A shopper in Germany buying from an American website used to face prices in dollars, surprise customs fees, and a checkout that did not take local payment methods. Global-e fixed all of that from behind the scenes. The Israeli company handled currency, taxes, duties and shipping, so a brand's store felt local in each country. In May 2021, with online shopping booming, it listed on Nasdaq.

Three Founders, One Checkout

Amir Schlachet, Shahar Tamari and Nir Debbi founded Global-e in 2013. Their bet was that cross-border sales were growing fast and that most brands were losing those sales at checkout. Global-e acted as the merchant of record for foreign orders. It showed prices in local currency, collected duties up front, and offered local payment options. Brands paid Global-e a share of each sale it handled.

A $375 Million Offering

Global-e priced its IPO at $25 a share in May 2021 and raised $375 million. Its shares began trading on Nasdaq as GLBE on May 12, valuing the company at about $3.6 billion. Later that year Global-e signed a deal with Shopify to power cross-border selling for Shopify merchants. That partnership became its main source of new business. Global-e still trades on Nasdaq.

Cover: The Geographical Atlas of Ptolemy, Unknown artist. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a world map (cross-border commerce).