Perch, a startup that buys Amazon sellers, raises $775 million from SoftBank

Amazon Prime packages sat in a delivery truck before being unloaded in Miami, Fla.Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Perch, a Boston startup that acquires and operates businesses that sell products on Amazon, said on Wednesday that it has raised $775 million in a new funding round.

The money, which comes less than two years after Perch was founded, brings its total venture capital haul to $900 million. With the company’s valuation in the billion-dollar range, Perch now has “unicorn” status. Chris Bell, the chief executive of Perch (who previously worked at online retailer Wayfair), said the funding is a “powerful validation of our amazingly talented team, data-first playbooks, and long-term vision.”

The round was led by Japanese giant SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, which recently led a $150 million fundraising round for 3D-printing startup Formlabs. Previous investors Spark Capital and Victory Park Capital also participated in the deal. Meanwhile, Thrasio, a Perch competitor based in Walpole, has raised more than a billion dollars in funding, according to research platforms Crunchbase and PitchBook, and also has unicorn status.

“Perch’s success across their 70 brands is undeniable,” said Alex Finkelstein, general partner at Spark Capital, in a statement. (Finkelstein previously oversaw Spark’s investment in Wayfair.) “They have gone from one of the earliest movers in a rapidly evolving industry to a leading eCommerce player on Amazon and beyond. We are excited to watch Perch expand on their success and redefine an industry.”