Digital brand platform Foundry raises $100M

Dive Brief:

As investors fund platforms that support digital brands, Foundry, a platform that supports and acquires online brands, launched on Monday with $100 million in capital from LightBay Capital and Monogram Capital Partners, the company announced.
The funding will go toward supporting a lineup of digital brands, hiring employees and using its platform to sustain brands for the long term, the company said. It works with brands earning up to $50 million in revenue across a range of categories like kitchen and home goods, pets, outdoor and fitness and beauty.
The platform’s executives bring prior experience from companies such as Walmart, Groupon, Keranique and Amazon, per the announcement.

Dive Insight:

Foundry joins other platforms aiming to enhance and expand digitally native brands that have raised money in recent months.

The company said its goal is to optimize brands for third-party marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart, as well as other channels to kick-start their growth. The company also said it relies on a proprietary tool to measure brands based on criteria such as growth potential, scalability and durability.

"Brands like that can be born anywhere online today, whether that is on Amazon, Shopify, Instagram or a D2C channel. Those brands simply need access to the best capabilities to thrive," Tom Shipley, president and co-founder of Foundry, said in a statement.

As Foundry raises millions to support its platform, competitors have also brought in millions in venture capital funding to enhance and grow digitally native brands. In May, Heyday raised $70 million in Series B funding to hire more employees and grow its footprint across multiple international markets. That same month, Perch, another digital commerce company that acquires and grows third-party direct-to-consumer brands, raised $775 million in Series A funding.

Meanwhile, holding companies have emerged to acquire and develop more DTC brands into businesses that can scale efficiently and effectively. For example, Pattern raised $60 million last month to buy DTC brands in the home goods category.