Oslo, Norway-based Gelato, a one-stop shop for customised print products on demand, announced that it has raised $240M (approx €203.8M) at a valuation of just over $1B.
The investors
The fresh funding is being led by New York-based venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners. In addition, the round also saw participation from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, as well as funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Besides, existing investors including Dawn Capital, John Hepburn (chairman of Gelato), SEB Pension Fund, and Tellef Thorleifsson (CEO of Norfund), also invested in this round.
Also, with this investment, Adam Berger, Managing Director at Insight Partners will be joining Gelato’s board.
What does Gelato offer?
Founded in 2007 by Henrik Müller-Hansen, Gelato helps creators and entrepreneurs by providing production costs and delivery speed of large ecommerce sellers, without upfront investment.
The company is on a mission to empower ecommerce and creators to reach any of their customers overnight with any customised product. This is done as orders are made on-demand and near the end-customer itself – through its more than 100 production partners, globally. This slashes delivery times, waste, carbon emissions, and costs.
Besides, Gelato also removes the sellers’ need to manage inventory, manufacturing, or shipping – allowing more time to focus on creation, sales, and marketing. Currently, it produces personalised print products in 33 countries, reaching more than five billion people.
Henrik Müller-Hansen, Founder of Gelato, explains, “By bringing production of customised products to local markets all across our planet, we empower ecommerce sellers and the creator economy to serve any customer, anywhere, in a way that is much more cost-effective and sustainable. Through software that connects to idle production capacity, our platform is taking an active part in transforming global manufacturing as we know it. As e-commerce continues to grow, so will our local production partners and their ability to create jobs in their local communities.”
In Q2 2021, the company delivered annual revenue growth of 120 per cent. And, the revenue driven by the company’s API, which opened for the e-commerce industry in 2019, the business grew at 320 per cent year-on-year.
Currently, Gelato has offices in Barcelona, Boston, London, Madrid, Moscow, Mumbai, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Stockholm, Tallinn, and Tokyo.
Capital utilisation
The proceeds from this round will help Gelato accelerate its market penetration and growth in the US and Asia. The funds will also help the company expand into new local production hubs and products, including 3D printing.
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