Wish Is Raising $500 Million; Gives It A Valuation of More Than $3.5B

Wish, the company behind the popular shopping app Wish, is raising around $500 million in a new round of funding.

According to a report by Recode, which cited multiple sources familiar with the deal, Wish is now valued at higher than $3.5 billion but below $5 billion. Temasek, Singapore’s investment firm, participated in the latest round of funding as one of the lead investors. While Wish has already lined up most of the investors for the $500 million in funding, the report noted it is still talking to some investors about additional fundraising. If it happens, then the fundraising will be closer to half a billion, the report noted.

According to the report, Wish, which sells a bunch of cheap and no-brand goods through its shopping app, as well as its Geek and Mama apps, is investing in warehouse space so it can quicken the pace of delivery. By storing popular products close to where consumers live, it can get the items to them quicker under a program dubbed Wish Express, which the company launched in recent weeks. With it, delivery times have declined by six days, noted the report. Last year, in an interview with Recode, CEO Peter Szulczewski said he thinks the company’s apps could eventually surpass $1 trillion in gross sales. Currently, Wish does $2 billion in sales and gets a 12–15 percent cut, noted the report. Previous investors in a past raise of $500 million in 2015 included DST Global, GGV Capital, Founders Fund and Chinese eCommerce giant JD.com.

In March of last year, there was talk that Wish could garner a valuation of $3 billion as it was raising funding. The San Francisco-based company utilizes a Pinterest-like interface that uses algorithms and Big Data to provide users with a customized retail experience. The mobile app lets users “buy or save” products presented in an array of images. Depending on customers’ choices, the app utilizes the data to provide a customized experience.