Courier service company Sendle has raised USD13.7 million (nearly AUD18.9 million) from a mix of new and existing investors in the company.

Australian venture capital firms King River Capital, Alberts Impact Capital and Marinya Capital are the new investors that led the funding round along with participation from returning investors Federation, Rampersand, Full Circle Venture Capital and NRMA Insurance. King River, which also operates in California, is a strategic partner for Sendle, bringing expertise across both Australian and US markets as Sendle expands internationally.

Founded in 2014 by James Bradfield Moody, Sean Geoghegan and Craig Davis, Sendle provides courier service to small businesses through sustainable shipping. “It (Sendle) unlocks the power of big business logistics — convenience and affordability — for those at the smaller end of town to help small businesses in Australia and the US thrive at a time when demand for online shopping is skyrocketing,” the company said in a statement.

Offering carbon neutral delivery, Sendle claims to have served half a million customers across Australia and the United States, demonstrating the increasing demand for 100 per cent carbon neutral parcel delivery in both markets. It has surpasses 500,000 customers globally amid unprecedented demand for online shopping

Commenting on the growing reliability on e-commerce during the covid-19 pandemic, James Chin Moody, co-founder and CEO of Sendle said, “During COVID-19 , we’ve seen our economy and hundreds of thousands of small businesses become more reliant than ever on a robust logistics network, so we want to make sure their parcels get to the intended destination efficiently, cost-effectively and sustainably.”

“Thanks to the backing of King River Capital, Alberts and our existing investors, we will be able to invest even more in helping our small business customers compete during these critical times. Logistics is becoming an even more important part of the economy, and the small business economy in particular, and we stand ready to do our part.”

The company said that it will help small businesses compete in the face of massive eCommerce growth, with the ten-year growth trajectory in global activity occurring in just eight weeks.

With the fresh funding, the Seattle-headquartered company aims to make its network stronger and more reliable than ever and ensure small businesses can deliver to increased customer demand in the coming months and ahead of Christmas.

Sendle last raised AU$20 million in a series B funding round in 2018 led by Federation.