Startup profile · funding coverage
Dollar Shave Club
Subscription razor and grooming brand built on viral DTC marketing.
Stage
acquired
Status
acquired
Coverage
full
Why Dollar Shave Club is interesting
DSC's launch video defined DTC — Kleiner and a16z seeded before Unilever paid ~$1B in 2016.
Key facts
- Acquired by Unilever (Jul 2016): ~$1B cash (public reporting)
- Series A (Nov 2012): $9.8M led by Venrock; Kleiner, a16z participated (TechCrunch)
- Seed (Mar 2012): $1M co-led Kleiner Perkins and Forerunner; a16z, Battery participated
- Source: https://techcrunch.com/2012/11/01/dollar-shave-club-funding/
Investors in our directory
Funds linked from Dollar Shave Club's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.
Industries
Consumer
Industry hub pages are rolling out from our fund-derived baseline taxonomy.
Related funding articles
Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Dollar Shave Club's financing or category context.
FAQs about Dollar Shave Club
Funding context and why this company shows up in venture coverage.
Dollar Shave Club sold razors and grooming products on a subscription model — bypassing retail shelves with direct shipping and memorable online marketing.
Kleiner Perkins (/fund/kleiner-perkins) and Forerunner Ventures (/fund/forerunner-ventures) co-led the seed. Venrock led the Series A. Andreessen Horowitz (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) and Battery Ventures (/fund/battery-ventures) participated.
Unilever acquired Dollar Shave Club in July 2016 for approximately $1 billion in cash.
DSC's 2012 launch video went viral and proved subscription DTC could challenge incumbents like Gillette — spawning a generation of direct-to-consumer brands.
Yes. Unilever acquired DSC in July 2016 for roughly $1B.
Last updated: 2026-07-24