The world’s largest marketplace for samples of architectural and interior design materials has announced a significant round of funding to power its logistics platform as well as new acquisitions and long-term growth.
Material Bank, based in Boca Raton, raised a $100 million Series C round co-led by General Catalyst and Durable Capital Partners LP, with participation from BOND, Lead Edge Capital and existing investors Bain Capital Ventures and Raine Ventures.
This round follows a $28 million round led by Bain Capital last year and brings Material Bank’s total funding to $157 million, the company said. The marketplace startup is valued at nearly unicorn status, Forbes reported.
Material Bank, founded by Adam I. Sandow in 2018. The way it works is Material Bank members can search across hundreds of brands on its site, order samples until midnight, and everything arrives in one box by 10:30 am the next day. Its environmentally friendly too: Material Bank also says it has eliminated more than one million packages from being shipped in the last two years because all orders are shipped 100% carbon neutral and unneeded materials can be returned at no cost to be reused.
“Material Bank has fundamentally transformed and modernized the way the design industry searches, samples and specifies materials, and has quickly become the standard for the architecture and design community,” said Sandow, Material Bank’s chairman and CEO, in a statement.
Sandow got the idea for Material Bank after spending decades in the media industry building a portfolio of design magazines, including Interior Design, Metroplis and Luxe.
Today, more than 65,000 members perform about 700,000 material searches across 375 brands a month. Material Bank also recently opened a logistics center in Memphis, Tenn., powered by 150 robots. It also has significant operations in New York City.
The core business turned profitable last year and the new funding will allow the company to accelerate growth opportunities, Sandow said. Sales tripled last year and are expected to exceed $50 million this year, Forbes reported.
The company also announced that Bob Mylod, who has led the board of e-commerce companies Booking Holdings, RedFin, and Vroom, will be joining Material Bank’s board.
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