Indonesia’s travel unicorn Traveloka said to secure $420m in funding

By Sarah Yuniarni

April 11, 2019

Indonesian online travel unicorn Traveloka has raised $420 million in a funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and existing investors, a person familiar with the matter said.

The funding will support the Indonesian firm’s ambition to become the region’s “travel super app” with its ongoing expansion into tours and activities as well as new areas such as food and lifestyle services.

Traveloka and GIC did not return a request for comment.

Traveloka had last disclosed raising $350 million from US online travel major Expedia in 2017, along with another $150 million from other investors including East Ventures, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital and China’s JD.com.

The Information had in October last year reported that Traveloka was in talks to raise around $400 million in a round led by GIC. The investment, it added, was likely to double the travel startup’s valuation to $4.1 billion. DEALSTREETASIA was unable to ascertain Traveloka’s latest valuation.

According to a Skift report, the Indonesian firm has rolled out a new discovery platform in the domestic market that offers everything from discounted restaurant vouchers to recommendations on where to eat, supplemented by user reviews. Apart from food-related offerings, it also plans to roll out wellness services, including beauty and spa services.

Meanwhile, its new tours and activities offering pits it against regional competitors such as Hong Kong-based Klook, Taiwan’s Alibaba-backed KKDay and nearer home, Triip in Vietnam. Its most formidable competitor will be Klook, which offers online booking services for local tours and activities and closed a $425-million extended Series D round this week after bagging funding from SoftBank Vision Fund.

Traveloka offers its services in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore, beyond its home market. In February this year, it ventured outside Southeast Asia by launching its services in Australia. It now offers hotel packages, flight ticket reservation, airport transportation, and activities and tour packages in the country via its app and websites.

It also discreetly acquired three smaller rival firms — Philippines-based TravelBook, PegiPegi in Indonesia, and MyTour in Vietnam — from Japanese company Recruit Holdings for about $66.8 million last year. It is learnt to be on the prowl for more acquisitions, especially in newer areas that it is venturing into.

GIC has previously backed other Indonesian unicorns including GOJEK and Bukalapak. We recently reported about its latest investment in Vietnamese fintech startup VNPay. Established in 1981, the Singaporean wealth fund manages assets worth over $100 billion in more than 40 countries across the world.

Also Read:

Indonesian unicorn Traveloka expands beyond SE Asia, lands in Australia

Indonesia Digest: Traveloka opens R&D centre; Salim Group forays into eSports

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