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Around 510 million dollars was raised by the refurbished gadget platform for a 5.7 billion dollars valuation.
FREMONT, CA: French tech startups appear to be in an intense race to the top. Back Market, the latest winner in this frothy competition, has claimed the title of most valuable French startup on the heels of a 510 million dollars round announced on 11 January, 2022. The refurbished gadget market is now worth 5.7 billion dollars, breaking the previous record of 4.98 billion dollars set by neobank Qonto just yesterday following its 486 million euro funding round.
Addition to the 250 million euros raised by Ankorstore on 11 January and the 289 million dollars raised by PayFit last week, French startups have raised nearly 1.5 billion euros in 2022 — nearly as much as they did in 2016. And January isn't even halfway done yet. Back Market, unlike the other members of this 2022 cohort, was already a unicorn company. However, it is benefiting from the same private equity trends that are chasing potential global tech champions. Sprints Capital, based in London, led the new round, which comes as consumers embrace recycled electronics.
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Thibaud Hug de Larauze, CEO and cofounder of Back Market, stated that it is a perfect storm and they have been working for seven years to create a platform where circular electronics are accessible and safe for all. Back Market, founded in 2014, is a platform that connects a growing number of sophisticated electronics repair shops and factories around the world with consumers. Vinted, Swappie, and Refurbed are among its competitors in this regard. Hug de Larauze, on the other hand, sees the real competition in what he refers to as the linear economy: people buying latest gadgets directly from companies like Apple or Amazon. Despite all of the progress, annual sales of refurbished devices range between 80 billion dollars and 90 billion dollars, compared to a global consumer electronics market of 1.3 trillion dollars yearly.
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