B2B Marketplaces

November 2022
Investing in the future of marketplaces Global startup & venture capital
Adevinta Ventures is the VC arm of the Adevinta group, a global intelligence platform
online classifieds specialist operating leading digital marketplaces
11 countries. We invest in fast- growing European startups (Series A Dealroom.co is the foremost data provider on startup, early-stage
and B rounds) that can shape the future of mobility, real estate, and growth company ecosystems in Europe and around the globe.
work and fintech. We also foster collaboration opportunities
between our portfolio companies and Adevinta brands. Founded in Amsterdam in 2013, we now work with many of the
world's most prominent investors, entrepreneurs and government
organizations to provide transparency, analysis and insights on
venture capital activity.

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Key takeaways
B2B Marketplace funding has Consumer Goods, Logistics B2B Marketplaces have
remained relatively steady & Lending are the highest immense potential for
during market shakeups valued segments growth
Compared with other industries such as By addressing complex value chain VC funding has grown significantly in B2B
Health or Transportation and challenges, Logistics & Lending have joined marketplaces in the last 5 years, but funding
consumer-focused categories, B2B Consumer Goods as the highest valued levels are still only 19% of that of their B2C
marketplaces have not had such a reduction segments. counterparts.
in inward investment in 2022.

Top Global 3 Segments by Total Share of Global

Marketplace VC Funding by Semester
Combined Enterprise Value Marketplace VC Funding in B2B
20% 19.0%
B2B -10%
$7.1B $6.4B Consumer
$34B 15%
Goods
14.0%
12.6% 12.6%

Logistics $34B
10% 8.6%

B2C $55.5B -40% $33.2B

Lending $23B
6.3%
5%

▊H1 2021 ▊H1 2022 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

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What is a B2B Marketplace?

4
What is considered a B2B Marketplace?
Not included in this report

Two-sided
marketplaces
between companies
and professionals
B2C marketplaces
with big B2B
segment as add-on B2B software for
SaaS-enabled B2C marketplaces

Two-sided B2B marketplaces

marketplaces
between businesses
SaaS-first
with marketplace
as add-on

More details on Dealroom’s methodology and what consists a B2B marketplace can be found in the
“Methodology” segment at the end of the report.
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 Consumer Goods Investment Lending

We’ve identified Matching wholesalers with

businesses
Intermediating B2B financial asset
transactions
Issuance of short and long-term debt
for businesses

500+ startups
across 14 market Food
Enabling Food & Agriculture activities
Logistics
Enabling supply chain of B2B
Recruitment
Connecting businesses with future

segments and transactions between businesses transactions employees and contractors

The main B2B marketplace segments are:

Consumer Goods, Logistics & Lending. Industrial Commodities Education
Materials sourcing, equipment Intermediating commodities trading Course and education services aimed
Travel and Healthcare are the fastest growing purchasing and rental and between businesses at professionals
segments analysed, both have grown more than manufacturing services
15x since 2015. On average, B2B Marketplaces
grew 8x in the same period.

Startup enterprise value generation will come from Healthcare Travel Insurance
marketplace verticalization as startups address
Connecting networks of pharmacies, Enabling travel and hospitality for
complex value chains and markets. therapists, nurses, doctors and businesses
Providing insurance for businesses
hospitals

Legal Real Estate

Connecting businesses and legal Intermediary for commercial and
services industrial real estate transactions

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B2B marketplaces are expanding to cover more of
their value chains and offering integrated, optimized
experiences

“ Our vision is that the whole hiring and workforce

value chain for temporary workers is covered
and integrated by one platform to optimize the
workers’ and companies’ hiring experience.
The expansion into the international markets is one of our main and most
exciting challenges: we now have larger investment funds than we are used
to, which raises the bar. We have an ambitious expansion plan and we’re
focused on growing in new regions (e.g. USA) while also strengthening our
position in Europe.

Juan Urdiales
Co-founder & Co-CEO jobandtalent
”
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Verticalisation of B2B Marketplaces
After the first wave in the early 2000s, Company Model
B2B marketplaces have expanded to a
larger portion of their industry value
chain.

