Depop has announced that its raised $62m in its Series C round. Depop is a fashion marketplace, the app allows people to sell clothes they no longer need, meaning preloved items can find a new home instead of ending up in landfill.
The round was led by General Atlantic and Depop intends to use the funding to accelerate its US expansion. Existing investors such as Octopus Ventures and TempoCap also participated in the round. Angel investor Sebastian Siemiatkowski, founder and CEO of Swedish fintech company Klarna, also participated in this latest round.
Beyond its American expansion, Depop will use the funds to grow its London-based engineering and data science teams and invest in new tools and functionality.
Today, Depop has five million users. Since its launch in 2011, the fashion marketplace has seen 19 million transactions and allowed sellers to make $570m. Over the next three years Depop expects its community to grow to 15 million.
Maria Raga, Depop’s CEO, said: “The next generation of young people want an experience the fashion industry is struggling to provide.
“Depop is set up to meet these changing demands. We exist to empower the next generation to transform fashion.
“Social shopping, independent brands and resale are gaining popularity around the world, but particularly in the US where Generation Z will be the largest consumer group by 2020.
“Over the past 18 months, our growth in the US has been almost entirely organic, driven by the community of creative young people on Depop.
“This latest investment will enable us to scale further and faster in the US and beyond, building a platform that helps to find and grow the fashion stars and trends of the future.”
General Atlantic Head of Consumer for EMEA, Melis Kahya, said: “Technology continues to transform the retail landscape around the world and we are incredibly excited to be investing in Depop as it looks to capture the huge opportunity ahead of it.
“In a short space of time the team has developed a truly differentiated platform and globally relevant offering for the next generation of fashion entrepreneurs and consumers.”
