Austrian startup Refurbed, which runs a marketplace for secondhand electronics, has raised a £44m round, eight months after cutting 20% of its workforce.
The round was led by Alex Zubillaga, a US investor whose previous bets include Spotify and Spanish marketplace Wallapop, along with Orilla, the investment vehicle of Spain’s Riberas family, which has previously invested in companies including Vinted and Cabify.
Refurbed’s existing shareholders Speedinvest, Evli Growth Partners, Bonsai, Almaz and C4 Ventures also participated in the round.
The company was founded in 2017 and sells refurbished smartphones, laptops and tablets. It’s now active in twelve countries across Europe. It’s now planning to use its new funds to expand to the UK.
The new round is not Refurbed’s largest — it previously raised a $54m Series B in 2021 and a $57m Series C in 2023.
In February, the company laid off 20% of its workforce, which now stands at 270 people according to Linkedin. Peter Windischhofer, co-founder and CEO of Refurbed, says the layoffs were a response to “prevailing geopolitical and regulatory conditions.”
The company says it achieved profitability in March, following the layoffs, and has seen sales grow 40% year-on-year.
Refurbed is one of a number of startups in Europe selling used electronics.
French company BackMarket is the best funded, having raised over $1bn. In 2022, the Paris-based unicorn laid off 13% of its workforce and paused international expansion but went on to report profitability last year. Finnish startup Swappie, which has raised $169m in total, is another contender.
