Instabox, a Swedish parcel delivery start-up, has raised 174 million euros in its latest financing round. Its value is now estimated at 1 billion euros, granting it the Unicorn Status.
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Swedish Instabox has been growing fast since its launch in 2015. In 2020, it generated a revenue of 24 million euros. In 2021, the company raised over 73 million euros and entered the Netherlands through its acquisition of Red Je Pakketje.
The company was forecast to become a Unicorn for some time already, but it was via this last financing round that it actually achieved the mark of a billion euros, thus becoming the newest unicorn in Sweden.
The round was led by European investment firm Verdane, which specializes in tech companies. Owners such as Creades and EQT Ventures invested again, as well as new investors.
‘The new financing will help us improve our services, making us even more sustainable. I am delighted with the confidence that our current and new investors have shown in us. The global parcel services market continues to grow every year and lightning-fast, hassle-free and fossil-free shipping set us apart from traditional shipping services. The new financing will help us build on that and further improve our services, making us even more sustainable and customer-oriented”, said Alexis Priftis, CEO and co-founder of Instabox.
The company will use the money raised in this round, not so much for expansion, but to further consolidate and reinforce the infrastructure of Instabox in Sweden, Norway, and The Netherlands. A much-needed reinforcement due to the amazing year-on-year growth of 300% that the company has had since 2017.
The Financial Times recently named Instabox as the third fastest-growing company in Europe. Currently, the parcel delivery service is able to deliver over 3 million parcels each month.
It has already announced that it wants to place at least 3.000 more parcel lockers in the Netherlands. It will also strengthen its position in Norway, after taking over the Norwegian same-day delivery company Porterbuddy. Earlier this year, the company launched in Germany. The parcel deliverer announced that it would open more locker terminals within the country soon.
