Material Bank announced today that the company has secured $28 million in Series B funding, which was led by Bain Capital Ventures. The memo sampling service will use the investment to fast-track expansion into new categories, build a new robotic logistics facility, and further develop its digital platform.

The service allows members to search thousands of materials and order samples, which arrive within a day—a feat made easier by the company’s robot-powered distribution center’s proximity to FedEx’s central hub in Memphis, Tennessee. The platform, which is free to approved users, is backed by design media company Sandow, whose other holdings include magazines such as Interior Design and Luxe Interiors + Design, the global materials consultancy Material ConneXion and research firm ThinkLab, among others.

Since its launch in January 2019, Material Bank has racked up over 35,000 members. With the coronavirus pandemic forcing much of the design industry to work from home, the benefits of being able to quickly receive samples has become increasingly clear. In a recent BOH community discussion, designer Nicole White shared that she had been using Material Bank to have samples delivered to both her and her clients so that they could review materials together via video chat.

Material Bank has grown to include materials from more than 240 participating brands—a number the platform plans to double by the end of the year. In addition to providing samples, brands pay per sample that is distributed via the platform.

“Our mission is to remove the friction that exists when searching and sampling materials,” said Material Bank founder and CEO Adam I. Sandow in a statement. “Material Bank has almost doubled its member base within the last six months and is rapidly transforming the architecture and design industry. Our dramatic growth is a result of the changing demands of the industry and our ability to efficiently serve them.”

The latest funding round brings the company’s total outside investment to $55 million; previous rounds were led by Raine Ventures and Starwood Capital Group.

Homepage photo: Material Bank’s distribution facility in Memphis | Courtesy of Material Bank