Lalamove hauls in $300m from Sequoia China and Hillhouse, plans vehicle leasing biz

Last-mile logistics player Lalamove has raised US$300 million funding in a series D round led by new investors Sequoia China and Hillhouse Capital.

Photo credit: Lalamove

Other first-time backers that came on board include Shanghai-based Eastern Bell Venture Capital and PV Capital. Existing investors MindWorks Ventures, Shunwei Capital, and Xiang He Capital also joined the series D raise.

In a statement, Hong Kong-based Lalamove said the new funds will be used to strengthen its tech capabilities in its key markets – China and Southeast Asia – as well as accelerate its recently revealed entry into India.

See: Hong Kong’s Lalamove expands to India

The startup also said that some of the capital will help it establish new businesses, including “car sales.”

A Lalamove spokesperson told Tech in Asia that these new business areas will include more offerings focused on inter-city logistics and contract-based services based on flat pricing and other options.

Intriguingly, the startup is looking to improve vehicle availability and financing for its driver network, resembling a model employed by the likes of Go-Jek and Grab. “What we mean by ‘car sales’ is actually leasing and financing cars to drivers who don’t own vehicles themselves, in order to facilitate them in earning [additional] income,” the spokesperson said. “It’s one of our core values to drivers to be able to provide them income and opportunities. Our goal is to be able to allow our drivers to stick with our platform longer and help them where we can.”

The spokesperson added that Lalamove’s leasing and financing business has already launched in China, with “several hundred cars” already leased to drivers.

The company offers last-mile logistics solutions, connecting “man with a van” and motorbike courier services to users via its app. In addition to cities throughout the Greater China region, it also operates in several cities across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It claims to have registered 3 million drivers and served more than 28 million users to date.

Since launching in 2013, Lalamove has raised at least US$460 million in disclosed funding. In its October 2017 series C round, it banked US$100 million from Xiaomi founder Lei Jun’s Shunwei Capital and others.

Plenty of venture money has been flowing into tech-enabled logistics. Lalamove’s crosstown rival GoGoVan became Hong Kong’s first unicorn following its August 2017 merger with Chinese freight startup 58 Suyun, while Singapore-based competitor Ninja Van raised at least US$87 million in its series C round in January 2018.