The company was reportedly seeking a buyer after struggling to raise new funding, according to The Information.
Fast embedded one-click checkout in online stores. (Photo by Fast)
One-click checkout company Fast is closing its doors, CEO Domm Holland announced on Tuesday.
"After making great strides on our mission of making buying and selling frictionless for everyone, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors," Holland said in a statement. "While you'll no longer see the Fast button at checkout, we are incredibly proud of the team we assembled and our work to democratize commerce through Fast's one-click checkout experience."
Launched in 2020, Fast offered a one-click checkout software for internet purchases that did not require a login. This was designed to allow checkout to be embedded in online stores, as well as in email and within social media. In doing so, it held the promise of expanding the digital locales where shopping could take place, and reversing cart abandonment rates that occur when shoppers don't have payment information already on file.
"Amazon, Shopify, Apple Pay, and PayPal offer one-click checkout, but they’re closed ecosystems,” Holland told Fast Company in 2021. “With Fast, we’re available on any device and with any product.”
— Fast (@fast) April 5, 2022
The announcement comes a week after Fast team members attended ShopTalk in Las Vegas, and had a presence on the tradeshow floor. But news also surfaced during the week that served as a prelude to the closure announcement. On Thursday, a report in The Information indicated the company was seeking a buyer after it was unable to raise a new round of funding.
Previously, Fast raised $120 million from investors and payments company Stripe. It hired 400 employees in 2021 while generating just $600,000 in revenue that year, The Information reported.
In the announcement this week, Holland said, "I will be forever grateful to the Fast team, our investors and the sellers who shared our vision for improving the system of buying online."
"Sometimes trailblazers don't make it all the way to the mountaintop. But even in those situations, they pave a way that all others will follow," Holland wrote. "Fast has done that with bringing one-click and headless checkout into the mainstream. Buying online has been forever changed by the incredible team at Fast. The dedication, brilliance and spirit of this remarkable team is unparalleled and will forever be the legacy of Fast."
It appears some of Fast's employees will have a landing spot following the closure. According to Business Insider, Holland sent an internal email stating that the company entered an agreement in which the "vast majority of engineers from Fast" will have the opportunity to join Buy Now Pay Later company Affirm.
The marketplace teamed with Techstars to support entrepreneurs charting the future of ecommerce.
Ecommerce marketplace eBay is teaming up with a national pre-seed investor to launch a new accelerator for startups building ecommerce technology.
The program, called Techstars Future of Ecommerce powered by eBay, will apply an accelerator model from Techstars that has supported thousands of companies to innovation that aims "to make selling and buying more equitable, attainable and sustainable,” according to eBay.
“Techstars has supported thousands of entrepreneurs that are using innovative technologies to transform industries,” said Collin Wallace, Managing Director at Techstars. “eBay’s expertise as an ecommerce pioneer paired with the programming, capital and connections that Techstars provides will create an unparalleled opportunity for founders.”
Here are key details about the program:
