Gelato, the distributed online print network, has raised $240 million in a new funding round, taking the company to unicorn status for technology businesses valued at more than $1 billion.
The new funding round is led by Insight Partners from New York, with the participation of SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and some previously existing funders. Adam Berger, managing director of Insight Partners, is joining the Gelato board.
The business was founded in Norway in 2007 by Henrik Müller-Hansen, initially to produce photo products and then to produce marketing material for international businesses. It is now using the technology to target ecommerce businesses where print is key to the business model. In January, Müller-Hansen told Print Business: “An entrepreneur can start selling to billions of consumers without having to invest in any equipment nor having to develop technology. Thanks to Gelato, they become the world’s largest printer overnight.
“The strategy has always been about using software to connect to the printers’ assets and so create whatever the entrepreneurs want to create, transacting over Gelato to produce, ship and pay for it locally.”
The new money is earmarked for expansion in Asia and North America and to start a shift into 3D printing, alongside bespoke printing of marketing materials and high value customised products. This is reckoned to be a market valued at $230 million currently, which is set to grow to $320 million by 2025 thanks to lockdown fuelled growth in creative micro businesses wanting to trade globally.
It is the use of Gelato’s API driven software to help break down barriers to distribution and sourcing print manufacturing that is exciting the investors.
As well as riding the growth in the so called creator economy, where start ups and kitchen table businesses are able to reach vast audiences through social media and the likes of Etsy and Pinterest, the distributed network and small print runs chime with a need for sustainability.
“Long term, we believe that Gelato’s curated marketplace can redefine manufacturing, breaking through previous barriers for individual sellers to access a global consumer base, faster, and at a lower cost,” says Anthony Doeh, partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Berger says: “Gelato is a game changer for the world’s creator community. With Gelato’s software an entrepreneur in, for example, Africa, with a great idea and little to no capital, can in minutes be able to produce, ship and get paid for their product sold in, for example, Germany, with no upfront investment in inventory, manufacturing or logistics – and achieve similar profit margins as competitors 100 times their size. This levels the global creator/ecommerce playing field and is an enormous economic and social opportunity.
“We believe Gelato is solving hyper efficient local production at global scale. With the emergence of new technologies such as 3D printing, Gelato’s curated and global marketplace will empower businesses and consumers around the world.”
Gelato currently operates in 32 countries with a network of 100 print production partners and a reach of 5 billion consumers for ecommerce sellers.
