🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The round follows a clear swing to profit

• The fundraising comes after Carsome posted a second straight profitable year, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) more than doubling to US$23 million in fiscal year 2025 1.
• Unit economics, meaning the profit a business makes on each car sold, improved as gross profit per unit rose 22% year-over-year 1.
• The pace carried into the next quarter, with Carsome recording US$4.3 million in EBITDA for Q1 2025 2.
• The company tied the gains to day-to-day changes, including improved pricing algorithms (software that helps set car prices) plus optimized sourcing strategies (how it buys and supplies cars) 2.

Hong Kong’s state fund steps up its Southeast Asia push

• Lead investor Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) is wholly owned by the HKSAR Government (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government) and manages HK$62 billion, with a mandate to build Hong Kong’s innovation and technology ecosystem while seeking medium- to long-term financial returns 3.
• HKIC has also put money behind technology-focused efforts across areas such as AI and fintech (financial technology) 4.
• The transaction fits a planned outreach effort after an HKIC-led delegation visited Malaysia and Brunei in late July and early August 2025, meeting institutions including Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad (a government-owned investment fund) 3.
• Gobi Partners said the funding supports a credible route to a public exit, calling Carsome one of its ‘highest-confidence IPO (initial public offering) sectors’ 5.