Fetch Rewards, the Madison-based consumer loyalty and retail awards app, announced it has raised $210 million in Series D financing at a valuation greater than $1 billion, placing the company “squarely in unicorn territory,” according to a spokesperson.
While Fetch isn’t releasing its exact valuation, the newly-minted “unicorn” company is one of the few privately-held startups to reach the billion-dollar valuation milestone in the Midwest. The round was led by SoftBank through its Vision Fund 2.
Since launching in 2017, the company has brought in more than $318 million in total funding. Existing shareholders ICONIQ, DST, Greycroft, and e.ventures also participated in the Series D round.
“As we continue to grow and innovate fast, we are thrilled to join the SoftBank Vision Fund 2 portfolio,” Wes Schroll, Fetch founder and CEO, said in a statement. “This new partnership will give us the momentum we need to achieve our goal of becoming the world’s rewards platform.”
Fetch Rewards allows shoppers to earn free rewards and future savings on everyday purchases by snapping photos of their receipts via the company’s app. As users earn points, they can be redeemed through the platform to enter monthly sweepstakes, donate to charity, or exchange for gift cards at popular stores and online retailers nationwide. By working directly with brands, the company is able to provide access to rewards and savings, it said.
With the latest round of funding, Fetch plans to use the capital to inform its product strategy and adapt to changing consumer shopping habits on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following significant growth over the past two years, the company cited changes such as state-issued lockdowns and shoppers’ adherence to social distancing guidelines as contributors to a reversal in long-term grocery trends. The shift fueled a surge in food retail revenues by more than 25 percent, and forced the company to modify its approach, Schroll said.
“Innovation, responsiveness, and speed have been key to our growth over the past year,” Schroll said. “Covid-19 has forced us to adapt to the feedback that our shoppers are giving us. We’ve always cared about what our shoppers say, we exist to make their shopping experiences better.”
The company is working to improve its ability to quickly process online receipts and issue immediate awards to its nearly 7 million active users, the company said.
Schroll launched Fetch Rewards following his sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013, when he ventured out to make saving on groceries easier.
In a conversation with Wisconsin Inno earlier this year, Schroll credited the success of his company to his team and the ability to recognize and evaluate the right business opportunities.
The company employs more than 350 people at offices in Madison, Chicago, New York and San Francisco.
“We’re very much in that position where we’re fortunate to have tons of opportunities coming to us, and we need a little bit more rigor in how we approach which ones we go after,” he said at the time.
The Fetch Rewards app has been downloaded more than 19 million times, and has processed nearly one billion receipts totaling more than $120 million in savings to its shoppers, according to the company. The startup was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. for the past two years. Between 2016 and 2019, the company reported a 3,160% growth rate — the highest of any company from Wisconsin.
“We believe Fetch Rewards’ platform delivers a great experience for consumers by rewarding them for their loyalty to their favorite brands,” Tom Cheung, a partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with Wes and the team as they continue to innovate, scale, and expand into new markets.”
