Malaysia: Carsome raises $2m Series A from IdeaRiverRun, Japan’s IMJ & 500 Startups

Co-founders Eric Cheng (Left) and Teoh Jiun Ee

By Ishita Russell

March 2, 2016

Malaysian car-discovery platform Carsome has closed a Series A funding round, raising a total of $2 million (RM8.42 million) led by Malaysian investor IdeaRiverRun, who is also an existing investor in the company.

Japan’s IMJ Investment Partners and Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups also participated in the round, the company said in a release.

The startup plans to use a major part of the latest funding towards its expansion into two new countries–Indonesia and Thailand. The rest of the investment will be invested in marketing activities to strengthen brand presence, and to support talent acquisition for the operations team.

“South East Asia is a key market for us and we are committed to growing Carsome’s presence within this region. The outcome from this round of funding is very encouraging and we are confident that as the implementation of plans progress, we will realise positive returns for our investors in the coming months,” said Eric Cheng, CEO & Co-Founder, Carsome Sdn Bhd.

In August last year, the company had secured $350,000 in seed funding from 500 Startups and Malaysian private equity firm and incubator Idea River Run.

“In just six months (from the last funding), we have developed Carsome into a formidable car-trading platform and have grown our services to include many aspects of the car trading process chain. As a result, we now have a portal that caters to the varying needs of car buyers and sellers in the region,” Cheng said.

The company claims to have a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of over $5 million, and is targeting to grow this value by ten-fold to reach profitability by the end of 2016.

Carsome currently has 500 active dealers on its portal with a presence in Malaysia, Australia and Singapore. The company aims to increase this to at least 1,000 dealers across all markets by the end of the year.

Carsome started operations in February last year by offering buyers the ability to compare prices and offers of new vehicles as well as complete a purchase at their own convenience. Over time it has also launched a car selling service, where sellers can access information on car valuations with full transparency and sell their cars in less than 24 hours.

Also Read: 

Malaysian automobile portal Carsome raises $350k from 500 Startups & IRR

500 Startups raises $85m for its third VC fund

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
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Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW