Bolt, a leading checkout and shopper network company, today announced that it has secured $355 million in the first part of its Series E funding to drive the next phase of growth in the commerce race. Lead investors in this round are funds & accounts managed by BlackRock, with participation from Schonfeld, Invus Opportunities, H.I.G. Growth, and CE Innovation Capital. This new raise brings Bolt’s total funding to nearly $1 billion.
“Since Bolt’s founding, we’ve relentlessly focused on improving the online purchasing experience,” said Ryan Breslow, founder and CEO of Bolt. “We’re very proud to partner with this prestigious group of investors as we accelerate our product development, hire top product and engineering talent, ramp up our strategic investments, forge more partnerships, expand internationally, and roll out more Conscious Culture initiatives to transform workplaces for the better.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to join Bolt on its journey to revolutionize online shopping, one checkout at a time,” said Michael Kuchmek, Global Head of Equity Capital Markets at Schonfeld. “Through getting to know its management team, product innovation, marquee retailers, and remarkable partnerships struck, we have full confidence in Bolt’s ability to further simplify and democratize the checkout experience, helping both merchants and shoppers along the way.”
“Bolt is a category-leading checkout technology company delivering a seamless checkout experience for shoppers while meaningfully boosting conversion and revenue for merchants,” said Ross Hiatt, Co-Head of H.I.G. Growth Partners. “We are excited to partner with Ryan and the incredible team at Bolt in their mission to empower merchants, brands, platforms, and publishers with the technology and infrastructure to provide a best-in-class checkout experience for consumers.”
“There is a huge opportunity to improve the online checkout experience, and retailers are realizing that they are losing customers as a result,” said Ben Tsai, Partner at Invus Opportunities. “Bolt has a growing network of tens of millions of shoppers who benefit from the ease of one-click checkout across Bolt’s expanding network of retailers. We’re pleased to support Ryan and the ambitious Bolt team, and see tremendous opportunity in the space that Bolt is disrupting.”
Bolt’s latest funding round values the company at approximately 30 times its valuation 30 months ago, and nearly double its valuation just three months ago. The company saw stellar momentum in 2021, growing gross merchandise value per merchant by 80%, its number of accounts by 180%, and its transactions by 200% year over year. The company launched new products like SSO Commerce™, which redefines customer logins and unites store accounts with Bolt accounts; expanded into Europe; added new customers like Benefit Cosmetics and launched new strategic partnerships with Adobe Commerce and PrestaShop; and acquired Sweden-based Tipser, a startup that enables shopping on any digital surface. Bolt’s retail partners have experienced 50% higher conversion, 38% faster checkout, and a 54% increase in store account creations this year.
In 2021, Bolt also launched a number of forward-thinking workplace experiences that are helping reshape the industry. The company created the Conscious Culture movement and became the first tech unicorn to successfully implement a four-day workweek. The industry took notice, honoring Bolt on lists that include the Forbes Fintech 50, Inc. 5000, Deloitte Tech Fast 500, and Fast Company Best Workplaces for Tech Innovators.
