eCommerce to TV pioneer Von Bismark has surpassed its initial £200,000 goal on high net worth crowdfunding platform CrowdbBnk.
Last year Von Bismark secured a deal with Microsoft to build and publish a marketplace that retailers can sell their inventory to the 13+ million users on Xbox One. This is the first and sole deal of its nature done between XboxOne and an ecommerce platform.
After passing their target the round is now overfunding on the platform. This latest round will help Von Bismark launch successfully and realise their full potential as global leaders in ecommerce for smart and connected TVs.
With almost half a million customers using its virtual wardrobe to date in shopping centres in the UK and Ireland, founder Eoghan O Sullivan is excited about the new dimension this funding can bring to the Von Bismark story.
He said: “This funding allows us to capitalise on the growing trend of interactive TV. With almost 200 million connected TV’s in the US and ecommerce growing 16% year on year in the lifestyle and fashion verticals we are going to be able to establish ourselves as the dominant solution over the next few years, as we sign more and more retailers to our platform.”
The Mall on Xbox One also helps Microsoft expand further into the realm of interactive TV and retail, stated goals since the launch of the console. Over the last few years the device has become more of a family orientated media hub, with more video and music played every month than games on Xbox Live now and the average user being a 24-44 year old.
Andy McCartney, CEO of Microsoft Ventures, said: “Von Bismark are one of the hottest start ups to emerge from Microsoft Ventures in the last year. We love their idea of bringing ecommerce to the TV so much that we’ve backed them with a global deal to launch The Mall on Xbox One.
“The Mall expands our reach into interactive entertainment by creating an ecommerce store that brands can channel their products directly through. More importantly it gives existing and new users a totally new and better way to shop by using everything from voice search to virtual try on.”
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Von Bismark was established 3 years ago by serial entrepreneur Eoghan O’ Sullivan from Cork and is headquartered in London with offices Dublin in also. They are supported by Enterprise Ireland and Microsoft Ventures.