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December 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 4
years, is more complicated than just replacing imported software with locally developed solutions.
Industry sources point to a lack of Russian-made IT solutions of required quality and stress that companies are not necessarily unwilling to deploy software products offered by local companies but are just looking for the best price and quality.
Currently, the top players in the Russian IT integration segment are Lanit, ITG and I Techo.
Used clothing marketplace Vinted becomes Lithuania's first ever $1bn tech unicorn
Lithuania-based Vinted has raised €128mn in its latest funding round, which values the company at over $1bn, making it Lithuanian's first ever tech unicorn. The achievemet places it alongside four Estonian startups – Bolt, Playtech, Skype and Transferwise – in the exclusive club of tech companies from the region whose valuations have passed the $1bn mark.
The latest funding round, announced by Vinted on November 28, was led by new investor Lightspeed Venture Partners, alongside existing backers including Sprints Capital, Insight Venture Partners, Accel and Burda Principal Investments. “We’ve been impressed by the team’s ability to build an incredible product and value proposition for their community, and adapt and expand
their business along the way. Vinted is defining its market and has built a global brand in C2C commerce and communities,” said Brad Twohig of Lightspeed.
“When we led Vinted’s Series A, we were intrigued by the company’s unique approach to
Over the last couple of years, the Russian government has been pushing for digitalization and adopting tech innovations in the economy. Although the budget of the state five-year digitalization programme was reduced earlier this year from RUB3.5 trillion ($55bn) to RUB1.6 trillion ($25bn), it's still a significant amount, and IT integration for government agencies and state-run corporations is likely to be a lucrative business.
creating a marketplace for buying and selling second-hand fashion and its remarkable
early traction,” commented Luciana Lixandru, partner at Accel. “Since taking the helm, [CEO] Thomas [Plantenga] has steered the business to impressive growth, as it redefines the
used clothes market, and Vinted’s very active community of members continues to grow.”
Currently, Vinted has 25mn members, and its website offers over 180mn second-hand fashion items for sale across 11 European markets. The company forecast that €1.3bn of gross merchandise volume is expected to be transacted this year.
In a press release emailed to bne IntelliNews, the company says the latest round of funding "will be used to invest in product development and to accelerate Vinted’s rapid growth across Europe”. Specifically, the company plans to double headcount in the product and technology teams; invest in technologies to continue to improve the value proposition for members; further strengthen trust, safety, and member-