Heaptalk, Jakarta – Carro, a Singapore’s automotive marketplace, announced the Company just raised US$360 million in its Series C funding (15/06). The injection was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, followed by several notorious investors headquartered in Indonesia, including East Venture (EV) Growth. Through the investment, Carro becomes the first automotive marketplace unicorn in South East Asia.
Carro’s CEO Aaron Tan said, “This is a huge milestone for us. We are grateful for the strong support from our investors, which reaffirm our belief in the transformative power of AI in the automotive industry to deliver exceptional customer experience.”
Looking forward, Carro plans to capitalize on the fresh fund to strengthen its market position and conducting aggressive expansion to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. According to Carro, market shares from those four countries contain tremendous business potential signaled by its exponential growth last year.
Besides strengthening its automotive business, an Entity founded in 2015 also intends to develop AI capabilities as well as enhance its financial services portfolio. The action will be performed by enlarging other financial businesses beyond its in-house loan financing.
As a response to this exceptional collaboration, a Managing Partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers Greg Moon said in a statement, “Carro has transformed the automotive industry in SEA by delivering unlimited purchasing and selling experience for consumers and cars dealers. Powered by AI, Carro’s technology platform provides consumers with full-stack services and transparency throughout the car ownership process. We are delighted to partner with Aaron and the Carro team to support their ambition to expand into new markets and use AI-powered technology to make the car buying process smarter, simpler and safer.”
SoftBank Group, first, delivered its fund to Carro in 2016 through SoftBank Ventures Asia as its arm investment. Since then, SoftBank’s supports as well as Carro’s innovation have positioned the Firm to be the first automotive marketplace unicorn in SEA.
Unlike its competitors, such as OLX Autos and Carsome, which broke due to the pandemic, Carro’s fresh innovation in selling cars that provide a new experience to customers and its idea to dive into financial services make Carro resilient towards the crisis. Today, it is claimed that Carro has 1,000 employees across four countries, with the growth rate hit 250% in the first Quarter in 2021. The enhancement is inseparable from the covid-19 condition that promotes people to use their own car to avoid virus transmission.
