PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024

Headless Commerce Startup Bolt Eyes $14B Valuation

Bolt, Valuation, headless commerce, checkout

Headless commerce platform Bolt is eyeing a $14 billion valuation and close to $400 million in funding following an almost $400 million Series E funding round at an $11 billion valuation, The Information reported Tuesday (Dec. 21), citing three sources.

Bolt powers an eCommerce checkout that verifies identity, accounts, payments and post-purchase infrastructure and specializes in offering one-click checkout technology tailored to merchants who don’t sell on Amazon.

Bolt CEO and co-founder Ryan Breslow told The Information that Bolt is “playing in a space with a lot of very well-funded folks.”

See also: Bolt Acquires Tipser to Drive Rollout of Remote Checkout

Bolt has raised almost $1 billion to date, and Breslow said this funding was raised quickly because of the industry.

The company was founded in 2014 by Breslow and Eric Feldman, and approximately 300 retailers are now using Bolt’s checkout software, including Brooks Brothers and Forever 21.

Bolt’s software enables shoppers to order goods on any site that uses Bolt for checkout. Shoppers using sites supported by Bolt only have to input their personal information once, similar to Amazon.

Read more: Adobe Partners With Bolt to Add One-Click Checkout

“When we’re talking about companies that are the size of Shopify and PayPal, they’re worth hundreds of billions of dollars with billions on the balance sheet,” Breslow told The Information.

Bolt’s approach to raising funds is different in that it goes after money almost monthly instead of yearly, The Information reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. With each funding, Bolt upped its valuation.

Per The Information, the company is tracking to generate around $50 million in revenue this year.

At the start of 2021, Bolt had 4 million registered shoppers, according to a source. Breslow told The Information that he anticipates that number will grow to at least 50 million by the end of 2022.

As part of its growth efforts, in late November, Bolt acquired the Swedish firm Tipser to expand its remote checkout offerings.

PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024