Vinted is already worth 8 billion and has achieved it without AI. Just selling your neighbors’ used clothes

Vinted, the Lithuanian second-hand platform, has closed a secondary sale of shares of 880 million euros led by EQT which increases its valuation to 8,000 million. It has not raised new capital. It has let investors and employees out, and brought in new shareholders (BlackRock, Schroders, Teachers’ Venture Growth) who can hold out both privately and on the stock market.

This IPO does not even have a date yet, but the company says that already operates internally as if it were listed.

Why is it important. The technology ecosystem in 2026 has been obsessed with AI for some time, so Vinted is a nice anomaly: it has built a profitable business, with more than €1 billion in revenue and €62 million in net profit in 2025, without mentioning AI anywhere. Its value proposition is different, and its story is not that of a startup that has found a shortcut but rather that of a market that has taken fifteen years to mature and that is now changing consumer habits on a continental scale.

The context. Vinted was born in 2008 in Vilnius as a way for neighbors to exchange clothes. It has taken almost two decades to become what it is today: a second-hand trading infrastructure with its own logistics, integrated payments and presence throughout Europe.

In 2024, TPG capital entered at a valuation of 5,000 million. In just over a year, that figure has risen 60%.

In figures:

• 10.8 billion euros in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2025, 47% more than the previous year.
• 1.1 billion euros in revenue (2025).
• 62 million euros of net profit (2025).
• 8,000 million euros of valuation after the operation, compared to 5,000 million in 2024.

Yes, but. The profitability is there, but it is modest for that valuation: 62 million profit on 1,100 million income is a margin of 5.6%. Only 1.2 points above that of Mercadonafor comparison. Far below that of any technology.

To justify 8 billion, Vinted needs to demonstrate that it can scale that margin and not just volume. The online second-hand market is quite competitive:

• eBay paid $1.2 billion two months ago to buy back Depop from Etsy and strengthen its position in second-hand fashion.
• Wallapop It has a generalist profile that also takes away its share in countries like Spain.
• And in the United States, the large market that Vinted has not yet conquered, the company recognizes which is in the testing phase, not expansion.

Between the lines. The entry of EQT as an anchor investor in this round has more meaning than it seems. EQT is the Swedish fund that also controls Idealista and Magnific (before Freepik).

Its commitment to Vinted reinforces the thesis that large European private equity funds are building positions in second-generation digital platforms: businesses with real network effects, their own infrastructure and proven traction in Europe, before they are listed. When the time comes to go public, they will be caught in it.

The big question. Can Vinted replicate in the United States what it has done in Europe? The company has started allowing buyers from London and New York to trade with each otherbut the American market has its own dynamics, its own consolidated platforms and a different second-hand culture.

The answer to that question will determine whether Vinted is an $8 billion company or has the potential to become an $80 billion company.

In Xataka | There are too many clothes in the world and there is a company earning billions of euros thanks to it: Vinted

Featured image | Xataka with Mockuuups Studio