Mirakl—whose software powers online marketplaces for clients ranging from Hewlett Packard Enterprise to 1-800 Flowers.com and The Kroger Co. supermarket chain—says it’s planning to ride strong growth in demand from companies wanting to host their own online marketplaces.

Investors backed up its plans today with $300 million in venture capital, bringing Mirakl’s capital raised so far to $400 million and valuing the company at over $1.5 billion, Mirakl’s executives said today.

Adrien Nussenbaum, U.S. CEO, Mirakl

Mirakl—which sees its software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketplace platform as a way for companies to compete against marketplace giants including Amazon.com Inc. and Alibaba Group—says it will invest the capital in its “technology and partner ecosystem” and expand its teams of technology engineers, customer service and sales agents to “meet the rapid adoption of the marketplace model.”

To help digital B2B as well as retail sellers compete online outside of their own dedicated ecommerce sites, “Mirakl has built an entirely new category, ushering in a platform revolution that is only just beginning,” Adrien Nussenbaum, co-founder and U.S. CEO, said in announcing the funding.

‘Agile’ platforms lead the way

Mirakl also asserts that “only agile platforms businesses” run by such marketplaces as Amazon and Alibaba are “able to consistently exceed and continuously raise expectations in an increasingly customer-driven world.” It adds: “But the platform model does not belong to the digital giants.”

Philippe Corrot, CEO, Mirakl

Nussenbaum and co-founder and CEO Philippe Corrot said Mirakl will hire more than 300 software engineers within the next three years to build out more B2B and B2C marketplace features and develop more artificial intelligence and automation technology to improve marketplace operations. In addition, Mirakl’s technology staff will build out more application programming interfaces (APIs) to better connect its marketplace platform to its technology partners.

The $300 million in funding announced today is from a group of investment firms led by Permira. Other investors include 83North, Bain Capital Ventures, Elaia Partners and Felix Capital. Mirakl “has just begun to scratch the surface of its potential in B2C and B2B,” said Daniel Brenhouse, a principal of Permira.

In the first half of this year, Mirakl says it launched 18 marketplaces. With more than 300 customers in 40 countries, it notes that Mirakl-powered marketplaces overall produced “over $1.2 billion in gross merchandise value” during the first half.

Mirakl’s client base also includes Best Buy Canada, Carrefour, Toyota Material Handling and Siemens Mobility.

Marketplace sales numbers

A new survey of about 85 business buyers by Digital Commerce 360 B2B finds that 89% of purchasing managers are purchasing at least the same or significantly more on B2B marketplaces as a result of circumstances brought about by COVID-19. 57% are spending even more on marketplace ecommerce sites, including 22% significantly more.

In retail ecommerce, 93% of online consumers have shopped on a marketplace, and 36% of retailers have adjusted their marketplace strategy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the 2020 Online Marketplaces Report from Digital Commerce 360 Research.

“The growth of marketplace ecommerce sales is a reason many large retailers, including Target Corp., are launching their own marketplaces,” DC360 reports in the recently released Top 100 Online Marketplaces ranking.

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