Tech rental start-up Grover secures €250m funding deal following 200pc growth

15 Jan 2020

From left: Grover’s Christopher Silva (CTO), Michael Cassau (CEO), Johann Jenson (CPO) and Thomas Antonioli (CTO). Image: Grover

German start-up Grover has now reached total funding of about €300m for its subscription-based rental platform for consumer electronics.

Starting off the new year with some good news, Grover has announced a new asset-backed financing deal with Varengold Bank. The deal tops up an existing €55m debt facility with the German bank to a total of €250m via a supporting debt investor.

Based in Berlin, Grover offers a monthly subscription model for technology rentals. Both individuals and businesses can subscribe for access to more than 2,000 tech products including smartphones, laptops, virtual-reality headsets and wearables.

The service is currently available in Germany and Austria, as well as through an online and offline partner network that includes European electronics retailers such as MediaMarktSaturn, Gravis and Conrad.

Grover allows users to keep, switch, buy and return products as they need. Last year, the company claims to have recirculated almost 100,000 devices, recorded 200pc growth in active subscriptions and cash revenue, and seen almost five-fold growth in its B2B segment.

With total funding for Grover now at €298m, this latest financing deal will help grow the business in 2020. Grover has revealed plans to expand its product range and purchase assets, and to extend the service to new markets in 2020.

Chiefly, the company is looking to grow its e-mobility offering to make more of these vehicles available on a flexible, monthly basis. Grover initially launched GroverGo in February 2019, allowing customers to rent the Xiaomi Mijia M365 e-scooter via a rolling monthly subscription that included damage coverage.

“Securing this fresh funding in the three-digit million range proves once again that Grover’s disruptive tech rental model has enormous future potential – for our business partners and for our growing customer base,” said founder and CEO Michael Cassau.

Founded in 2015, Grover currently has more than 100 employees. The business model for the scaling company follows on the success of Netflix, Airbnb and Spotify by providing access over ownership.

It is estimated that 50m tons of electronics waste is generated annually. Through extending the lifecycle of tech products and making them available to multiple users, the company hopes to contribute to an overall reduction in e-waste.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

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