Tag: Series C Funding

Hanoi, Vietnam – The data-driven loyalty platform in Vietnam, Society Pass (SoPa), has announced that it has closed a Series C funding round, which will help in accelerating its growth and acquisition strategy in the SEA and SA region.

Society Pass is a loyalty and data marketing ecosystem that operates multiple e-commerce and lifestyle platforms across its key markets. Its business model focuses on collecting user data through the expected circulation of its universal loyalty points.

Society Pass plans to expand its market presence by harnessing the untapped potential of SEA and SA, regions which according to the Digital 2021 Global Overview Report by HootSuite and We Are Social stand to see tremendous growth. SoPa believes that developing countries are only now experiencing a surge in digital adoption, with large potentials for future growth.

Moreover, the said funding aims to acquire companies with existing user and merchant bases that can be quickly plugged into the Society Pass ecosystem.

Dennis Nguyen, the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer at Society Pass, shared that the platform’s success up to this point has been built through offering unique value for both consumers and merchants, along with the infrastructure supporting that exchange.

“This new funding will allow us to replicate our success in our target markets and our ongoing aggressive M&A initiatives in the pipeline. We are very grateful to have found strong demand from quality investors that share our vision,” said Nguyen.

Singapore – Automotive marketplace Carro has announced that it has raised US$360m in a Series C funding round, making it Southeast Asia’s first automotive marketplace unicorn in five years.

Led by Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank Vision Fund 2, this new round of financing also includes notable investors like the Indonesian-based fund EV Growth.

The newly secured funding will strengthen Carro’s market position and expand its retail offering across Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as Singapore, which are the markets that have seen significant growth in the past year. Carro will also enhance its portfolio of financial services by expanding beyond in-house loan financing and accelerating the development of its AI capabilities.

Carro’s CEO and Founder Aaron Tan shared that this is a huge milestone for them and they are grateful for the strong support from their investors, which reaffirms their belief in the transformative power of AI in the automotive industry to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

“As digitalization shapes the global landscape through new consumer habits and business practices, it is a very exciting time for an end-to-end online car marketplace like Carro,” said Tan.

Meanwhile, Greg Moon, the managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said that Carro is transforming the automotive industry in SEA by providing a seamless buying and selling experience for both consumers and car dealers. 

“Powered by AI, Carro’s technology platform provides consumers with full-stack services and transparency throughout the car ownership process. We are delighted to partner with Aaron and the Carro team to support their ambition to expand into new markets and use AI-powered technology to make the car buying process smarter, simpler, and safer,” said Moon.

Carro provides a full-stack service for all aspects of car ownership and uses AI-powered technology to transform the car buying and selling experience. It has pioneered innovative services such as Singapore’s first contactless car purchase service, first car subscription service, and the first region-wide behavior and usage-based car insurance.