Australian task marketplace Airtasker raises US$5M, looks toward Asia

Australian local task services marketplace Airtasker announced today it has raised AU$6.5 million (US$5 million) in capital in a funding round led by Shanghai’s Morning Crest Capital. Australia’s National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA), and venture capital firms Exto Partners, Carthona Capital, and Black Sheep Capital were also involved.

The funds will go toward product development, engineering, customer support, and new services in anticipation of a new projects. While co-founder Tim Fung won’t reveal specifics to Tech in Asia, he says that a new enterprise tier is in the works along with some general streamlining.

“What we are planning will be revolutionizing the service economy by productizing services – which until now have been inconvenient to access, somewhat unreliable and inconsistently priced – into something that will be super easy to use and simple to understand,” says Fung.

Airtasker, like Taskrabbit, provides a marketplace for freelance tasks and odd jobs offered by anyone looking to make extra income. Services cover areas from specialized tasks such as handyman work and photography to simple delivery jobs. It monetizes by charging percentage-based commissions on completed tasks. The company claims to support over 250,000 users all over Australia and over US$11 million worth of tasks are processed through its service each year. Unlike Handy and other single-service marketplaces, Airtasker specializes in no specific vertical, and pricing is flexible.

Fung tells Tech in Asia that Airtasker’s relationship with Morning Crest began in the early 2000s when he worked alongside CEO Fred Bai at Macquarie Capital. The two reconnected one year ago and began discussions that eventually led to the investment.

Morning Crest is based in Shanghai, but Fung says Airtasker’s priority remains growing its base in Australia. He added that the company is researching possibilities for expansion elsewhere.

“Morning Crest is undoubtedly watching the O2O space in China very closely as new players test different models to see what will work, and we believe the joint opportunity for Airtasker is probably about 12-18 months away from being ripe,” explains Fung. “Whilst we’ve also analysed the US market, along the way we plan to develop strategies to enter phase two markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong over the next year.

Airtasker had previously raised US$1.6 million in seed funding in a round led by Exto Partners and Bridge Lane Capital in 2013.

Editing by Osman Husain, top image by stevoarnold