E-commerce Startups Score Funding Successes

Wayfair – March 7, 2014 – $157 Million

Wayfair, an online home-goods retailer, has announced it has raised $157 million in new funding. Wayfair’s service allows users to shop for home goods, and benefit from online marketing.  VentureBeat reported on March 7.

Wayfair sets itself apart from the competition with 72-hour flash sales, Daily Fair sales and other marketing innovations.

The new round was led by T. Rowe Price. Mutual funds and Wayfair board member Julie M.B. Bradley, the chief financial officer of TripAdvisor, were among those who also took part in the round.

Lyft – March 9, $150 Million

Lyft, the ride-sharing startup, is in the process of a new round of funding, according to the Delaware Division of Corporations.

Lyft enables passengers needing transportation to request a ride from local drivers. Fares usually are at most 75 percent of the price of a similar-length cab ride.

The hedge fund Coatue Management is reportedly a lead investor this round as of March 9.

Slyce – March 4, $10.75 Million

Slyce, an image-recognition startup, has raised $10.75 million in new funding.<br>

Slyce aims to be the future of online retail, enabling point-and-shoot shopping from mobile devices.

The company announced that the list of leading funding participants includes Beacon Securities, PI Financial, Salman Partners, Harrington Global.

“We have combined machine technology with a pretty robust human crowdsourcing element. So the machine does 85 to 90 percent of the work, if not 100 percent of the work, but in the cases where it can’t come down to a 1-to-1 match, we then rely on a human crowdsourcing element,” Mark Elfenbein, Slyce’s Chief Digital Officer, said in a statement last week.

Borro – March 4, $112 Million

Borro, an online platform that functions as a pawnshop for high-end goods, has announced $112 million in new funding.

Victory Park Capital reportedly is the solo backer.

The funding will be used to expand Borro’s business in the UK and U.S. markets, particularly directed towards Borro’s financing, reports Borro’s founder and CEO, Paul Aiken.

Unlike traditional pawn and consignment shops, Borro has entered the next level with networks of experts, and if an item sells for more than its consignment value, Borro will return the difference to the customer.

Boqii, March 4 – $25 Million

Chinese e-commerce site Boqii has announced it closed of a $25 million in the second round of funding.

The round was reportedly led by Goldman Sachs.

In its six-year history, Boqii has attracted more than 3 million members of the pet-owner community.

According to Technode, the new capital “will be used in branding and marketing.”

Payoneer – March 5, $25 Million

Payoneer Inc., a leading online payments company, announced last week that it successfully completed a Series D financing round of $25 million.

Payoneer enables cross-border commerce to thousands of companies in more than 200 companies.

Private equity firm, Susquehanna Equity LLC, is said to have led the investment along with Carmel Ventures, Greylock IL and Vintage Venture Partners.

This new funding will help us expand our position as the leading provider of payment solutions that connect marketplaces, ecommerce platforms, technology companies, professionals and small business owners from around the world,” Scott Galit, CEO of Payoneer, said in a release.