The COVID-19 pandemic has brought chaos and economic downturns worldwide, but it has not stopped an ecommerce logistics startup from growing. Hive, a Germany-based startup that provides storage and shipping for ecommerce merchants, raised $34 million in a new investment round, bringing its total funding to $44 million and boosting its valuation to over $157 million, according to TechCrunch.

This latest funding round was led by existing investors Earlybird and Picus, along with new investors Activant and Tiger Global Management, a New York-based investment behemoth that focuses on private and public companies on global consumer, payment, software and internet industries.

The new $34 million funding comes just 9 months after the German startup’s €6.6 million seed funding round, which was led by Earlybird Venture Capital. Hive has positioned itself as an ecommerce logistics supply platform that helps direct-to-consumers brands manage their ecommerce operations. The logistic startup plans to use the fresh capital to build out new services for the supply chain and fuel its geographical expansion program, starting with Paris, France in early 2022. The company aims to shorten delivery times in most places in Europe.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Hive provides software and operational services to help D2C brands manage their ecommerce operations from sourcing products to delivery. The startup offers a range of services, which includes storage solutions, logistics centers, real-time sync of inventory, and order data enhance information for ecommerce companies.

Currently, the German logistics startup processed over a thousand packages a day and employs more than 100 employees. The company plans to hire more talents and triple the business team by next year.

Hive was founded by Oskar Ziegler, Leo von Kleist, and Franz Purucker. Founder Oskar Ziegler is a veteran of the logistic business, having spent four years consulting market leaders from the entire logistics value-chain at McKinsey. Ziegler also helped build up Foodpanda’s operations in Hongkong.