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Case studies

Movens Capital's portfolio company Alokai (f. Vue Storefront) raised $20 million to modernize eCommerce storefronts globally

More: https://alokai.com/news/alokai-raises-20-million-in-equity-round

Company
Alokai (formerly Vue Storefront)
PE/VC investor
Seed: Movens Capital (along with SMOK Ventures) The latest round: Felix Capital, Creandum, Early Bird, SquareOne
Investment period
2020 - in portfolio

0.75

Initial investment by Movens

(in Millions)

20

The latest round

March 2023
(in Millions)

15.2

Return

valuation growth

Movens Capital invested in Alokai (formerly Vue Storefront) in late 2020 to turn the fastest-growing open-source eCommerce project into a business. A few days later, Alokai joined Y Combinator as the 5th Polish startup participating in this one of the best Silicon Valley accelerators.

In March 2023, Alokai raised $20 million in a round led by Felix Capital, with participation from existing investors Creandum, Earlybird, and SquareOne. This was the largest funding round for a Polish startup in H1 2023 and one of the largest A rounds to date. Alokai's valuation has increased 15.2x since Movens Capital's initial investment. The company has raised nearly $40 million to date.

Alokai is a Frontend as a Service (FEaaS) that delivers custom eCommerce storefronts quickly and affordably . It allows enterprises to modernize their e-commerce without needing to re-platform, by integrating the latest composable tools with established platforms such as SAP Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and Adobe Commerce . Nearly 3,000 retailers and merchants worldwide now use Alokai to power their online stores. The platform's strength remains the community of more than 11,000 developers working on its open-source version of the software.

Growth

  • Annual recurring revenue has grown 10x over the past three years.
  • Gross profit margin has significantly improved.
  • Team has grown to nearly 80 professionals across 10 countries.
  • Alokai is now used by nearly 3,000 online stores globally.
  • Open-source community has grown to 11,000+ developers.

Main objectives
of funding

Alokai raised $20 million in equity round to support its rapid international expansion and product development. The funding aims to enhance its "Frontend as a Service" offering for custom eCommerce storefronts, increase its presence in the US market, and scale its team and product capabilities. The investment also supports launching a major product upgrade and bolstering senior leadership to continue driving growth in the flexible and modular commerce ecosystem.

What changed in the company after PE/VC investment

  • Movens Capital's involvement made it possible to spin off Vue Storefront from software house Divante and develop it independently.
  • Seed investment enabled Alokai to join Y Combinator as the 5th Polish startup.
  • The fund actively supported the company in key recruitment, go-to-market strategy and fundraising.
  • Alokai has significantly enhanced its product, international presence, customer base, and strategic partnerships.
  • The company has grown its team to 70 professionals across 10 countries.

Movens Capital's support has been transformative for our company. Their investment came at a critical time, helping us navigate through the complexities of a spin-off and the challenges posed by the pandemic. Their belief in our vision, even when we were offering our software for free and had no revenue, has been invaluable. This backing allowed us to grow exponentially, expand our team, integrate with market-leading solutions, and finally raise capital from reputable VCs to become a global leader in the Ffrontend as –a Service category.

Patrick Friday

CEO&Founder