The seed funding was led by early-stage tech VC RTP Global, along with renowned angel investors including Scott Chacon (Github co-founder), Mavericks Founders and former Sony Music CEO Philip Ginthör. +++ LIVEBUY was founded in 2020 and has already built an extensive customer portfolio, including retailers like Lidl and MediaMarktSaturn and shows hosted with celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Miranda Kerr and Jessica Alba. +++ LIVEBUY will use the funding to improve its proprietary software, expand the scope of its services and advance its goal of European expansion.
LIVEBUY founder: Alex v. Harsdorf, Bertold Harmath & Armin genus
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The Berlin startup LIVEBUY today announced the successful completion of a current seed financing round of EUR 5 million. The round is from RTP Global led and supported by other renowned business angels, including Scott Chacon (Github Co-Founder), Mavericks Founders and former Sony Music CEO Philip Ginthör. LIVEBUY intends to use the funding for the further development of the software offer, the expansion of the service offer for customers and the expansion into other European markets.
LIVEBUY enables brands and retailers to operate their own live video shopping platforms and integrate them directly into their websites and online marketplaces. As a European pioneer of live video shopping, the video commerce startup has built up a well-known customer portfolio in the short time since it was founded in August 2020. Several European market leaders such as the international beauty company Douglas, the industry leader in electronics retailing MediaMarktSaturn and the consumer goods giant Lidl already rely on the software from the Berlin company. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Miranda Kerr and Jessica Alba are also early adopters of the LIVEBUY Creator App.
Shopping via live streams has developed into a billion-dollar market in Asia. The ecosystem there now includes over 150 live shopping platforms with tens of thousands of content creators. According to a McKinsey report earlier this year, after Alibaba’s Taobao launched in 2016, “China’s live commerce market grew in value between 2017 and 2020 at an average annual growth rate of more than 280 percent, (…) and Chinese sales are expected to reach $ 423 billion by 2022. ”LIVEBUY plans to use the € 5 million seed funding to invest in further development of its own software and many-to-many multi-creators – to further expand platform technology.
Alex von Harsdorf, CEO and Co-Founder of LIVEBUY: “It was an incredible first year for LIVEBUY, in which we developed a strong dynamic right from the start. We believe that whoever wins the hearts of the best live video shopping creators will win this market too. We are pleased to have gained such a renowned partner as RTP Global, who brings years of experience in the field of e-commerce and media as well as an international perspective. “
Galina Chifina, Partner at RTP Global, added: “We firmly believe in the next generation of e-commerce providers and see an exciting future in live shopping, especially in the European market. The LIVEBUY team is bursting with industry experience, innovative ideas and passionate ambition. We are very proud to be on board right from the start of the journey. “
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