arive raises $20M Series A to expand experience commerce across Europe

JAN 10, 2022

BY BALDERTON

The round was led by Balderton along with Global Founders Capital and Burda Principal Investments, as well as previous investors La Famiglia and 468 Capital

arive was founded to change how people shop. Its innovative tech stack, curated selection of well-known brands and last-mile delivery logistics mean consumers can order anything from fitness products to cosmetics, personal care, homeware, tech and fashion and have it delivered to their door by an environmentally-friendly fleet.

Balderton first invested in arive's Seed round. You can read more on why we invested from Balderton's Shikha Ahluwalia here. The new funding will help the company to expand its revolutionary new shopping model to Europe, starting with London and Paris, as well as across Germany.

Established and iconic brands are always looking for new and exciting ways to reach their customers. But the current commerce supply fails to deliver an adequate environment. No brand wants to see their premium product stuffed between late-night snacks and last-minute groceries. arive is here to create a new way of commerce, x-commerce, where shopping for your favorite brands becomes an elevated moment full of inspiration and joy.

Linus Fries, co-founder of arive

arive uses an environmentally-friendly fleet to deliver goods.

We will use the new funding to continue our rapid growth strategy, including further expansion in Germany, launching in more European cities, plus doubling our team size. In addition, we will continue to connect and integrate premium retail stores to offer our customers an even better range of products and shopping experience to further change buying habits.

Maximilian Reeker, co-founder of arive

Since arive launched its revolutionary new shopping model in Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt, the company has reached around 100,000 app store downloads and massive inbound requests from iconic brands. New brands are vetted before they can be added to the platform, depending on criteria which include sustainability, impact on culture and brand values. Recent additions include e-bike startup (and Balderton portfolio company!) VanMoof, as well as Bala, Dr. Barbara Sturm and many more.

arive is going to continue expanding its product offering as well as add a new connected retail vertical which allows local premium stores to list their products on the arive app and use arive’s couriers to deliver orders to customers. In addition to empowering brands and local stores with new reach and visibility, partners of arive benefit from curation and editorial content to elevate the discovery and desire for new products and brands as well as live-shopping and events, access to data and exclusive influencer collaborations, to further enable the digitisation of the high street.

arive's aim to provide the city’s best shopping experience will see the introduction of scheduled delivery so customers can browse new and in-demand products from their home, and receive them whenever they want in a way that is effortless, yet elevated.

Linus, Max, and the entire team at arive are challenging e-commerce conventions with energetic execution and an acute sensitivity to the priorities of modern brands. Using light electric vehicles to rapidly fulfill orders leaves a lighter footprint on our planet and ensures that customers are home to receive goods they’ve purchased online, avoiding costly failed deliveries.

Colin Hanna, partner at Balderton

The team is also committed to building their UX in a way that protects, rather than erodes, the value of the brands they are lucky to work with. Finally, high basket sizes and no wastage means the company has a much stronger path to a sustainable business model over the long run.

Colin Hanna

Read more about the fundraise: 

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