Direct-to-Consumer E-Commerce Platform Cider Completes B-Round Financing for $130 Million,Values Over $1 Billion

Cider, a global direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce platform, announced on Thursday that it had completed a B-round financing of $130 million, led by DST Global and followed by Greenoaks Capital and A16Z. Cider’s current valuation is over $1 billion, making it one of the fastest growing unicorn companies in the world.

Cider said that this round of financing will be used for brand building, R&D of systems and overseas business expansion. In terms of strategic layout, Cider said that it will continue to increase investment in its brand and technology by upgrading its traditional manufacturing methods with artificial intelligence, big data and algorithms. The firm aims to build intelligent factories and upgrade cross-border clothing e-commerce services.

This is Cider’s fourth round of financing in the last year. In September 2020, Cider received nearly $10 million of angel funding, led by A16Z, IDG Capital, while Dexun Investment, Fengrui Capital and Chuxin Capital later followed the investment. At the end of 2020, Heyu Capital led the Pre-A round of financing. In May 2021, Cider announced the completion of Round A financing, led by DST Global and A16Z, followed by IDG Capital and Decent Capital.

Cider, established in May 2020, is a global DTC e-commerce platform focusing on overseas markets. Its products are mainly low-priced and popular women’s clothing fashions. Cider has accumulated one billion impressions on social media around the world, covering consumers from more than 100 countries and has more than 2 million followers from around the world. At present, the firm has offices in Guangzhou, Beijing, and Los Angeles with branches located in New York, London, Seoul and Brisbane.

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In recent years, the scale of the cross-border e-commerce market has expanded rapidly. According to a research report released by industry website 100ec.cn, the scale of China’s cross-border e-commerce market reached 12.5 trillion yuan ($193.567 billion) in 2020, up 19.04% year-on-year. It was estimated that the market size would reach 14.6 trillion yuan in 2021.

Wang Chen, founder and CEO of Cider, believes that the e-commerce industry has entered its “technology-, content- and brand-driven eras. The new wave of global e-commerce has just begun, and the next 5-10 years will be a great opportunity for global online retail.”