ShipBob
Unicorn Β· $2BYC S14YC Top CompanyChicago, US Β· Founded 2014 Β· Delaware corporation Β· 1 employees Β· Hiring Β· 13 known investors
ShipBob provides fulfillment and logistics services for ecommerce businesses, enabling direct-to-consumer brands to outsource order fulfillment and warehouse operations. The company operates over 50 fulfillment centers globally and serves thousands of ecommerce merchants.
Also known as ShipBob, Inc.
Founders & leadershipΒ· Y Combinator alumni (S14)
ShipBob was founded in 2014 by Divey Gulati, Dhruv Saxena, and Anthony Watson.
Board
Investors Β· 13
Also in the syndicate Β· 1
Reported raises Β· per SEC filings
Form D private placements$4.6M disclosed across 1 of 6 rounds Β· 2015β2022
βΆ$4.6MraisedMay 2016 Β· 27 investors Β· OtherRule 506(b)
- Ira WeissDirector
- Dhruv SaxenaExecutive Officer, Director
- Divey GulatiExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $4.6M
- Amount sold
- $4.6M
- Minimum investment
- $1K
- First sale
- May 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2014
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Valuation Β· disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed β follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026ShipBob is a technology-enabled third-party logistics (3PL) provider serving ecommerce brands, primarily small, medium and mid-market direct-to-consumer sellers. Merchants connect their online stores and sales channels to ShipBob, send inventory into the network, and ShipBob handles picking, packing, shipping and returns from its fulfillment centers. The platform gives merchants a single view of products, inventory, orders and shipments across channels, with analytics and reporting, and supports inventory distribution across regions with automated replenishment.
The product set spans outsourced order fulfillment, inventory distribution, 2-day shipping across the continental US, customized unboxing, international shipping to 250+ destinations (including DDP), B2B/retail fulfillment with automated EDI, and ShipBob WMS, a proprietary warehouse management system that brands can also use in their own facilities. ShipBob offers 50+ integrations through an app store plus a developer API, and supports 200+ retail channels. The company markets "ShipBob AI," described as an action layer over its fulfillment data that includes ShipBob MCP and an assistant called Bobby, usable within the ShipBob dashboard or third-party AI tools such as Claude.
ShipBob states a 99.97% order fulfillment accuracy rate and that more than 300 million orders have been fulfilled through its network. Named customer references include Bloom Nutrition, Our Place, Dossier, PetLab Co., Arrae and Spikeball.
Founding story
Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati co-founded ShipBob in May 2014 in Chicago, out of Y Combinator's Summer 2014 batch, after experiencing shipping pain in their own ecommerce business. The first fulfillment center was Saxena's downtown Chicago apartment, followed by a 1,100-square-foot space in Chicago's West Loop. Saxena moved to the US from India in 2007 and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering at Purdue University before working as a software developer in Chicago. The founders recruited early customers, often eBay power sellers, outside Chicago post offices.
Business model
ShipBob operates a network of company-connected fulfillment centers and sells outsourced fulfillment services to ecommerce merchants, who pay for storage, picking, packing and shipping of their orders. It also licenses its proprietary warehouse management software (ShipBob WMS) to brands that operate their own warehouses, and monetizes an ecosystem of integrations and retail/omnichannel partnerships. Pricing is quote-based, requested through the website.
Service fees for fulfillment operations (order fulfillment, storage, shipping, returns, B2B/EDI fulfillment) plus software for warehouse management; pricing is provided on request rather than published.
Traction
Company-reported metrics include 300M+ orders fulfilled through the network, 50+ fulfillment centers worldwide, a 99.97% fulfillment accuracy rate, 200+ supported retail channels and thousands of partner brands. Network growth over time is documented: 10 fulfillment centers at the September 2020 Series D, 24 across five countries supporting 5,000+ businesses by mid-2021, 30 across five countries as of a 2022 profile, and 50+ currently. App store integrations grew from 15 to nearly 40 between 2020 and 2021 and are cited at 50+ today.
Latest developments
The company is promoting ShipBob AI, including ShipBob MCP and an assistant named Bobby, usable inside the ShipBob dashboard or external AI tools, and is hiring an Applied AI Engineer for agentic systems. Current site metrics cite 300M+ cumulative orders fulfilled and 50+ fulfillment centers. IPO speculation from 2024 had no further public updates as of Forge's June 2025 note.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as a global omni-channel fulfillment platform bringing Amazon-like logistics capability to SMB and mid-market ecommerce brands. Forge lists a $2.01B post-money valuation from its May 2022 Series F and describes ShipBob as a unicorn; total funding is reported at $330.5M (Forge company summary and a 2022 podcast profile) or $369.98M (Forge total funding field).
Ownership of the full stack β merchant-facing software tightly integrated with an in-house warehouse management system running its own fulfillment centers β enabling distributed inventory placement for 2-day and 3-day delivery, plus omnichannel/B2B capability, a broad integration ecosystem, and AI tooling grounded in its proprietary network data.
