AirAsia unit Teleport backs Indonesian trucking startup Kargo

TELEPORT, a logistics unit of Malaysia's AirAsia, has invested an undisclosed sum in Indonesian trucking marketplace Kargo Technologies.

The deal was in the form of convertible notes and funded through Teleport's internal resources, AirAsia said in a Thursday (Jan 27) press release.

Founded in 2018, Teleport specialises in first to last-mile logistics across South-east Asia, especially for cross-border delivery under 24 hours. It taps the AirAsia network of flights, its own freighter and last-mile fleet, its website says. Teleport also has a presence in China.

Kargo, which was similarly started in 2018, is a B2B trucking platform in Indonesia with over 75,000 trucks in its network. Its workflow tools also enable pricing and tracking of freight. Clients include the brands Unilever and Coca-Cola, and e-commerce site Shopee.

The Kargo investment will extend Teleport's mid-mile capabilities beyond just air cargo to trucking capabilities, AirAsia said. This is especially since Indonesia's archipelagic geography requires a "middle mile" service for efficient logistics.

"When we were first connected to Tiger Fang, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kargo in 2021, we almost instantly agreed that both a commercial partnership and potential investment by Teleport would make sense for both parties," said Pete Chareonwongsak, CEO of Teleport.

Likewise, Fang said that the partnership would help Kargo expand its value chain horizontally. The startup will be expanding to other cities in the region in conjunction with Teleport.