Chrono24, the Baden-Württemberg, Germany–based digital marketplace for new and pre-owned luxury watches, just announced it has secured investments worth $118 million, or €100 million, in its Series C funding round.
This newest haul boosts Chrono24’s overall funding total to over $236 million and values the company at over $1 billion, making it the first digital watch marketplace to achieve a unicorn valuation, according to a spokesperson.
The round was led by equity firm General Atlantic, with participation from Aglaé Ventures, the technology arm of the investment firm run by the family of LVMH chair Bernard Arnault. Existing investors Insight Partners and Sprints Capital, as well as members of the company’s management, also participated in the latest funding round.
Chrono24 currently has a market presence in 100 countries, and wants to leverage this new cash infusion to continue to scale internationally and enhance its user experience.
Founded in 2003, Chrono24 was among the first digital watch marketplaces. It now attracts an average of 500,000 unique visitors per day, and hosts more than 3,000 retail dealers and 30,000 private sellers from more than 100 countries. It generally lists about 500,000 watches for sale.
The company continues to be led by founder Tim Stracke, who also serves as co-CEO, as well as co-CEO Holger Felgner. Felgner joined the company in May 2016; he formerly headed TeamViewer, a software company.
In March, the company appointed Stephan Kniewasser as its chief financial officer. As Kniewasser has experience in taking companies public, many thought that his hiring was a sign that Chrono24 was planning to eventually file for some kind of public offering.
This latest round of fundraising follows Chrono24’s 2019 Series B financing of €43 million (about $50 million) from a group of investors including Sprints Capital; Gianni Serazzi, a former director of Richemont; and Alberto Grignolo, the founder of Yoox-Net-a-Porter. In 2015, the company raised $22.8 million from private equity firm Insight Venture Partners.
Top: Chrono24’s watch-scanning tool (photo courtesy of Chrono24)
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