Kite, a NYC-based next-generation commerce company specializing in scaling high-potential brands, closed on a commitment of $200m in equity.
Backers included funds managed by Blackstone and founding partner Juxtapose.
Founded by Rob Solomon, Juxtapose, and Blackstone in 2022, Kite is a commerce company specializing in scaling high-potential brands developing the infrastructure and technologies they need to scale their businesses to customers across e-commerce, social, retail, and more. The company aims to leverage AI and the API economy to build a modern technology stack that will drive manufacturing, supply chain, design, and customer acquisition excellence at scale.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of a technology-driven commerce platform that will invest in, acquire, and operate high-potential brands.
In addition to supporting M&A activity, this new round of funding will enable Kite to continue building out its team across all functions, including tech, supply chain, growth and marketing, design, and M&A.
Additional recent key leadership hires include:
- John Kufner, who brings supply chain, operations, and consumer product experience from previous leadership roles at Bain Capital Portfolio Group, Werner Ladder, Fortune Brands, Masonite and Owens Corning, to Kite as Chief Operations Officer.
- Ujjwal Singh, who has previously held positions at Facebook, Google, and GoFundMe, and will join Kite as Chief Product and Technology Officer.
- Nastasha Tan, who brings experience at Ideo and Uber, to her role as Kite’s Chief Design Officer.
- James Chen, CTO of Built Technologies and former CTO of Flexport, one of the first digitizers of supply chain, who joins Kite as a member of its Board of Directors. Throughout his career at Flexport, Amazon, and Rakuten, Chen has built industry-leading global logistics, shipping, and end-to-end commerce technologies, along with the product and engineering teams needed to bring them to life.
- Mark Mitchke, President and CEO of Delta Dental and former VP and GM of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), who has joined Kite’s Board of Directors. Mitchke’s work at Amazon empowered hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses around the world and quadrupled sales for the company.
FinSMEs
10/04/2023