Pets.com Inc, an online provider of pet products and information, has won $50m in financing from Amazon.com Inc, Bowman Capital and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. Although more specific numbers were not broken out, the deal will increase Amazon’s stake in the Seattle-based company from about 50% to 54% and comes as part of its push to become an internet superstore.
Pets.com says it will use the second round of financing – its first round closed only 10 weeks ago – to continue building its infrastructure as its customer base grows. The funding will also be used to help expand the company’s product line from about 6,000 items on offer to roughly double that. The company recently opened its first distribution center in San Francisco. The funding deal is expected to close later this month.
