Modsy raises $37M in Series C funding

Dive Brief:

Modsy, an online interior design service, announced on Tuesday it raised $37 million in a Series C funding round led by growth equity firm TCV. Existing investors including Norwest Venture Partners, Advance Venture Partners (AVP) and Comcast Ventures also participated in the funding round.
The company said it plans to use funding to further invest in its 3D technology, furniture marketplace expansion, and design and concierge shopping services, according to a company press release emailed to Retail Dive.
The latest funding round brings the company's total to $71 million raised to date.

Dive Insight:

The implementation of 3D technology has gained more attention lately, both for consumers who want to visualize products before purchasing, and for retailers, particularly those selling home goods.

Lowe's in 2017 added two AR apps, Measured and Envisioned by The Mine, and Ikea that same year unveiled its own AR app, all of which were built on Apple's ARkit AR development platform. But for retailers that operate solely online, this technology may prove especially useful. Wayfair and Overstock both added AR capabilities to their Android apps in March of 2018.

However, what sets Modsy apart from these traditional retailers is that they aren't limited to one company or brand's product assortment. The company's designs include products from several brands including West Elm, Crate & Barrel, Anthropologie and Pottery Barn — all of which are shoppable from Modsy's site.

"I founded Modsy on the premise that in the future we would all be shopping from a personalized catalog-like experience within a virtual version of our real homes," CEO and founder Shanna Tellerman said in a statement.

Since the company's last funding round in December 2017, Modsy said it has expanded its customer base by 450% and added three executives to its team: CTO Sam MacDonnell, COO Meredith Dunn and Vice President of Finance Mustafa Nafar. The company also said it has created more than 2 million shoppable lifestyle renders since its founding in 2015.

TCV, the growth equity firm leading the latest funding round, has also participated in funding for companies including Dollar Shave Club, Rent the Runway and TechStyle Fashion Group, which operates ShoeDazzle, JustFab, FabKids, Fabletics and Savage X Fenty.

"The U.S. home furnishing market is a massive, multi-billion dollar industry and we are seeing a very clear secular shift online," Tina Hoang-To, executive vice president at TCV and newly appointed Modsy board member, said in a statement. "Modsy is redefining the way consumers can buy furniture by leveraging technology and machine learning to introduce efficiency, transparency, and affordability to an antiquated home design industry."