Laundry business management platform Cents has announced the close of a $40 million Series B funding round.
The round was led by strategic venture capital firm Camber Creek, with participation from previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Tiger Global. Additional strategic investors in this round included Tech Pioneer Fund, RXR (RADV), Derive Ventures, and Alumni Ventures – as well as executives at best-in-class SaaS companies like Toast, Jobber, Squarespace, and Stripe.
This most recent round brings the company’s total funding to more than $77 million.
In addition, to reinforce its existing hardware product line, Cents has acquired Laundroworks, a hardware-based payments system powering how consumers pay for laundry at laundromats and shared laundry rooms.
Launched in 2021, Cents provides POS, online ordering, payments hardware, marketing tools, and business management software for all garment-care and vended laundry businesses, including laundromats, drycleaners, alterations, and shared laundry rooms. The platform currently powers more than 2,700 retail laundries, approximately one in 14 laundromats in the U.S., and more than 3,500 shared laundry rooms.
Cents noted that it is committed to investing in new product development to support all garment-care businesses. As an all-in-one solution tailored to the unique needs of the laundry industry, the Cents platform can benefit every type of business – whether it’s a small local shop, a multi-unit operation, or anything in between.
“Laundry is a critical human need,” said Alex Jekowsky, CEO and co-founder of Cents. “Local laundry businesses provide an essential service, and these SMBs deserve best-in-class technology and support to provide that service while generating strong ROIs. We have dedicated ourselves to this industry and the unique needs of our customers. It’s a privilege to have the trust and support of our customers as we’ve continued to grow, and our entire team feels the weight of our responsibility to build innovative solutions that support their business goals.
“We’re experiencing a true renaissance in the laundry industry. I’m so proud of our team for their tireless dedication and drive to elevate the experience for our operators and their customers.”
Upon launch, the platform’s core focus was to centralize the many different revenue streams and operations of a garment-care business – including self-service, wash-dry-fold, drycleaning, alterations, pickup and delivery, commercial laundry, and more.
The company began with CentsOS, the POS and “nucleus” of laundry operations and quickly expanded to launching Cents Dispatch, an online ordering and logistics management platform that included the facilitation of on-demand delivery via outsourced couriers. As the SaaS products grew, Cents launched Connect, an integrated hardware device for self-serve payments, which was installed directly onto laundry equipment. This suite of products has provided laundry operators one platform to power their entire business.
“Cents is the clear category leader in serving independent garment-care businesses,” stated Alexandra Nicoletti of Camber Creek. “Its drive for innovation, while staying focused on the needs of SMBs, is second to none. We see huge opportunities for Cents to continue to provide its game-changing technology for the real estate space. From technology that supports route operators and shared laundry rooms to powering the amenity of laundry for tenants through their network of local laundry businesses, we’re thrilled to be partnering with Cents.”
Cents plans continued expansion this year, including product and geographic growth.
