As a leading e-commerce app operator, Shop Circle has launched out of stealth mode to reveal our expanding tech suite. Investors have signaled their confidence in our vision to become the entire  toolbox for enabling online merchants, pulling the curtain on a total of $65 million in financing. The funding was led by NFX and QED. Investors, with participation from 645 Ventures, FirstMinute Capital and Triple Point Capital. as the venture debt lender, and global law firm Orrick in a strategic advisory capacity.

“With the funding, we are able to rapidly increase our portfolio of apps and support more direct-to-consumer brands in building experiences their customers will love,” says Luca Cartechini, co-founder and CEO of Shop Circle. 

As an organization, will also use the funds to bolster its talented team of employees, said Gian Maria Gramondi, co-founder and chief operating officer of Shop Circle. “We plan to more than double our employee count by the end of year, bringing in new entrepreneurs, developers and more who share our mission of building the future of e-commerce.”  

Both Luca and Gian Maria were recognized in Forbes’ 30 under 30 – Europe – Technology in 2022 for helping power the digital revolution with their tech startup buying and building e-commerce apps. The pandemic accelerated the rate of online shopping around the world, with sales doubling to $870 billion in under two years, according to Forbes. And in 2022, the U.S. retail e-commerce market alone is expected to reach $1.06 trillion. 

Shop Circle has been working with Shopify, the Canadian multinational e-commerce platform, since launching in 2021, and currently oversees six applications with 40,000 downloads by online merchants. More than 1.75 million merchants sell on the Shopify platform, making it one of the largest e-commerce marketplaces in the world, and giving Shop Circle the initial reach needed to garner widespread recognition – with merchants and app developers alike.

Online merchants use between 6 and 12 apps to run an efficient business, and on Shopify, can sift through more than 7,500 apps before confirming which works best for their digital storefront and customers. At Shop Circle, we aim to streamline these efforts and increase speed-to-market innovation by creating a one-stop-shop for best-in-breed apps. Merchants and brands can access the toolbox of apps to meet their business goals and save time on setup and troubleshooting, ultimately reducing costs.

With the our unique collaborative approach, entrepreneurs can either sell their e-commerce apps directly to Shop Circle or join our team and scale their product with our dedicated marketing, branding, partnership, product, content and tech teams. Through this business model, Shop Circle hopes to create a developer-enabled community that emphasizes partnership and innovation.