This expansion occurred due to

Managed +
Marketplaces
advances in 3 main high-level
functions supply & demand
aggregators, procurement tools and
financing solutions.
Vertical
Specialists +
Looking ahead, vertical specialists and
managed marketplaces are expected
to generate and capture more value in
complex value chains.
SaaS-Enabled

Supply & Demand

Aggregator

1990s-2000s 2000s-2010s 2010-2020 2020+

Founding Year
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 B2B marketplaces need to focus on the needs of
business buyers to unlock new clients

“Financing solutions are definitely a

factor that is attracting participants to
B2B marketplaces and many are asking
for them.
B2B marketplaces can ideally fulfill 3 functions, supply and
demand aggregation, workflow and transacting enablement, and
financing solutions.

Pawel Chudzinski
”
General Partner, Point Nine Capital

9
Market Expansion in
B2B Marketplaces Commodities

B2B Marketplaces are gaining ground thanks to

increased adoption of digital solutions by decision
makers, greater access to financing options and

Value Chain Complexity

Industrial
ability to manage more complex value chains.

Deeper development in these areas will allow

marketplaces to specialise in more complex niche Logistics
industries, like commodities. These are mainly
explored in Asia but with significant obstacles to
overcome in managing market complexities, player
concentration and price standardisation.
Consumer Goods
Recruitment

1990s-2000s 2000s-2010s 2010s-2020 2020+

Founding Year

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Growth and Funding of B2B
Marketplaces

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Since 2015, online B2B marketplaces have grown 8.6x
and have a combined enterprise value of $214B
Combined enterprise value of B2B marketplaces by launch year » view online

$250B
$214B
$100B
$200B
8.6x
$150B

$80B (16x growth since 2015)

$100B

$10B (3x growth since 2015)

$50B
$25B $16B (10x growth since 2015)
$9B (2x growth since 2015)

2022
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
YTD

▊ 1995-1999 ▊ 2000-2004 ▊ 2005-2009 ▊ 2010-2014 ▊ 2015-now

Source: Dealroom.co. *Due to reporting lag, the last 12 months are systematically under reporting on rounds especially small rounds.
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VC investment in B2B marketplaces has grown 4.5x
and reached $6.4B from 2017 H1 to 2022 H1
Global VC investment in B2B Marketplaces by round size Selected fundraisings in 2022
» view online
$9.1B

$8B Logistics Consumer Goods Logistics

$6.4B $935M Series E $416M Series G $300M Series E

$6B
4.5x

$4B
Logistics Consumer Goods Lending
$300M Growth Equity $283M Series C $325M Series F
$2B $1.4B

0
H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1
Logistics Logistics Consumer Goods
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
$250M Series D $240M Late VC $200M Convertible
▊$0-1M (pre-seed) ▊ $1-4M (seed) ▊ $4-15M (Series A) ▊ $15-40M (Series B)
▊ $40-100M (Series C) ▊$100-250M ▊ $250M+

Source: dealroom.co. 13
Corporate and CVC participation in funding rounds
grew 44% since H1 2017
Number of Rounds Corporates and CVCs Participated by Semester » view online
60
54

40 36
+44%

25

20

0
H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

▊$0-1M (pre-seed) ▊ $1-4M (seed) ▊ $4-15M (series A) ▊ $15-40M (series B) ▊ $40-100M (series C) ▊ $100-250M ▊ $250M+

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Source: Dealroom.co. 2021 was a record breaking year for startup funding, the fall in number of rounds from H2 2021 to H1 2022 is a reflection of tech funding as a whole.
Number of corporate and CVC rounds are mostly
focused in Logistics, Consumer Goods, Recruitment
and Industrial segments
Number Rounds Corporates and CVCs Participated since 2017 by Segment

Logistics 70+

Consumer Goods 45+

Recruitment 35+

Industrial 30+

Food 30+

Lending 20+

Commodities 20+

Investment 15+

Health 10+

Education 5+

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Source: Dealroom.co
Over 40% of B2B marketplace unicorns Over 60% of B2B marketplace unicorns
have been created since 2021 are based in the US and China

