Asia's biggest funding rounds of 2015

2015 saw plenty of funding moves, but the ones that really made it rain tended to be fuelled by competition, finds Tech in Asia

When it comes to competition, money talks. And money’s talking in Asia’s ecommerce, ride sharing, and meal delivery services. 2015 saw plenty of funding moves, but the ones that really made it rain tended to be fuelled by competition. There were also plenty of pushes for expansion – car-hailing looking to move into food delivery, for example. Prepare yourself for some gigantic numbers.

Snapdeal

$500 million

Ecommerce company Snapdeal grabbed $500 million in a series I round of funding from a gaggle of investors, including IndoUS Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, eBay, SoftBank Group Corp, and Alibaba. The round was announced in August and beefed up the online marketplace to compete with other large in-country rival Flipkart.

MatahariMall

$500 million

500 million is a bit of a magic number on this list, with Indonesian company MatahariMall securing $500 million from Lippo Group this year. MatahariMall is an ecommerce arm of one of the country’s largest mid-priced department stores.
 

Lippo Group, a real estate company in Indonesia, has staked its hopes on MatahariMall becoming to the country’s Alibaba. The announcement was made in February, nearly a year ago, so it’ll be interesting to see what 2016 holds for MatahariMall and ecommerce in Indonesia.

Ola

$500 million

Ride sharing apps have been revving their engines at each other this year. Indian company Ola bagged a solid $500 million in a series F round of funding from a crowd of investors, including Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital, and Didi Kuaidi. Ola has risen to success in India, acquiring its in-country competitor TaxiForSure in March.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.