Carsome raises $2m from backers including 500 Startups

Carsome co-founders Eric Cheng (L) and Teoh Jiun Ee

Carsome today announced it secured a US$2 million series A funding round from existing investors IdeaRiverRun of Malaysia and 500 Startups, plus Japan’s IMJ Investment Partners.

The Kuala Lumpur-based startup, which is present in Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia, will use the money to expand to Indonesia and Thailand, with the funds to be spent for marketing activities and hiring more staff.

“Southeast Asia is a key market for us and we are committed to growing Carsome’s presence within this region,” notes co-founder and CEO Eric Cheng.

Established in February 2015, Carsome began as a platform offering the ability to compare prices and features of new vehicles from various dealers and complete a purchase online.

It takes care of inspecting the cars and putting them up for bidding among its network of certified dealers.

Since securing US$350,000 in seed funding last year, the company has grown its services to include other aspects of the car buying process.

Carsome has launched a car selling service where owners can access information on used car market valuations transparently and sell their cars in less than 24 hours, eliminating the hassle of going to one dealer at a time and haggling. Transfer of ownership and payment happen all in one day. Carsome takes care of inspecting the cars and putting them up for bidding among its network of certified dealers. This, in turn, assures dealers of a constant supply of thoroughly inspected vehicles. Soon, Carsome will offer its users the ability to also buy used cars.

Unlike other auto dealership platforms, Carsome does not require dealers to pay listing fees. Instead, it charges them based on sales made through the site. That means dealers save on marketing costs.

At present, Carsome has seen over US$5 million spent by car buyers. The company aims to grow this tenfold and reach profitability by the end of 2016.

Carsome has 500 active dealers on its portal and expects to raise this number to at least 1,000 across all its markets by the end of the year.