Sendle, a top-rated courier service, has raised $19 million to help small businesses manage global eCommerce demand, expand the company’s shipping network and support its accelerated growth.
Sendle has surpassed 500,000 customers globally amid unprecedented demand for online shopping. The service has delivered Christmas peak volumes every week since the pandemic started, with parcel volumes in Australia increasing over 120 per cent compared to the same time last year.
Sendle deliveries reached the largest single-day volumes in its history in Melbourne on 3 August during the state’s
The funding round, which was oversubscribed, welcomed King River Capital, a venture capital firm based in Sydney and San Francisco, alongside Alberts Impact Capital and Marinya Capital as new Sendle investors.
The new funding round comes as Sendle reached a milestone of half a million customers across Australia and the United States, demonstrating the increasing demand for 100 per cent carbon neutral parcel delivery in both markets.
“During COVID-19, we’ve seen our economy and hundreds of thousands of Australian small businesses become more reliant than ever on a robust logistics network, so we want to make sure their parcels get to the intended destination efficiently, cost-effectively and sustainably. It’s pretty tough at the moment for everyone, but we’re throwing everything we can at ensuring our network is even more robust and reliable during these trying times,” said Sendle CEO and Co-founder, James Chin Moody.
“Logistics is becoming an even more important part of the economy, and the small business economy in particular, and we stand ready to do our part.”
Sendle launched in 2014 to level the playing field for small businesses through sustainable shipping that is simple, affordable and reliable.
Sendle is investing more to help small businesses compete in the face of massive eCommerce growth, with the ten-year growth trajectory in global activity occurring in just eight weeks.
The additional capital will be used to ensure Sendle’s network is stronger and more reliable than ever, and ensure small businesses can deliver to increased customer demand in the coming months and ahead of Christmas.
The $19 million announcement follows six months of rapid growth and partner innovation, during which Sendle announced strategic partnerships with Bonds Couriers to launch a solar-powered delivery fleet, with Shopify to power Shopify Shipping in Australia and, most recently, an integration with online marketplace, Etsy.