With ecommerce booming during the virus outbreak, Ninja Van has secured $280 million in funding to grow its reach across Southeast Asia, where’s it’s used by businesses of all sizes to ship parcels. The startup’s major clients include Lazada, Shopee, Tokopedia, Watsons, and L’Oreal.

This new investment, its series D, included Grab and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital, reported Reuters and Bloomberg this morning.

Grab first invested in Singapore-based Ninja Van in April 2019, at the same time announcing a significant tie-up with its own GrabExpress’ service.

Ninja Van facts & stats:

  • Launched 2014
  • Operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam
  • 30,000 employees, of whom 20,000 are full-time drivers
  • Handles over one million parcels daily
  • Brunei’s state-owned Zamrud Sovereign Wealth Fund, Thailand telco InTouch, Golden Gate Ventures Growth Fund, and Monk’s Hill Ventures joined this series D round
  • Around $400 million total funding
  • Main tech rivals: Lalamove, Gogovan
One of the startup’s vans in Singapore / Photo: Ninja Van

Ninja Van may do another round of funding before a sale or an IPO, founder Lai Chang Wen told Bloomberg today.

Lai anticipates strong growth after the pandemic, he recently told newsletter The Peak—he sees brands and retailers shifting more toward online sales as social distancing measures and changing consumer sentiment push some people away from malls.