China’s Alibaba Group makes $15 million investment in 1stdibs
Alibaba Group has backed New York-based luxury e-commerce site 1stdibs with a $15 million Series C investment.
1stdibs' marketplace links more than 1,500 international dealers of high-end antiques, vintage furniture and design, art, jewelry, fashion and homes to consumers. The average purchase price on the site is over $2,000.
It was founded in 2001 and has raised $117 million from investors. In December 2012 it raised a $42 million round of funding from Index Ventures and Spark Capital, alongside existing investor Benchmark Capital.
According to Re/Code, the Series C funding round was not expected, but Alibaba approached the company as a strategic investor to help its efforts in Asia. 1stdibs has added dealers across Europe recently and one-third of its business is now outside the US and growing on both the supply and demand sides.
The funding will help expand its global buyer and dealer numbers and accelerate its mobile efforts.
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