SoftBank’s Vision Fund returned to back the e-commerce business in a $1bn round. Our data suggest upward pressure on valuations in this space as well.
US-based on-demand consumer delivery service GoPuff collected $1bn in a funding round backed by telecoms conglomerate SoftBank’s Vision Fund 1. Blackstone’s Horizon platform, Guggenheim Investments, Hedosophia, MSD Partners, Adage Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Atreides Management and Eldridge filled out the round, which reportedly valued GoPuff at $15bn, up from a $8.9bn valuation reported in March this year. This latest cash injection will enable GoPuff to accelerate its expansion across North America, and European markets such as the UK. The company will also recruit additional staff and enhance its technology.
Founded in 2013, GoPuff operates an e-commerce platform for consumers to purchase items such as cleaning products, over-the-counter drugs, pet food or alcohol. It claims to deliver goods “within minutes”, using a network of micro-fulfilment centres in every market it serves.
GoPuff is part of the broader e-commerce space, which has seen much growth and interest from corporate venture investors, as our GCV Analytics bar chart below clearly shows. The number of corporate-backed deals in this space has remained relatively stable over the past few years at well above 60 rounds. It is noteworthy, however, that during the first seven months of this year, we have already tracked more deals (67) than in all of 2020 and the estimated total capital in them amounts to $6.01bn, significantly up from the $3.62bn estimated total for 2020, which also suggests upward pressure on valuations.
