GROUND logistics marketplace Deliveree, also known as Transportify in the Philippines, has secured US$14.5 million in financing to support its operations and expansion plans in Southeast Asia.
The fund was secured through Series A, a round of venture capital financing that was led by Shanghai-based Gobi Partners, a leading venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage, digital media, IT, and TMT (technology, media, and telecom) companies.
Corporate venture capital firms PSA Unboxed, Asia Summit Capital, and Inspire Ventures also participated in the Series A round, joining founding investors Inspire Ventures and Ardent Capital.
Deliveree, in a statement, said the new funding will be used to fuel its growth as a leading ground logistics marketplace in Southeast Asia and to expand its logistics technology solutions for businesses.
Launched in 2015, Deliveree is revolutionizing the way businesses move goods, merchandise, and cargo throughout the metro areas of Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila. Its mobile and web application platform provides companies with access to thousands of qualified drivers of commercial vehicles on a pay-as-you-go basis, a solution that can reduce ground transport costs by as much as 50%.
Transportify started in the Philippines in 2016 as Deliveree’s third country of operations in Southeast Asia.
“The shift to marketplace solutions is progressing rapidly across key areas of logistics,” co-founder and Deliveree chief executive officer Tom Kim said.
“This is acutely true with the intracity movements of cargo and goods. Deliveree’s marketplace of 15,000 trucks, vans, pickups, and economy vehicles across Southeast Asia are servicing thousands of customers daily, including large corporations, big brands, and respected logistics companies. Within our markets, whatever products you’re using today, there’s a good chance they were moved in one of our vehicles,” Kim added.
Gobi partner Kay-Mok Ku said of his company’s investment in Deliveree: “Gobi is delighted to lead Deliveree’s Series A. On the heels of our successful investment in GoGoVan, we believe that Southeast Asian businesses will increasingly adopt similar marketplace technologies to solve challenging old-world logistics problems. Deliveree’s team, operating model, and technology are the best positioned to lead the industry in this region.”
Deliveree chief financial officer Gagan Singh noted that over the past few years, there has been a substantial growth in investments in small-parcel, last-mile consumer logistics due to the rise of e-commerce in Southeast Asia.
“However, this space suffers from poor operating economics,” Singh noted.
“Our focus at Deliveree is solving the cargo and bulk goods challenges faced by businesses with our sophisticated marketplace technology accessed via mobile and web apps. In the end, this is much more capital efficient and hence scalable,” Singh said.
