Online fine art and auction house, Auctionata, raises $20.2M (EUR 15.5M) for global expansion, recruiting and technology platform growth. One year after its founding the Berlin-based Startup adds the venture capital firm Earlybird to its prestigious team of investors including Bright Capital and Kite Ventures (in December 2012) as well as HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, eVenture Capital Partners and the Raffay Group.

As the first patented online producer of live auctions, Auctionata covers the entire spectrum of an auction house; from expert curation to its unique, HDTV-production quality, fine art online auction events. Auctionata's vision is to open the international art, antiques and collectibles markets to consumers, making it accessible to everybody through the Internet.

For the buyer, Auctionata brings the auction thrill into the living room and offers a wide selection of significant objects in an online shop. Auctionata exclusively offers a 25 years guarantee of authenticity on all sold objects. For the seller, Auctionata offers a proven, trusted and highly-produced online selling experience. The company has approx. 250 internationally renowned specialists (who appraise and curate all objects for sale), the largest network of experts worldwide. With its full service, Auctionata reaches millions of private sellers, collectors and dealers, who find it difficult to sell in regional and highly fragmented, old-style auction houses.

Dr. Christian Nagel, co-founder and partner of Earlybird states, "We look for companies with the potential to be global market leaders. Auctionata sells objects that attract interest worldwide -- up to and including the level of Egon Schiele. No other online vendor serves this market segment. Auctionata's business model was developed by two founding figures with decades of experience in both the art market and online business."

On 21 June 2013 Auctionata will be the first German online fine art and auction house to sell an original watercolor by Egon Schiele (his famed Reclining Woman) in an online live auction from its own TV studio, with a starting price of $1.5M (EUR 1M).

"Unlike traditional auction houses, where the excitement naturally falls off after each auction, the combination of online auctions and online shop generates a high experience factor for potential buyers and sellers alike," said Alexander Zacke, CEO of Auctionata. "We are very pleased that our team of investors now includes another highly experienced global player like Earlybird bringing expertise in ecommerce and technology platforms."

About Auctionata
As the first online producer of live auctions, Auctionata covers the entire spectrum of an auction house.

Auctionata has approx. 250 internationally renowned specialists, the largest network of experts worldwide, at its disposal.
Auctionata has 100 employees and offices in Berlin and New York.
Over 21.000 requests for professional appraisal services have been processed.
Every five minutes Auctionata is offered a painting, book, or antique cabinet for sale.
Objects valued at more than $91.1M (EUR 70M) have already been appraised by Auctionata experts.
With its ever-growing network of renowned experts in every area of specialization, Auctionata offers a comprehensive, online-based service that extends from the evaluation and appraisal of valuable objects through authentication to the point of sale and the handling of a variety of related logistical functions.
Auctionata's new online shop has been live since the beginning of September 2012. It includes thousands of objects from a wide variety of specialty areas.
Auctionata was founded by Alexander Zacke and Georg Untersalmberger.
Investors include HV Holtzbrinck Ventures Adviser GmbH, e.venture Capital Partners, Raffay Group, Bright Capital, Kite Ventures and Earlybird.
www.auctionata.com

About Earlybird Venture Capital

Established in 1997 Earlybird currently manages over $700M in assets. We've backed more than 80 companies, of which many have sparked some of the most significant innovations in business and technology and resulted in large scale ($1bn+) IPOs and trade sales. Earlybird backs European companies with global ambitions and our active portfolio currently includes more than 20 companies across the consumer internet and enterprise services space such as B2X Care Solutions, Carpooling.com, Madvertise, Peak Games, 6Wunderkinder and Socialbakers.