Grabr, a San Francisco-based platform that introduced a fast way to have international products delivered straight to the consumer, today announced it has closed $8 million in Series A funding led by Foundation Capital, with participation from Geoff Donaker, former COO of Yelp; Matt Wyndowe, previously head of product partnerships at Uber; and Gokul Rajaram, product engineering lead at Square.
According to the company, Grabr gives shoppers access to products that are widely unavailable or expensive in their home countries. Travelers can monetize extra room in their luggage to subsidize the cost of travel — earning on average $350 USD on their first trips, according to Grabr — and sometimes travel completely for free. With a community of more than 450,000 users, Grabr travelers have earned more than $1 million in personal rewards from deliveries in 53 countries on six continents.
The company plans to use the funds to launch major product updates and new features to improve the user experience and increase the number of ways travelers and shoppers can earn. It also plans to expand its team.