Washington, D.C.-based e-commerce Optoro is raising a $30 million funding round from a mix of current and new investors as first reported in the Wall Street Journal. Investors include local VC firms like Revolution Growth, SWaN & Legend Venture Partners and the Maryland Venture Fund as well as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and newcomer United Parcel Service.
"We’ve known for some time that more and more purchasing was going to be done on the Internet and mobile and Optoro’s thesis from the start has made it clear that they were solving a big logistics issues facing all retailers," Revolution co-founder Ted Leonsis said in an email to DC Inno. "Not only has Optoro solved a logistics problem in the retail industry, but they are also helping to solve an environmental one. They are helping their clients reduce waste and carbon emissions in meaningful amounts to help them meet sustainability goals."
Along with the investment, UPS is planning to partner with Optoro to help retailers deal with issues like unwanted and returned items. The timing is notable as well, coming right around the busiest period for retailers in both sales and returns. Considering that UPS clients can already get things like return shipping labels or on the spot trades, bringing in Optoro likely means UPS sees that income source as a growth sector. For Optoro, working with UPS would put its software squarely in the middle of a huge amount of the kind of logistical headache it was founded to solve, with a solution on hand that could serve to draw a lot of new revenue for the company.
"Optoro’s thesis from the start has made it clear that they were solving a big logistics issues facing all retailers."
Optoro began life in 2004 as eSpot before evolving into the the current model and name in 2010. The company recently moved to a new office downtown in the District after entirely crowding out its previous space in Chinatown. The new funding puts Optoro at just about $120 million in funding overall.
"I am very excited about the potential of this investment and partnership," Leonsis said. "We think it will open up relationships for Optoro with major retailers and brands to solve what has become a major and costly issue as more and more consumers purchase online and make returns."
