The wholesale marketplace connecting independent retailers with the world's best brands
HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States | Founded: 2017 | Employees: ~700 (Nov 2021, doubling to 1,400 planned 2022) | Stage: Late Stage VC — Series G | Website: https://www.faire.com
Faire is a wholesale marketplace founded in 2017 by Max Rhodes (CEO), Marcelo Cortes (CTO), Daniele Perito (CPO), and Jeffrey Kolovson (COO) — all former Square executives — to empower independent retailers against mass retail. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Faire uses a data-driven approach to connect local retailers with emerging and established brands and artisans. Retailers order through a single platform with net-60 payment terms, free returns on opening orders, and freight caps, while brands gain access to a distributed national shelf without field sales teams. By November 2021 Faire connected 300,000+ retailers with 40,000+ brands, expanded to 15 markets in Europe and the UK ($150M+ annualized sales volume in 6 months), and surpassed $1 billion in annualized GMV.
The company monetizes via a 15% commission on retailer orders (reduced for repeat reorders), plus financial services through Faire Capital and logistics via Faire Direct. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Founders Fund, DST Global, Dragoneer, D1 Capital, Forerunner Ventures, Coatue and Thrive Capital, Faire has raised $1.7B and was valued at $12.4B in its Series G co-led by Durable Capital Partners, D1 and Dragoneer. In 2021 Faire reported ~$100M in net revenue on ~$1.5B GMV, serving 700k retailers and 100k brands globally when including forward guidance.
Faire has built the dominant B2B marketplace for independent retail by solving wholesale's core frictions — discovery, credit, and risk — with free returns, net-60 terms, and AI-driven recommendations. Its $12.4B peak valuation in Nov 2021 reflected explosive pandemic-driven growth ($1B+ annualized GMV, 300k retailers at the time, now 700k) and a take-rate model (15% commission) that scales with GMV. Backed by Sequoia, Lightspeed, Founders Fund, DST and YC, Faire's defensibility rests on two-sided network effects and embedded fintech (Faire Capital), but faces pressure from Shopify's Handshake and tightening venture funding for growth-stage marketplaces.
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