Rocket Internet (FRA: RKET) has closed its latest fund on $1 billion, 14% of which was contributed by the company itself. Rocket Internet will use the fund to provide early-stage and growth investments to startups in burgeoning industries such as ecommerce and fintech.
Headquartered in Berlin, the company is perhaps best known for taking successful startup businesses and applying (read: copying) the idea in a new geography. While this has produced many successful companies around the world—think Delivery Hero and HelloFresh—it’s easy to see why some take issue with the strategy.
Along with the successes comes a fair share of troubles. Last year, a handful of Rocket Internet companies either sold off portions of their businesses in an attempt to stay afloat or raised new rounds with notable valuation decreases, with figures sometimes declining by as much as 50%.
Article by PitchBook
