Letgo, a US-based app to buy and sell locally, has received $500m new capital from Naspers, out of which, $150m has been transferred earlier this summer.
According to the three-year-old startup, the funding will be utilised to bolster its growth and product evolution, expansion into new verticals, and monetisation efforts.
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Since its launch, Letgo claims that its app has crossed 100 million downloads, 400 million listings with over 6 billion messages sent between users, mostly from the US.
Meanwhile, the number of monthly listers on its marketplace has grown 65% since January.
Letgo combines technology such as image recognition with intuitive design to make buying and selling secondhand products easier for customers.
Letgo cofounder Alec Oxenford said: “We are extraordinarily fortunate to have investors who believe so strongly in our vision and team.
“We are fueling unprecedented growth in the secondhand economy through meaningful innovation. Our app makes it simple for tens of millions of buyers and sellers to connect in their own neighborhoods, so they can put more money in their pockets, declutter their lives and put their space to better use.”
Naspers made the investment in Letgo through OLX Group.
OLX Group CEO Martin Scheepbouwer said: “Letgo has established itself as one of the most promising startups in the world by injecting excitement, new technology, and fresh thinking into a space that’s lacked all of the above for decades in the US.”
Set up in 1915, Naspers is an internet and entertainment group, and a technology investor. It has invested in internet startups through its stakes in Tencent and Flipkart. It operates in 120 countries.
