Bond nabs major investor as it tackles last mile challenge

E-commerce delivery startup Bond has closed a $15 million funding round involving Lightspeed Venture Partners, MizMaa Ventures and TLV Partners.

Lightspeed has previously invested in Bonobos, which was acquired by Walmart in 2017 and Affirm, which was co-founded by PayPal co-creator Max Levchin.

Bond was born out of Israeli online grocery business, Shookit. It has a network of 400-500-square foot warehouses (aka Nano Distribution Centres or NDCs) that are situated within cities.

The venture’s technology routes orders to the closest warehouse and a local team delivers via electric trikes, usually that same day. It allows online shoppers to schedule deliveries in three hour windows and communicate directly with their delivery person. They can also arrange pick-ups for returns.

The startup currently manages delivery and storage for more than 30 brands in the Big Apple from six distribution centres in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and it has also partnered with third party distribution centres to offer deliveries to some locales in Queens and New Jersey.

Plans are afoot to open six more NDCs in the New York metro area by March, as well as dozens more throughout the year as it expands into two additional cities by the third quarter of 2020.

“Last mile delivery is like satisfaction death valley,” says Asaf Hachmon, Co-Founder and CEO, Bond. “Online brands spend tons of money on ensuring consumers have the absolute best user experience while on their website, yet are forced to entrust couriers to deliver products with that same level of care and attention, and all too often they don’t.”

“We learned that firsthand at Shookit, and it’s why we created Bond. After we developed the technology to address that issue for Shookit, we experienced explosive growth and realised that the last yard, along with the brand’s hyperlocal micro-moments, needs to be leveraged, customised and supported by the right infrastructure. We’re thrilled to announce our funding and open up our first facilities in New York.”