Fintech startup Extend raises $56m from investors

A leading provider of modern product protection has announced a second funding round of $40m, bringing its total funding drive amount to $56m since the company’s inception in February 2019.

San Francisco-based Extend is start-up API-first company that provides merchant-end customers with state-of-the-art tech support services. It also enables merchants to offer protection plans and warranties. 

Its series B round has been led by Meritech Capital and includes collaboration with PayPal.

The company, which works with top retailers in the consumer electronics, auto parts, sports and fitness industry, has announced further partnerships with Peloton, iRobot, Harman / JBL, Advance Auto Parts, Traeger Grills, BlendJet, SoClean, 1More, August Home, Balsam Hill, NewAir, Evolve Skateboards, and others. 

Providing merchants with the capability of offering customers up-graded warranty experiences, Extend says it has “reinvented the broken and antiquated customer experience,” while raising margins and bottom-line profits. 

Jay Ganatra, Partner at PayPal Ventures, remarked, “Merchants of all sizes can benefit from extended warranties but implementing and maintaining them has been too complex for many businesses. Extend shares PayPal’s commitment to providing merchants with easy to use tools that help them better connect with and support their customers. On top of that, the Extend team has seriously improved the end-user experience through its use of their conversational chatbot. We’re excited to invest in Extend as it continues to redefine this space.”

As a licensed administrator, Extend has also discarded the old fashioned and sluggish claim-filing process and allows customers to apply for their claim and even have it approved in seconds, via Kaley, their chatbot service.  

A multi-channel operation, the company sells plans through call-centres, online, via email, in-store and more, using e-commerce platforms including Shopify, Magento, Big Commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Hybris and 3DCart. 

Speaking about the success of the start-up, Woodrow Levin, CEO and Co-Founder of Extend, said, “Product protection plans can be a huge lifesaver for consumers and a powerful revenue generator for retailers. Extend is serving both groups by dramatically reducing integration overhead for merchants and making extended warranties something that consumers can trust and rely on. This new funding will help us to continue Extend’s rapid growth with a keen focus on elevating the merchant and consumer experience, which will, in turn, drive brand loyalty as we build the leading modern extended warranty platform.” 

Alex Clayton, General Partner at Meritech Capital also commented on the venture, as Extend’s leading investment partner. He said, “Meritech always strives to work with companies that are seeking to define the future of an industry, and that’s exactly what Extend is doing with its platform.”

Clayton added, “Extend is filling a huge gap in the e-commerce infrastructure market by streamlining the process for merchants to offer extended warranties and protection plans on their products, and providing a seamless customer experience for consumers from start to finish. We’re eager to see what’s next.”