Tada parent firm MVL posts over 300% jump in revenue, moves closer to profitability

Founder and CEO Kay Woo outside MVL’s office in Kampong Ubi, Singapore / Photo credit: MVL

Mass Vehicle Ledger (MVL), the South Korean blockchain company that operates ride-hailing service Tada in Singapore, recorded revenue of S$27.5 million (US$20 million) in 2022. That’s up from the S$6.3 million (US$4.6 million) it had posted in 2021, representing an over 300% jump.

Moreover, MVL is moving closer to profitability, narrowing its losses by 45% to S$5.4 million (US$3.9 million) over the same period, according to the company’s regulatory filings.

Over half of its revenue can be attributed to its mobility and delivery business, which had tripled its gains. This is followed by the crypto business, which accounted for 37% of MVL’s revenue. Other sources of income include the rental of electrical vehicles.

Tech in Asia contacted MVL, but the company declined to participate in this story.

MVL launched Tada in 2018. Initially operating in Singapore, Tada expanded to Cambodia and Vietnam in early 2019 and reached around 1 million users across these Southeast Asian markets by mid-2021.

Tada means “let’s ride” in Korean. Built on MVL’s blockchain ecosystem, the platform does not take any commission from its driver-partners but charges a small fixed platform fee.

The ride-hailing service rewards driver-partners who receive favorable passenger reviews with points from MVL. Passengers are also eligible to earn points when they provide reviews. These points then can be converted into digital tokens to pay for gas and vehicle repairs as well as car rentals and washes.

In September, Tada announced plans to enter Thailand by the end of the year.

While MVL is now in a healthier financial position than it was in 2021, it may still need external funding to expand.

The company’s net cash from operations improved significantly, bouncing back from an outflow of S$12.4 million (US$9 million) in 2021 to an inflow of S$3.3 million (US$2.4 million) in 2022. The reversal was primarily driven by changes in working capital such as prepayments and trade and other payables.

As a result, its cash and cash equivalents increased by 29% to S$5.5 million (US$4 million).

According to Tech in Asia’s data, MVL has raised a total of US$25 million to date, including the latest US$15 million series B funding from Central and Trive Ventures.

In 2022, MVL launched electric rickshaws in Cambodia through its subsidiary Onion Mobility. The company sold over 500 units of the vehicle – called Onion T1 – in a matter of months.