Tradeshift — the late-stage startup tackling supply chain financing — has announced a $200 million funding round in equity and debt from a combination of existing and new investors, including Koch Industries, the giant industrial conglomerate. Also participating were IDC Ventures, LUN Partners, Private Shares and Fuel Capital, which increased their existing stakes in the company.
Tradeshift has a portfolio of enterprise SaaS, marketplace and fintech products serving a B2B marketplace. The company said the capital would be used to “optimize Tradeshift growth and balance sheet to continue scaling the business.” Tradeshift helps buyers and suppliers digitize their invoice processing, automate the workflows for accounts payable and scale up.
In a statement, Jeff Randsell, managing director and founding partner at Fuel Venture Capital Partners, said: “Tradeshift’s combined SaaS and embedded financial services offering is well positioned at the forefront of what we see as the next wave of digital transformation. Further, it is clear that digital networks are the future of B2B software, just look at Slack, LinkedIn, and GitHub to see the trend. Tradeshift has pioneered the world’s first large-scale global trade network in the cloud with impressive growth rates through the pandemic and a compelling proposition to drive future scale.”
Tradeshift says the cumulative value of transactions processed across its network has “passed the $1 trillion mark, having doubled in two years.” It adds that charge volumes on Tradeshift Go are predicted to exceed $2.5 billion in 2021, a 600% year-on-year rise. It’s also launched Tradeshift Cash, a “factoring” product that helps suppliers access cash flow.
“Embedding financial services directly into our product unclogs the flow of working capital across supply chains, eliminating a significant pressure point in the buyer-suppliers relationship,” said Christian Lanng, CEO and co-founder, Tradeshift. “As one of the first companies to recognize the potential for embedded finance in SaaS, we have been betting on the convergence of fintech and SaaS products for a while. We’ve built the technology and distribution channels to capitalize on what is now one of the defining trends in our industry.”
We haven’t heard from Tradeshift since January 2020, when it took in a funding round of $240 million in equity and debt. The idea then was that it would “get on a path to profitability” after a potential IPO was put back, and after skepticism around tech IPOs at the time.
That was before the pandemic hit. With supply chains both booming and under pressure, it’s likely that Tradeshift’s model is tailor-made for the post-COVID world.
Based on this new round, San Francisco-based Tradeshift reportedly has a valuation of more than $2 billion. In 2018 the company said its valuation was $1.1 billion during a $250 million funding round.
Tradeshift also has American Express Ventures, HSBC (HSBA.L), Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Wipro Digital as investors.
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