Exclusive: Two heavy equipment startups backed by Indonesian super angel merge

Two Indonesia-based startups, Webtrace and TraktorHub, told Tech in Asia they have merged to form a new entity called Quipster. Both companies are portfolio firms of local super angel, who has invested in many early stage startups, Prasetia Dwidharma.

(From left) Quipster founders Denny Tjioe, Jovian Anderson, Erwin Subroto, Rezka Fonda, and David Hartono / Photo credit: Quipster

Founded by Erwin Subroto, Jovian Anderson, and Denny Tjioe in 2015, Webtrace is an internet of things solution that helps companies monitor their vehicle assets. In its initial days, the startup focused on the logistics business. However, it expanded to the public transportation and heavy equipment sector.

In January, Webtrace claimed that its monitoring equipment had onboarded more than 5,000 vehicles, resulting in 500 million rupiah (around US$35,000) of monthly recurring revenue.

On the other hand, TraktorHub is a platform that helps companies rent or buy heavy equipment such as cranes, excavators, and forklifts. It was founded by Rezka Fonda, David Hartono, and Dennis Pratistha in 2018 and has served dozens of customers.

In a statement, the two companies said that they would continue to serve their respective customers, while Quipster will become a holding entity for those businesses. Webtrace’s Subroto and Tjioe will hold the position of CEO and CFO at Quipster, respectively. TraktorHub’s Hartono will be the COO.

Sharing resources

According to Subroto, the two firms were introduced by their common investor, Prasetia Dwidharma. While the talks were initially about a collaboration, the conversation eventually shifted. It turned out, some of the founders knew each other.

“So the chemistry was built, and we decide to advance our partnership to a strategic merger,” Subroto told Tech in Asia.

Webtrace currently has 21 employees, with most of them in the product division and technical support team. After the merger, the company’s staff will be combined with TraktorHub’s seven employees. Under the new entity, both companies will share their resources to continue supporting the two business lines.

See also: Series SEA: Who’s investing in the region’s logistics and transportation startups?

Before the merger, both TraktorHub and Webtrace had raised seed funding. With the establishment of Quipster, they aim to raise a pre-series A round this year.

With the fresh funds, the merged entity will fuel its geographical expansion to 12 cities in Indonesia. On top of that, it also plans to build new products, such as a vehicle maintenance feature, and ink partnerships with financial firms to offer loan or insurance services.

M&A’s between two startups with the same investor isn’t a new occurrence in Indonesia. East Ventures did this several times in the past with Warung Pintar and Sirclo, as well as Tokopedia and Bridestory.