E-commerce platform Cart.com announced Thursday that it is relocating its headquarters from Houston to Austin.
The company, which launched in November 2020, already employs more than 150 employees in Austin, and it plans to hire at least another 150 over the next year. The company plans to grow its total headcount from nearly 400 to 1,000 by the first quarter of 2022.
“We’ll forever call Houston our home, but I’m beyond excited to be opening Cart.com’s corporate headquarters in Austin—not only the country’s top tech town, but also the home to so many of the iconic brands we love,” Cart.com CEO Omair Tariq said in a statement. “Today, the world’s best and brightest engineers, coders, creatives, and tech leaders are flocking to Texas — and Cart.com is part of the reason why. There’s no better place than Austin for a brand-obsessed company like Cart.com to plant its flag as we reimagine e-commerce and drive growth for today’s top merchants.”
The startup has raised $143 million over the past year, most recently with a $98 million Series B round in August. It has also acquired nine major companies and launched nine new fulfillment centers.
In announcing its move, Cart.com joins a number of tech companies that are newly relocating to Austin. In addition to Tesla, which just made it official last week, a number of companies including CrowdStreet, Blockcap and NinjaOne have made similar moves this year.
This week, Austin startup incubator Capital Factory also named Cart.com its Startup of the Year for its ability to scale rapidly, its determination to reshape the e-commerce industry for a new generation of high-growth brands and its commitment to data-driven innovation.
“There is nothing that makes me happier than to see an impactful mentor and investor in the Capital Factory community like Omair launch and lead one of our state’s fastest-growing startups,” Capital Factory President Bryan Chambers said in a statement. “Cart.com embodies all that’s best about the Texas tech ecosystem, and is an example of why Texas is the No. 1 state for startups. This award honors Cart.com’s tremendous contributions, and its continuing mission to inspire growth and innovation in Texas and beyond.”
