Southeast Asia superapp Grab has just received an investment of undisclosed amount from Shinsegae Group through its venture capital arm, Signite Partners. A report from The Korea Herald reported that the VC firm announced the investment on Tuesday, February 16, 2021.
The South Korean retail giant has been actively making moves to invest overseas through its VC arm, Signite Partners. Since being established in July 2020, the firm has added companies such as US fashion brand Entireworld, South Korean living and lifestyle company Homes, and South Korean fashion tech company Ably Corporation to its portfolio of investments. This investment in Grab is the firm’s latest move towards ramping up its overseas investments.
“We will continue to discover and invest in promising startups at home and abroad as well as creating various opportunities to generate synergy with startups,” said an official from Signite Partners.
The firm’s decision to invest in the Southeast Asian superapp was based on Grab’s ability to acquire millions of users every day. Grab’s app is currently being used in eight countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. It offers a variety of services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, parcel delivery, and even financial services. Grab currently has over 214 million mobile app downloads.
The Southeast Asian unicorn has had multiple foreign investors backing the company since it was established in 2012. Some of its global investors include Toyota, Hyundai, PayPal, Visa and MUFG Bank. Shinsegae Group’s backing also comes in shortly after Grab secured its $2 billion 5-year loan facility earlier this month. Its capital would allow the tech giant to strengthen its position as the leading superapp in Southeast Asia by strengthening its liquidity and diversifying its financing sources. Moving forward, the company is looking at expanding its resources with plans for a US IPO.
The Southeast Asian superapp industry has been becoming more and more competitive. Unicorns based in the SEA region such as Traveloka, Tokopedia, and Gojek are all looking towards the same strategy as Grab. The companies are also looking to expand their capital war chest by going for a US IPO in the near future. The companies are all expected to collide as the superapps extend their services towards each other’s industries such as e-commerce and logistics.