Cumulative number of B2B Marketplace Unicorns

60
Total Unicorns by Country
56+
US 24
49
China 11
40 10
India

30 Germany 3
27
Spain 2

20 16 France 2

10 Thailand 1
5
3 Singapore 1

Canada 1
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
United Kingdom 1

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Source: Dealroom.co
Eight B2B online marketplace European Unicorns
unicorns in Europe, with 22
potential unicorns Spain
Founded: 2015. Valuation: $1.2B
Germany
Founded: 2015. Valuation: €1.2B
Platform for managing travel policies, Digital freight-forwarder platform
Unicorns & Future Unicorns by Country in Europe » view online budgets and payment methods. for full truck loads

Germany 2 8
France Germany
Founded: 2016. Valuation: €1.0B Founded: 2016. Valuation: €2.1B
United Kingdom 1 8 Connecting photographers and businesses. Digital freight-forwarder for planes,
ships and trucks

France 2 4
Spain France
Founded: 2009. Valuation: $2.4B Founded: 2019. Valuation: $2.0B
Spain 2 A accessible digital temp staffing Marketplace to connect brands and
marketplace. designers with boutiques.

Austria 1
Germany United Kingdom
Founded: 2018. Valuation: $1.2B Founded: 2010. Valuation: <$1B
Netherlands 1 Connects restaurants to sustainable Marketplace to connect brands and
suppliers.. designers with boutiques.

▊ Future Unicorn ▊ Unicorn

Source: Dealroom.co. Funding Circle currently holds a valuation under $1B, but has reached the unicorn status previously. 17
USA and China received the most
VC investment since 2017
VC Investments in B2B Marketplaces by Country (2017-H1 2021) Largest Unicorns Outside of Europe

US $19.4B USA
USA
Founded: 2017. Valuation: €12.6B Founded: 2003. Valuation: €12.0B
Helps retailers find and buy unique wholesale Provide flexible terms loans to finance
China $9.9B sustainable home solutions,
merchandise for their stores.
especially solar panel installation.

India $7.3B

France $3.0B
USA China
Germany $2.7B Founded: 2013. Valuation: €8.0B Founded: 2014. Valuation: $7.0B
Digital freight-forwarder for planes, Sells agricultural products online that
ships and trucks. aims to change agriculture, rural areas,
UK $1.4B and farmers through the Internet.

Spain $1.3B

Singapore $0.9B USA India

Founded: 2013. Valuation: $6.0B Founded: 2011. Valuation: $5.5B
Marketplace to simplify access to alternative Supply chain services for businesses.
Canada $0.6B investments for businesses.

Source: Dealroom.co. Private companies may be adjusted in future rounds. 18

Consumer Goods, Logistics and Lending generate the
most value to B2B Marketplaces
Top Global 10 Categories by Combined Enterprise Value

Consumer Goods* $34B

Logistics $34B

Lending $23B

Food $21B

Recruitment $19B

Investment $16B

Industrial $13B

Commodities $10B

Education $9B

*Alibaba and Amazon are removed from this value. 19

B2B Marketplaces maintained losses better to VC
funding and enterprise value than their B2C
counterparts
Marketplace VC Funding by Semester Combined Marketplace Enterprise Value

B2B -10% B2B 3%

$7.1B $6.4B $206B $213B

B2C $55.5B -40% $33.2B B2C $6.3T -17% $5.2T

▊H1 2021 ▊H1 2022 ▊H1 2021 ▊H1 2022

Source: Dealroom.co. 20
B2B Marketplaces do not
only experience delays in
market turmoil and
shocks, but also display
more resilience
Lower Churn

altogether B2B
Market- Lower Competition

B2B Marketplaces experience smoother shocks in recessions

places
due to longer sales cycles, lower churn, lower competition in
specialised segments and value chain demand delays between
Value Chain Demand
consumer and business sales.
delays

