Shippo

Shippo, legally Popout, Inc., sells shipping software to e-commerce merchants, platforms and marketplaces. Through a web app and a single API, customers compare rates across carriers such as USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL, buy discounted labels, generate customs paperwork, process returns and track parcels; Shippo aggregates volume across its customer base to negotiate rates. Laura Behrens Wu, the chief executive, and Simon Kreuz founded the company in 2013, with Max Diez also listed as a cofounder, and it is based in San Francisco. It went through the 500 Startups accelerator (Batch 8). The company says it serves more than 4.6 million customers and handles more than 200 million shipments a year.

In September 2014 Shippo raised $2 million in seed funding led by SoftTech VC, with Version One Ventures, 500 Startups, Joanne Wilson, Slow Ventures and Fabrice Grinda participating, and SoftTech's Jeff Clavier joined the board. In September 2016 it announced a $7 million Series A led by Union Square Ventures with SoftTech VC and Version One Ventures; USV partner Albert Wenger took a board seat, and the company then had 10,000 merchants actively using its API. In October 2017 it disclosed a $20 million Series B, raised that spring and led by Bessemer Venture Partners with Union Square Ventures and SoftTech VC, bringing total funding to about $30 million at the end of 2017. Early in 2021 Shippo reached a $495 million valuation, and in June 2021 Bloomberg reported a $50 million round from existing investors led by Bessemer that valued the company at $1 billion.

Shippo remains independent and privately held. Its recent announcements are product launches rather than financings, including the Shippo Intelligence analytics product in October 2025, an MCP server for agentic shipping in December 2025, and the appointment of a chief marketing officer in January 2026. In August 2026 it ranked No. 3,839 on the Inc. 5000 list of fast-growing private companies.

The financing path shows how a seed bet on developer infrastructure for small merchants scaled with the e-commerce cycle. SoftTech VC and Version One entered in 2014 at a $2 million round, Union Square Ventures led the Series A two years later, and Bessemer led two growth rounds. The 2021 valuation doubled within months during the pandemic e-commerce surge. No liquidity event has been announced, so returns for these early funds remain unrealized.