industry known for thoughtless, mass-produced merch. Not only has the company grown its client roster, team, and product since last year’s Seed round, but it remains on a purposeful and strategic trajectory. FRC is thrilled to back &Open’s mission, vision, and roadmap yet again, and can’t wait for the world to experience all the company has to offer through its new On-Demand service.”