Jessica Alba's Startup Raises $70 Million At A Nearly $1 Billion Valuation

Jessica Alba and Brian Lee's startup The Honest Co. is making some moves in preparation for an initial public offering.

The Santa Monica, California startup, which sells natural and eco-friendly baby products, just raised $70 million, according to The Wall Street Journal, and they are valued at almost $1 billion.

The Series C round of funding comes from several VC investors including Wellington Management Company, Institutional Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and General Catalyst Partners along with some anonymous public financial institutions.

Prior to this round, The Honest Co. had secured $52 million in funding. The company currently employs 275 people.

Not only that, but the company is expecting to make $150 million in revenue this year, three times the revenue it brought in last year. According to one of The Honest Co.'s early investors Jeremy Liew, about 80% of that revenue comes from customers who receive a monthly delivery of diapers and other products.

Since founding The Honest Co. in 2011, Alba has been able to leverage her celebrity to throw the company in the limelight, garnering attention for her environmental and social goals. Like Toms and Warby Parker, The Honest Co. donates some of its products and revenue, meriting a B Corp certification from nonprofit group B Lab.

"I wanted clean, safe, effective products that were affordable and beautifully designed and I couldn't find that in the marketplace," Alba said on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." "There wasn't really a family brand that spoke to me as a young mom."

The Honest Co. is also looking to expand to other countries like China, England, and Australia. As of now, The Honest Co. just ships to the U.S. and Canada.

All of these moves are aimed at prepping the startup for an upcoming IPO, which has yet to be scheduled.

"We believe being a public company is the best path for us going forward and it's good to get that validation early on," Lee told the Wall Street Journal. "I can't say when that will be, but we are definitely starting to think and act like a public company."