Indonesian online marketplace Tokopedia raises $100M from SoftBank and Sequoia

In what appears to be the largest round for an Indonesian startup on public record, online marketplace startup Tokopedia announced its approximate US$100 million financing round, led by SoftBank Internet and Media Inc (SIMI), a division of the Japanese conglomerate. Sequoia Capital joined in as a follow on investor. With this round of funding, SoftBank and Sequoia Capital representatives will join the company’s board of directors. The funding also comes as Sequoia Capital’s first investment in Indonesia.

Founded in 2009, Tokopedia has grown rapidly to become one of Indonesia’s leading online marketplaces. Following the investment, Tokopedia will focus on customer acquisition, hiring, and other initiatives to further strengthen its position in Indonesia. It claims to be the number one online marketplace in Indonesia.

See: Indosat partners with Softbank to launch $50M fund in Indonesia

By partnering with Tokopedia, SoftBank aims to further build its presence as an investor in internet companies and accelerate its growth in Southeast Asia.

“I’m very excited to welcome SIMI and Sequoia Capital as our new shareholders. ” said William Tanuwijaya, CEO of Tokopedia, in a statement. “With this new round, Tokopedia will have enough resources to form the best team, develop world class technology to help our merchants and bring the best commerce experience to our users. We will always prioritize our users, and focus on making our users more successful. And for us that is the most important part of our business model.”

“We are very pleased to be working closely with Tokopedia. In the Asia region, the growth potential for online marketplaces particularly stands out in Indonesia, and since their founding, Tokopedia has seen remarkable growth with their innovative business model,” added Nikesh Arora, vice chairman of SoftBank and CEO of SIMI.

Southeast Asia is proving to be a vibrant and exciting place for startups and foreign investors, as Malaysia-based GrabTaxi also announced funding of US$65 million led by US-based Tiger Global Management yesterday. In its early days, SoftBank also invested in Alibaba.

Following its launch in 2009, Tokopedia firmly established itself as one of the archipelago’s ecommerce leaders. The site currently receives about 10 million visitors per month and sold 24 million products in its fourth year of operations. This investment is expected to close in mid-December 2014.

UPDATE 10/22/2014: One reader sent out a tweet asking how Indonesia’s Negative Investment List, which blocks foreign investors from entering the local online retail sector, may or may not have affected this investment. William Tanuwijaya says Tokopedia does not fall into the category of online retail, but is instead classified as a web portal company, which is not blocked from foreign investment. Tanuwijaya explains his company does not hold any inventory or execute direct sales. Tokopedia’s marketplace business model allows local merchants and buyers to connect.