Berlin’s Grover secures €50M in bridge financing to accelerate circular economy in tech rentals

Berlin-based Grover, a consumer-tech subscription platform, announced on Wednesday that it has completed a bridge financing round, raising a total of €50M.

This financing round includes the Cool Japan Fund (CJF), a public-private fund from Japan, as well as the existing investors, including Energy Impact Partners, Korelya, Augmentum, and Circularity Capital.

Out of the total, Cool Japan Fund invested around €10M to contribute to the development of overseas demand for Japanese products in Europe. 

The latest capital injection will help the German company accelerate the transformation toward a circular economy and ensure positive, sustainable company growth, reports EU-Startups.

As a result, the company is continually working to expand its offerings in both the B2C and B2B sectors.

Grover: What you need to know

Founded in 2015 by Michael Cassau, Grover is a technology rental platform that enables people to subscribe to tech products monthly instead of buying them.

With a subscription, subscribers can access over 8,000 tech products, including smartphones, laptops, Virtual Reality (VR) gear, wearables, and smart home appliances, on a flexible monthly rental basis. 

Once a product rental period has ended, the company’s service allows its users to return the product free of charge. They can also decide to extend the product rental length or exchange the product for something else.

Grover Business even takes care of the tech procurement and management process so that companies can stay focused on growth.

Rentals are available in the US, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Spain at GROVER.COM, as well as in Germany through Grover’s online and offline partner network, including Europe’s leading electronics retail group, MediaMarktSaturn.

To date, Grover has circulated over 1.2 million devices, employs over 400 people, and stands as one of the fastest-growing scale-ups in Europe.

The investor

Cool Japan Fund is a public-private fund to support and promote the development of demand overseas for excellent Japanese products and services.

Cool Japan Fund aims to commercialize “Cool Japan” and increase overseas demand by providing risk capital for businesses across a variety of areas, including media & content, food & services, and fashion & lifestyle.