Startup

Zalando

Zalando is a Berlin-based online fashion and lifestyle platform founded in 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider. It grew from a Rocket Internet-backed shoe retailer into Europe's largest online fashion marketplace, listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2014.

Zalando operates across 25 European markets, connecting over 50 million active customers with thousands of brands. The company transitioned from a pure retailer to a platform model, enabling brands to sell directly through its Partner Program while offering logistics, marketing, and fulfillment services via its Zalando Fulfillment Solutions infrastructure.

GermanyBerlinPublicE-CommerceFashionMarketplace

Details

Location

Berlin, Germany

Category

Startup

Stage

Public

Profile

/germany/startup/zalando

Investors

Venture capital firms backing this startup

Holtzbrinck Ventures

Munich, Germany · Venture Capital

Holtzbrinck Ventures (HV Capital) is one of the most established venture capital firms in the DACH region, investing from seed through growth stages in technology companies across Europe. Part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, the firm has been active since the late 1990s and manages over EUR 1 billion across multiple fund generations. HV Capital has backed some of Germany's most notable tech companies including Zalando, Flixbus, and Scalable Capital. The firm focuses on software, fintech, marketplaces, and digital health, combining deep European market knowledge with a long institutional track record.

Venture CapitalSeed to GrowthTechnologySoftwareFintech

Kinnevik

Stockholm, Sweden · Venture Capital

Kinnevik is a Stockholm-based growth-stage investment company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm that backs innovative digital businesses in healthcare, software, consumer, and climate sectors. Originally a traditional Swedish industrial conglomerate founded in 1936, Kinnevik transformed into a focused growth investor and was an early backer of companies like Zalando, Tele2, and Millicom. The firm manages a portfolio valued at several billion euros and takes concentrated positions in companies it believes can become category leaders. Kinnevik provides patient capital with a long-term orientation unusual among European growth investors.

Venture CapitalGrowth to Late StageGrowth EquityHealthcareConsumerSoftware

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