The global e-commerce industry is showing signs of maturity, as funding slows and deals trend toward later-stage companies.
To more deeply understand the category, we looked at notable private companies in the space — we focused on VC-backed companies that have raised $30M+ and that have raised funding rounds more recently than 1/1/2014 — and segmented them by focus area to create our periodic table of e-commerce. All of the 138 startups and investors on the table were identified using CB Insights data.
We expect that this list will change over time as new entrants emerge and gain prominence and others falter, exit, and are removed. If you believe someone should be added, please leave a comment with your rationale.
Navigating the periodic table of e-commerce:
The top part of the table lists venture capital-backed companies in various e-commerce categories. It’s a huge space, so as we mentioned previously this table is not intended to be comprehensive.
The bottom two rows of the table outline notable exits of private companies, and some of the most active VCs in e-commerce since 2014.
We broke down e-commerce into the following categories:
- Internet Malls – This heavily-funded category includes multi-product online shopping platforms selling a range of household goods, apparel, electronics, toys, and more. Four companies — China Internet Plus Holding (China), Flipkart (India), Snapdeal (India) and Coupang (South Korea) – have each raised more than $1B.
- Apparel & Accessories – The category includes both online-first clothing brands, such as Bonobos and NastyGal, and shopping platforms focused on fashion, such as Wish (the segment’s most well-funded, with $571M raised) and Keep.
- Luxury – This includes luxury shopping platforms such as Moda Operandi, and sites for buying and selling pre-owned luxury, such as The RealReal.
- Fashion Rental – Rent the Runway and The Black Tux focus on luxury clothing rentals for special occasions.
- Classifieds & Resale – These startups host online classifieds platforms and channels for peer-to-peer selling of used items. Mumbai-based Quikr, the most well-funded company on the table, has raised $350M.
- Personal & Grooming – These startups offer cosmetics and personal care products, some on a subscription model. The most well-funded is vertically-integrated razor company Harry’s, with $287M.
- Maternity & Baby – Mia.com and BeiBei are two China-based e-commerce platforms for baby supplies, with over $220M in funding each. India-based FirstCry has raised $69M.
- Athletic Apparel – Florida-based Fanatics, which manages e-commerce and merchandising for sports teams, is one of the most well-funded companies in our table with $695M.
- Furniture & Decor – These startups provide online shopping platforms for furniture and home decor, including Houzz, with $214M in funding. Casper, with $70M, is an online-first mattress manufacturer.
- Eyeglasses – This includes online-first eyeglass designers like Warby Parker (the category’s most well-funded with $216M) along with e-commerce platforms for glasses and lenses like MyOptiqueGroup ($102M raised).
- Auctions & Art – These startups offer online bidding and purchasing platforms for art, like HIHEY ($100M), estate sales, like Everything But The House ($43M), and antiques/collectibles, like Catawiki ($95M).
- Auto – This category, which has had a flurry of $100M+ mega-rounds recently, includes online platforms for buying and selling new and used cars, with a mix of peer-to-peer and business-to-consumer models. The most well-funded is Beijing-based Uxin Pai with $460M.
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