Atomico Leads $105 Million Series C Funding for Fab
Atomico is pleased to announce that it has led Fab’s $105 million Series C round. Fab is the leading website in the US and Europe for design inspiration and sales. It is one of the fastest growing ecommerce companies of all time forecasting sales of around $150 million in 2012 which is well in excess of 5 times last year’s sales.
In addition to this stellar growth, Fab is building an iconic global brand that is synonymous with great design. Just like our investments in Klarna and Rovio, we believe strong brands are crucial to build an emotional relationship with customers and suppliers, ensuring their long-term commitment and loyalty.
The first wave of ecommerce was led by Amazon and was aimed at people who already knew what they wanted to buy. However now we are in the second wave, where consumers are extremely comfortable with buying online, and they want to discover and be inspired by new and exciting products. Fab is building the global winner in this second wave.
Fab is also leveraging several trends that we believe are crucial for success. Going global quickly from its US roots, Fab has already acquired companies in Germany and the UK to boost these efforts, with over 20% of its revenue already being generated outside of the US. It is also using key technological trends to super charge its growth. Fab is a leader in social commerce, driving 50% of signups for free, and it currently sees over a third of its traffic on mobile devices via its shopping app.
Fab has an extremely talented and experienced founding team led by Jason Goldberg, Fab’s CEO. Jason is a serial entrepreneur who combines a data-driven mentality with impressive product and design sense. The merchandising side of the business is led by Bradford Shellhammer, the Chief Design Officer, who is considered to be one of the leading influencers of what makes great design.
When we first spoke with the Fab team our focus was seeing if there was any way we could assist them in executing their vision. Due to our operational setup it was natural to focus on helping Fab with its global expansion efforts. During this time it became obvious that we also shared the same vision and values, resulting in Fab asking Atomico to lead the round, and for Geoffrey Prentice to join their board of directors.
Several of Fab’s previous investors joined the round including Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures, Baroda Ventures and First Round Capital. Also joining the round are Pinnacle Ventures, ru-NET Technology Partners, Mayfield Fund, and DoCoMo Capital.
