Livestreaming commerce platform Firework completes $150m Series B round

Livestreaming commerce platform Firework has secured $150m (£120m) in Series B financing, led by Softbank Vision Fund 2. Firework said it will use the funds to accelerate growth across a variety of metrics in pursuit of a bold, long-term vision to reshape the digital landscape with its decentralized infrastructure on which organizations can engage and transact with customers and audiences on their own properties and terms. In the near term, the company aims to increase talent acquisition in engineering, product and marketing, and deliver several enhancements to its overall platform.

“With this investment, our growth engine is firing on all cylinders,” said Firework Co-founder and CEO, Vincent Yang. “Our core technology and business model have already been proven in the market many times over, and with this capital to realize our vision, Firework can now focus most of our efforts on evolution and growth, in all its forms – growing our team, growing our user base, and growing our technology, to ensure the Firework platform never loses step with the bleeding edge of next-generation customer experience.”

Linda Yu, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, who has joined Firework’s Board of Directors, said that short videos and livestreaming are now the default language for the digital era, and are reshaping how consumers engage with brands and products online

“We believe Firework empowers businesses to use video to transform their websites into social and storytelling hubs so they can build deeper, long-term relationships with customers,” she said. “Vincent and Jerry have assembled an impressive team in the digital commerce space and we’re thrilled to partner with them to build a next generation customer experience.”