INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The quintessential venture capitalist’s uniform consists of a pair of designer jeans, a Patagonia fleece vest and $95 wool sneakers.The
company behind the shoes, Allbirds, entered the unicorn club this morning with the announcement of a $50 million Series C from late-stage
Rowe Price, which led the round, Tiger Global and Fidelity Investments
The 3-year-old startup founded by Joey Zwillinger and Tim Brown has raised $75 million to date, including a $17.5 million Series B last
It’s backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, Scooter Braun, Maveron, Lerer Hippeau and Elephant, the venture capital firm led by Warby Parker founder
Andrew Hunt.The Wall Street Journal is reporting the round values Allbirds at $1.4 billion
The company would not confirm that figure to TechCrunch.Like Warby Parker, San Francisco-based Allbirds began as a direct-to-consumer
online retailer but has since expanded to brick-and-mortar, opening stores in San Francisco and New York
It currently ships to locations across the U.S., New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Next week, the company plans to open its first
in London’s Covent Garden neighborhood
It will begin shipping throughout the U.K
In 2019.Using its latest investment, Allbirds will double down on its brick-and-mortar business
In addition to the U.K., the company says it will open even more locations in the U.S., as well as open doors in Asia in the coming
months. Tiger Global, which has backed Allbirds since its Series B, may be of help
The firm has offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as partners across Asia.Allbirds makes eco-friendly wool shoes for men, women and
kids via its kid’s line, aptly named Smallbirds
The shoes are made of sustainable materials, including merino wool, a fabric made from eucalyptus fiber that the company has dubbed
“Tree” and “SweetFoam,” a shoe sole made from sugarcane-based, carbon-negative foam rubber.“Climate change is the problem of our
generation and the private sector has a responsibility to combat it,” Zwillinger, Allbirds’ chief executive officer, said in a statement
“This injection of capital will help us bring our sustainable products to more people around the globe, demonstrating that comfort, design
and sustainability don’t have to live exclusive of each other.”It’s been quite the year for venture investment in … shoes
Rothy’s, which makes sustainable ballet flats for women, has raised $7 million and launched a sneaker
Atoms, a maker of minimalist shoes, brought in $560,000 in seed funding from LinkedIn’s ex-head of growth Aatif Awan and Shrug Capital
And GOAT, the operator of an online sneaker marketplace, nabbed a $60 million Series C in February.
