As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, merchants have been forced to close their physical stores and adapt to a new world of commerce and customer interactions

Fremont, CA: Global software as a service e-commerce company Ecwid raised USD 42 million in a funding round led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and PeakSpan Capital. As part of the funding round, PeakSpan Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner Phil Dur, and Pete Chung, Managing Director and Head of Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, will join Ecwid's Board of Directors.

"High costs and complex technology have traditionally prevented the majority of small businesses from shifting their brick-and-mortar presence to digital. Ecwid is at the forefront of empowering small businesses to meet those challenges head-on," said Ruslan Fazlyev, Founder and CEO of Ecwid. "The support early on from Runa Capital as we spun Ecwid out of a previous e-commerce company, X-Cart, played a massive role in the expansion of our partner channels, and iTech Capital was an important player in funding further growth. The new wave of funding gives us the resources and flexibility to accelerate the evolution of an e-commerce platform and to further expand internationally. We are playing an important role in enabling small businesses to survive, thrive, and grow in this new Covid-19 world."

Ecwid provides online selling solutions for small businesses and enables them to establish a digital storefront in a matter of hours. The company will use proceeds from the investment round to buy-out previous and early-stage investors, including Runa Capital and iTech Capital, as well as to fuel aggressive growth, including an expected doubling of headcount. Over the last year, the company has experienced strong momentum as a result of continued product innovation, expansion of its global partner ecosystem, and influential platform customers consider the easiest-to-use in the industry.

"Ecwid is truly helping its customers make the most of e-commerce enablement at a time when their traditional retail businesses have been disrupted so dramatically," said Pete Chung of Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital. "Ruslan is an e-commerce visionary who has built a team and beloved solution that allows any mom-and-pop shop to embrace the online world, dramatically expanding their revenue and market potential."

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, merchants have been forced to close their physical stores and adapt to a new world of commerce and customer interactions. As a result, Ecwid has seen a surge in the adoption of its free and easy-to-use solution. New customer sign-ups have tripled as merchants turn to Ecwid to transition their businesses online to survive during this time of uncertainty.

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