21
Source: Dealroom.co.
Challenges and
Opportunities Ahead

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B2B Marketplaces have one of the largest
growth potentials in tech
B2B is massive, and the B2B B2B Marketplace funding is still in its
Top 500+ B2B marketplaces have early stages, raising just a fifth of B2C
e-commerce market is expected to
increased EV 8.6x since 2015 Marketplace investment
grow to $26 trillion *

B2B Marketplaces EV Value H1 2022 Marketplace VC Funding

$33.3B
8.6x $214B 3.2x $26T

$25B
$8T
$6.4B

2015 2022 2021 2028** B2B B2C

Funding Funding

*Source: Global Business-to-Business E-commerce Market Size, Share & Trend Analysis Report 2021 - Grand View Research. **Projected growth by 2028. 23
B2B marketplaces need to solve more complex
customer journeys in comparison to B2C.
“ More recently, as our product
functionality has expanded, we
have been moving upmarket into
small- and medium-sized clinics
(i.e. B2B), clients which take
longer to make decisions, are
more sophisticated, and require
more support in onboarding and
customization.
Mariusz Gralewski
CEO, Docplanner
”
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B2B marketplaces is not only one of the
fastest-growing market sectors for VC investment, but
also has immense growth potential
Total Share of Global Marketplace VC Funding in B2B
VC global investment by industry: H1 2017 vs. H1 2022

20%
H1 H1 19%
2017 2022
investment
ratio value
15% devoted to B2B
B2B Marketplaces 4.6x $1.4B $6.4B 14.0%
12.6% marketplaces
12.6%

8.6%
Fintech 3.1x $18.5B $57.7B 10%

Health 6.3%
2.6x $16.9B $27.0B
5%

Transportation 1.6x $17.6B $45.8B

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Source: Dealroom.co 25
B2B marketplaces are increasingly expanding their
reach into digitizing traditionally analogue markets

“ I’ve learned that data and trading used

cars in Europe is a mess with several
stakeholders. Second, most used sales
channels are limited and a majority of
trades are done informally by whatsapp.
It’s much more analog-focused than digital and it’s
”
hard to multichannel market in that space. That's why
I shifted to remarketing with 2trde, not operating as
an auction house, but syncing them together. ”

Johannes Stoffel
CEO & Founder 2trde

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“ We are very excited about the
opportunities ahead in B2B marketplaces
and we believe the resilient nature of the
model will see investors double down on it
in the near term. Also, we’re already
witnessing a “B2B-sation” of B2C
marketplaces as well as SaaS companies
building their own marketplaces on top.
We are confident this trend will only
accelerate.

Jordi Iserte
”
Investment Director at Adevinta Ventures

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A few words on our methodology
What is a startup? What are B2B Underlying Data
Companies designed to grow fast. Generally,
such companies are VC-investable
Marketplaces? Dealroom’s proprietary database and
software aggregate data from multiple
businesses. Sometimes they can become Startups that enable transactions between 2 sources: harvesting public information,
very big (e.g. $1B+ valuation). When startups or more businesses. user-submitted data verified by Dealroom,
are successful, they develop into scaleups data engineering. All data is verified and
(>50 people), grownups (>500 people) and curated with an extensive manual process.
result in big companies. Only companies Business B2B Business
Marketplace
founded since 1990 are included in this The data on which this report builds is
report. available via app.dealroom.co. For more info
This report not only considers startups that please visit dealroom.co or contact
enable transactions between direct support@dealroom.co.
What is a startup?
businesses, but also between companies &
professionals and SaaS-enabled
marketplaces. Companies that do not put
What is a unicorn? businesses directly in touch with each other,
but must indirectly make this connection to
Unicorns are (former) startups that reached function are considered. What is not
US$ 1B valuation or exit at one point in time. considered? Focus is a key term in the
definition of this report. B2C focused
marketplaces that have a B2B add-on &
What is a Unicorn? SaaS-businesses with a B2B marketplace
add-on are not considered.

Source: Dealroom.co 30
Contact adevinta.com/ventures
Adevinta Ventures team

Contact: ventures@adevinta.com