Technology
Proprietary software stack combining a merchant-facing platform (inventory, order and shipment management, analytics) with an in-house warehouse management system that runs the company's fulfillment centers, plus a developer API and 50+ prebuilt integrations. The company describes AI capabilities (ShipBob AI, ShipBob MCP, and an agent called Bobby) that operate on its own network and data, and states the stack has been built and operated in-house since 2014.
Go-to-market
Inbound quote requests and sales-led onboarding via the website, supported by customer case studies; channel and platform partnerships (e.g., Walmart preferred TwoDay delivery partner, Shopify Plus certified global fulfillment partner) and an app store of ecommerce integrations; content marketing via a company blog. Early customer acquisition was done in person, recruiting sellers waiting in line at Chicago post offices.
Direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands, with an emphasis on small, medium and mid-market sellers; category focus includes health and wellness, beauty and personal care, food and beverage, apparel and accessories, home goods, pet supplies, and sports, toys and games. In 2021 the company reported supporting more than 5,000 businesses, and a 2022 podcast profile cited 7,000+ brands.
Geography
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with 50+ fulfillment centers across the United States, Canada, Europe/European Union, the United Kingdom and Australia, and international shipping to 250+ destinations. Job postings list San Francisco and Chicago plus remote roles.
History
ShipBob began in September 2014 as a low-cost consumer package pickup and delivery app, including an Android app for collecting and shipping packages, then pivoted to fulfillment services for small businesses and found early traction serving successful crowdfunded product companies. It raised $1M in seed funding in 2015, a $4M Series A in 2016 led by Hyde Park Venture Partners, $17.5M in June 2017 (Bain Capital Ventures led the Series B in June 2017), an $80M Series D in September 2020, a $200M/$125M Series E announced June 2021 led by Bain Capital Ventures at a $1B+ valuation, and a Series F in May 2022 at a $2.01B post-money valuation. During 2020-2021 the network more than doubled from 10 to 24 facilities, adding UK and Australia locations. Reuters reported in February 2024 that ShipBob was seeking an IPO in 2024; Forge reported in August 2024 that the company was aiming for an IPO as early as Q4 2024 with J.P. Morgan Chase leading and Citigroup participating, and as of June 2025 Forge noted no further reports on the matter.
Risks & controversies
Sources do not report controversies. Noted uncertainties include an IPO that has been discussed since 2024 but not filed, inconsistent reported total funding figures across sources ($330.5M versus $369.98M), and marketing language around exposure to external shocks such as tariffs, de minimis changes and carrier surcharges that affect the fulfillment sector.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Competitors Β· 5
by search overlap
Companies competing with ShipBob for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline Β· 12
launches, deals, and filingsShipBob markets an AI action layer over its fulfillment network, including ShipBob MCP and an assistant called Bobby, usable in the ShipBob dashboard or external AI tools such as Claude.
Reuters reported in February 2024 that ShipBob was seeking an IPO in 2024; Forge reported in August 2024 that the company aimed for an IPO as early as Q4 2024 with J.P. Morgan Chase leading and Citigroup participating. No IPO filing had been made and no further reports existed as of June 2025.
$100M source β
Series E led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from SoftBank, Menlo Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and Silicon Valley Bank; Forge records the round at $125M with a $1.2B post-money valuation.
$200M source β
Between the September 2020 Series D and the June 2021 Series E, ShipBob more than doubled its network from 10 to 24 facilities and opened facilities in the UK and Australia.
ShipBob cited new partnerships including Walmart (preferred TwoDay delivery partner), Shopify Plus (its only certified global fulfillment partner) and Pachama for carbon-neutral shipments.
$80M source β
ShipBob announced a $17.5 million raise; Bain Capital Ventures led the company's Series B in June 2017.
$17.5M source β
$4M source β
YC-backed ShipBob raised $1 million in seed funding from SV Angel, FundersClub, WeFunder and others, enabling expansion to a second city.
$1M source β
ShipBob released a new Android app for its service that collects, ships and delivers packages, including pickup from users' homes.
ShipBob was founded in May 2014 in Chicago by Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati and went through Y Combinator's Summer 2014 batch.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities Β· 1
corporate structureIn the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- ShipBobshipbob.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does ShipBob do?
- Chicago-based tech-enabled 3PL offering outsourced ecommerce order fulfillment and warehouse software across 50+ global fulfillment centers.
- Who founded ShipBob?
- ShipBob was founded by Divey Gulati, Dhruv Saxena, Anthony Watson in 2014.
- Who are ShipBob's investors?
- ShipBob's investors include Bain Capital Ventures, FJ Labs, FundersClub, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Junipero, Kube VC, Menlo Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund and 4 more.
- How much funding has ShipBob raised?
- ShipBob has disclosed $4.6M raised across 1 of its 6 known rounds.
- Where is ShipBob headquartered?
- ShipBob is headquartered in Chicago, US.