E-commerce personalization player Bluecore has touched $1 billion in valuation, on the back of its latest Series E funding round of $125 million. Georgian, its existing investor, spearheaded this latest round, with participation from Norwest, FirstMark and Silver Lake Waterman, its new investor. The total funding raised by the company now stands at $225 million as per internal reports as per the reports of bluecore 125m georgian 1bmillertechcrunch.

Fayez Mohamood, CEO and Co-Founder at Bluecore, states that the retail space was earlier about getting more traffic to offline or online stores. However, brand interactions with customers have evolved with more business being done online according to him. He talked of how Bluecore is a personalization platform across multiple channels that fuses customer identity, behavior and product catalog-linked data for driving customized experiences on several channels.

The company started in 2013 and has taken a quantum leap since the pandemic. Retailers are increasingly finding higher value in personalization according to Mohamood. Bluecore has also scaled up hiring activities; it now has 300 employees and is targeting 400+ by the end-2022. Inclusion and diversity are key components of the employee base at the company according to Mohamood. Almost half of the executive team has female members as per his statement, while the company also has a committee of core personnel that deals with equity, diversity, and inclusion. This committee has diverse ideas, thoughts and actions on the ways forward to develop a more inclusive and diverse workplace at the company.

Mohamood is not gunning for a public listing as of yet. He has clearly outlined growth as the main pursuit for now. During the pandemic and amidst the lockdown, almost every major retailer had to quickly build up a presence online and that too amidst stiff competition and in rapid time. With people buying online in higher volumes, personalizing these experiences is a crucial aspect for the entire retail segment. This made the coronavirus outbreak a watershed moment for Bluecore. Mohamood has also stated that COVID-19 propelled everything onto digital platforms where the core strength of his company really lies and this was also why they decided to opt for additional funds.

He also stated that digital can steadily become a larger chunk of the revenue pool for every stakeholder in the retail segment. This has already begun over the last year and turned into a vital aspect according to him. Why is he not going for a public listing as of yet, especially having touched a valuation of over a billion dollars? Mohamood can visualize Bluecore as a public limited entity in the future but currently, he desires more time and flexibility. At the moment, growth takes precedence over profitability and the brand will be witnessing investments in capabilities regarding its products, management, and also its ability to swiftly go-to-markets. That will ultimately make it capable enough for being a public limited entity someday. If growth comes by staying in the private domain, then Mohamood is not averse to the idea.