GoGoVan raises US$250m in first phase of new funding round

Singapore

GOGOVAN - an on-demand delivery van service backed by Singapore's Centurion Private Equity and Singapore Press Holdings - has raised US$250 million in new funding.

The sum represents the "first phase of its new round of funding", the startup said on Friday.

GoGoVan chief executive and co-founder Steven Lam told The Business Times (BT) that the company could be fundraising for a second phase of this financing round, given strong interest by other investors.

"The timing of the second phase will depend on the momentum of the investors. But we're in no rush," said Mr Lam. Asked if the startup has plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in the near term, he said that an IPO is "always an option".

The US$250 million was led by InnoVision Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, and included other investors such as Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao, Russia-China Investment Fund, Hongrun Capital, Qianhai Fund of Funds, and 58 Daojia Group.

This is GoGoVan's largest funding to-date, before which it raised only US$26.5 million in total since it was set up in 2013. The Hong Kong-based startup last raised funding in May 2016, a Series C round led by Hong Kong private equity firm New Horizon Capital. The amount raised then was undisclosed but reported by BT to be in the eight-digit range.

Mr Lam said on Friday: "We will be using the new funds to expand our service offerings and grow new markets. In the next few months, we will offer a door-to-door service to fulfil demand in the small-item segment."

The latter refers to a courier service that allows customers to request a GoGoVan delivery partner to pick up an item from Point A and deliver it to Point B, Mr Lam told BT.

"The person need not be using a van to deliver the item. He could use a motorcycle or bicycle or even take the bus or train."

GoGoVan will first roll out the door-to-door service in Hong Kong, and then to Singapore later this year.

GoGoVan merged last August with 58 Suyun - said to be one of China's largest intra-city logistics platforms - which increased GoGoVan's presence to over 300 cities across Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, India, China and Taiwan.

A mobile logistics app, GoGoVan lets anyone looking to move anything from small parcels to bulky boxes book delivery vans at any time and anywhere. Other last-mile delivery players in Singapore include Hong Kong-based Lalamove and Singapore's Ninja Van.