Cloud-based product discovery startup Unbxd just went through a Series C funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures in which it raised $12.5 million. The latter is the investment arm of Fidelity International Limited. In May 2016, Unbxd raised a round of Series B funding, where the amount was undisclosed.
This Series C round of funding also saw the participation of Infosys Ltd co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, and existing investors IDG Ventures, Inventus Capital Partners and Nirvana Ventures.
According to Payan Sondur, co-founder and chief executive at Unbxd,
Traditional rules-based e-commerce technology is hard for retailers to manage while also delivering a poor experience for their shoppers. With a better artificial intelligence solution in place, retailers are more competitive because shoppers can more easily buy what they seek
Unbxd was founded by Sondur and Prashant Kumar in 2011 and raised seed funding in 2012, followed by $2 million Series A funding in 2013.
The company plans to invest the capital infused in the Series C fundraising round in improving its artificial intelligence (AI) engine and technology to boost personalized search, navigation, as well as product recommendations on e-commerce sites. Unbxd intends to open new offices in Chicago and New York.
The company believes AI-powered personalized discovery platforms are the future of online shopping platforms. This technology understands what users plan to do and what products they want to buy. Unbxd believes that this service helps capture 15-40% of revenue that online platforms otherwise lose because of insufficient technology and poor discovery.
The company’s press release revealed that its revenue has grown by 400% in the last year and has also added leading retailers to its base. It also said the company was now hosting over 1.5 billion shopping interactions per month.
According to Raj Dugar, Managing Partner at Eight Roads Ventures,
Unbxd has a great product/market fit, and now is the right time to accelerate its go-to-market strategy. E-commerce product discovery tools represent a multi-billion-dollar opportunity globally and Unbxd is well positioned to emerge as a leader in the space
