Nacelle provides headless commerce infrastructure that disconnects a site's front end from its back-end data systems, enabling faster, more app-like shopping experiences. The company offers tailor-made APIs and starter kits for front-end developers and merchants, and positions itself as a go-to solution for Shopify Plus merchants moving headless. Nacelle plans to add a dynamic functionality layer for traditionally static storefronts and introduce livestream capabilities later this year. CEO Brian Anderson emphasizes enabling customers to keep their existing tech stack while assembling best-of-breed components. The company grew revenue 690% in the past year and reports customers signing multiyear contracts. Nacelle will use new funding to expand go-to-market, customer success, partner relations and product development. Nacelle offers a headless platform designed to change how storefront front ends interact with back-end content, aiming to improve site performance, scalability, and developer experience. The company positions its technology to reduce hosting costs and speed up developer workflows. A key product focus is minimizing migration pain: Nacelle markets an "anti-rip-and-replace" approach that allows customers to integrate without rebuilding their stores. Its customer base is largely small- to medium-sized e-commerce sites, and the company works closely with agencies for referrals. CEO Brian Anderson leverages contacts from his time running a Shopify Plus agency to help drive customer acquisition. Recent investor interest has been buoyed by COVID-era shifts toward e-commerce, which the company and backers cite as accelerating demand for commerce infrastructure. Nacelle is an LA-based startup that bills itself as a JAMstack for e-commerce, offering a developer platform that decouples storefront front ends from backends to deliver greater performance and scalability. The platform is optimized for Shopify users and integrates with CMSs like Contentful and Sanity, plus more than 30 services including payments, SMS marketing and analytics. Nacelle emphasizes mobile storefront performance and reduced latency as a driver of higher conversions; a recent live deployment with men’s toiletries startup Ballsy reportedly increased conversions 28%. Early customers include Boll & Branch, Barefoot Dreams and Something Navy, and the company planned multiple rollouts later this summer. CEO Brian Anderson previously ran a technical agency serving Shopify Plus customers, and Nacelle recently hired Kelsey Burnes as its first VP of marketing from Nosto. Financially, Nacelle has raised about $4.8 million to date in fundings led by Index Ventures and Accomplice, with angel backers including Shopify’s Jamie Sutton, Klaviyo CEO Andrew Bialecki and Attentive CEO Brian Long.

Total raised

$73M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Aug 2021