Dutch startup ChannelEngine raises €45.46M from Atomico, INKEF Capital, others

Leiden, the Netherlands-based ChannelEngine, a startup that helps brands, wholesalers and retailers to sell on marketplaces in a fully automated way, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $50M (nearly €45.46M) in its Series B round of funding.

The proceeds from this round will help the company to further scale its operations and cement its position as a market leader in connecting global e-commerce.

The Dutch company had earlier raised €5M in its Series A round led by INKEF Capital, with participation from existing investor Airbridge Equity Partners. The company has now raised a total funding of $57M, to date.

Investors in this round

The round was led by Atomico, a firm that invests in tech founders at Series A and beyond with a particular focus on Europe. Founded in 2006, Atomico has partnered with over 100 ambitious teams including Klarna, MessageBird, Attentive Mobile, Pipedrive, and Hinge Health, among others. The firm currently has $4B in assets under management.

The investment also saw participation from US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst and existing backers Inkef and Airbridge Equity Partners. Angel investor Stephan Schambach, founder of Demandware, Intershop and NewStore, also joined the round.

Atomico Principal Luca Eisenstecken will be joining the ChannelEngine board, alongside General Catalyst MD Larry Bohn, and Max Rimpel, Partner at General Catalyst.

Luca Eisenstecken says, “The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated the adoption of e-commerce, which now accounts for 20 per cent of all global retail sales. The global e-commerce market is expected to grow by over $500B between 2022 and 2023 alone. By building the largest e-commerce operating platform, ChannelEngine is set to capitalise on this opportunity by giving brands and retailers instant access to the global marketplace.” 

Helping brands integrate with international marketplaces

Founded in 2015 by Jorrit Steinz, ChannelEngine, with its Software-as-a-Service integration, enables businesses of any size to expand their reach, connect with more consumers and grow their business.

Jorrit Steinz says, “We’re in the midst of a profound shift in e-commerce as brands are increasingly selling directly to consumers via open online marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart and Zalando. Already, 60 per cent of e-commerce happens this way and the growth rate is phenomenal. Our centralised e-commerce integration platform eliminates complexity for brands and retailers, helping them connect with consumers, wherever they are.”

The company claims that its management suite boosts brands’ international sales with tools such as automated repricing, content, stock and order management. Brands and retailers can reach millions of new customers and benefit from ChannelEngine’s partner network and data-driven enablement, orchestration and automation layer to sell easily on marketplaces worldwide.

Since its Series A investment only a year ago, ChannelEngine has more than doubled its revenue through serving 450+ clients and tripled its employees to more than 140. It also opened offices in Munich, Dubai, Singapore, Melbourne, and New York. 

Currently, the Dutch startup enables the sales of more than 6 million products from 8,100 brands on 200+ sales channels. Some of its Clients include Bugaboo, Staples, JBL, Polaroid, Hunkemöller, Brabantia, Reckitt Benckiser, Bosch, and Safavieh, among others.