NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boxed , the company that delivers bulk-sized groceries, today announced the company has raised $111 million in its latest funding round, led by Aeon Co. Ltd, Japan’s largest retailer by sales and one of the nation’s largest grocers. With this round, Boxed will knowledge-share with Aeon on logistics, robotics, AI-driven data usage and accelerate Aeon’s digital transformation. The two companies will also explore further collaboration on technology and business models. Joining Aeon in the latest round are the Alpha Square Group, CDIB Capital, consumer technology investor Gabriel Naouri and existing investors. Nomura Securities International, Inc. acted as placement agent for the financing.
“Our industry is constantly evolving. Our latest fundraising efforts will allow us to capitalize on those changes. We’ll also continue to expand our national footprint by focusing on reaching our core consumer in various key markets, to increase national brand awareness of Boxed," said Chieh Huang, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.
With the new capital, Boxed will continue to ramp up automation of facilities with hardware developed by Boxed’s in-house robotics team. Boxed is one of the very few commerce companies in the world that writes its own software, runs its own fulfillment centers and builds its own automation robotics in-house.
“The autonomous vehicles our robotics team has created will help support our rapid growth, enabling us to meet customer demand through increased efficiency, and put us at the forefront of fulfillment center technology,” said Huang.
The e-tailer is also exploring future expansion of its operations around the country, including in the Chicago area, where execs have begun visiting potential new sites for a midwest-based facility.
About Boxed Founded in 2013, Boxed has taken the best elements of the wholesale shopping experience and folded them into one innovative, cutting edge mobile app that allows consumers direct-to-their-door access to all of their favorite warehouse club products, without membership fees. The brand’s discovery-based design recreates the fun of the treasure hunt experience with a curated selection of everyday essentials that consumers love, including household staples, health and beauty supplies, office pantry items, groceries and a wide variety of organic and green products. A technology company at its core, Boxed has recently created its own fleet of autonomously guided vehicles in its fulfillment centers, which are powered by software developed by its team of engineers.
David Taft (732) 895-8238 dave@boxed.com
Kei Hoshino Quigley (212) 564-3665 kei@launchsquad.com
