Carousell ties up with Supahands to enhance its search function

Malaysia-based data set provider Supahands announced it has partnered with online marketplace Carousell to offer personalized online shopping services in Asia.

(From left) Carousell co-founders Quek Siu Rui, Marcus Tan, and Lucas Ngoo / Photo credit: Carousell

Under the agreement, Carousell will work with Supahands to evaluate search relevance algorithms for its machine learning models. This will improve the classifieds firm’s search and recommendation functions on its platform, the company said in a statement.

Launched in 2012, Carousell’s platform offers products across categories, including cars, lifestyle, gadgets, and fashion accessories. It operates in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

“In ecommerce, search is everything—if you can’t find it, you can’t buy it,” said Puneet Garg, head of data science and data engineering at Carousell. “Supahands’ evaluations of our search results have added significant clarity and value to our search and recommendation models.”

The move comes amid an acceleration in ecommerce adoption during the Covid-19 pandemic, with shoppers moving online and technology firms supporting their local communities.

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Earlier in September 2020, Carousell raised US$80 million in a funding round from a consortium led by South Korea’s Naver Corporation, bringing the company’s valuation at over US$900 million.

The partnership will also leverage strong growth in the online classifieds market, which is poised to hit US$463 billion by 2023.