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Evan Walker Bought an Old Trunk. Then He Repacked the Internet.
A fragile antique in Florence gave Evan Walker a durable idea: independent shops deserved the same post-purchase certainty as Amazon. Route became his answer - and his lesson in knowing when a founder should move from the controls to the map.
Extend
Extend is a San Francisco software company that turns the messy, unloved world of extended warranties and post-purchase headaches into an API. It lets online and offline merchants offer product protection plans, shipping protection, order tracking, returns, exchanges, and automated claims - and, since 2026, bundles all of it into an AI-native 'Shopper Operations' platform that scores customers by value and risk. Founded in 2019 by Woodrow 'Woody' Levin, the company raised a $260M Series C in 2021 at a $1.6B valuation led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and works with 1,200+ merchants including Peloton, iRobot, Sonos and Advance Auto Parts.