Partner Article

Design platform raises £4m Series A with backing from BGF Ventures

Marvel, the design and prototyping platform, has raised £4m in its Series round from a group of leading European investors.

The round, which was led by BGF Ventures, will allow the company to expand into new international markets and allow it to hire a sales team for the first time.

Previous investors including Index Ventures, Connect Ventures, Inreach Ventures, Andy McLoughlin and Richard Fearn have also contributed to the seven-figure funding round.

London-based Marvel’s design platform allows users to design and collaborate on prototyping and presentational projects, and now boasts over 1m users of its free online tools.

Co-founder Murat Mutlu said: “Marvel is democratising design and empowering everyone to be involved in the process. We are lowering the barrier to getting started in design and making it much easier for people to work collaboratively.

“Marvel is no longer just about designers and we’re already seeing that everyone from marketing to success is using Marvel to create and collaborating on ideas.”

While the firm has found success in US and UK markets, its acquisition of Taiwan-based prototyping business POP last month is set to fuel international growth into even more far flung markets.

Rory Stirling, partner at BGF Ventures, added: “We’ve watched Murat, Brendan and Jonathan build this business over the last few years and are extremely proud to be joining them on the Marvel journey.

“We love their obsession with product and their affinity for users. Amazing things happen when technology is used to simplify creative processes and we believe Marvel has the ability to transform the way individuals and teams create great products on a global basis.

“This is exactly the type of ambition we like to back at BGF Ventures and we look forward to helping the team scale up a business that already has an impressive and loyal user base.”

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