Squarespace, a US website building platform, completes $300 million in financing, with a valuation of up to $10 billion

According to a report by techcrunch the day before yesterday, Squarespace, an American self-service website building platform founded in New York in 2003 , raised $300 million in a new round of financing. Its market valuation has now reached $10 billion , successfully joining the decacorn (unicorn) club.

It is reported that Squarespace has now successfully achieved profitability, with revenue of nearly US$300 million in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 50%, and has submitted an application for listing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January this year.

Squarespace provides customers with SaaS-based website building and hosting services. Users can create websites using pre-installed templates or customize website layouts based on existing designs . It has helped millions of people create their own independent websites and has offices in Dublin, Portland, Oregon, and California.

（ Squarespace official website）

Squarespace said the $300 million in funding will be used to "advance Squarespace's growth initiatives ." Anthony Casalena, the company's founder and CEO , said in a statement: "We warmly welcome our new investors as we expand our product portfolio to serve customers around the world."

New investors participating in the round include Dragoneer, Tiger Global, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company , and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and Spruce House . These investors will be able to receive a portion of the proceeds from Squarespace's initial public offering or direct listing.

Squarespace also attracted previous investors Accel and General Atlantic to participate in this new round of financing.

Accel invested $38.5 million and $40 million in the company in 2010 and 2014 respectively, while General Atlantic conducted a second round of financing worth $200 million in 2017. It is worth mentioning that after this round of financing, Squarespace's market valuation reached $1.7 billion.

From US$1.7 billion in 2017 to US$10 billion at the beginning of 2021, this means that the company's market valuation has more than doubled in just three years.

It is worth noting that the outbreak of the epidemic last year promoted the development of e-commerce business. Independent sites built by sellers with the help of major website building platforms have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. American consumers are accustomed to visiting brand official websites to view and purchase , so the US market has naturally become the country with the largest number of independent sites in the world.

According to siteefy data, there are more than 100 million websites in the United States. In contrast, the number of websites in China is only around 5 million. Therefore, it is not surprising that independent website building platforms like Squarespace have been favored by many investors against the backdrop of the rapid development of e-commerce.

Interested sellers can visit Squarespace’s official website to view its website building services and registration process, and make the most suitable choice after comparing with other website building platforms!

Squarespace; American website building platform