Gojek raises $150m from Indonesian telcom operator Telkomsel

Indonesia-based ride-hailing giant Gojek announced it has raised US$150 million in investment from PT Telekomunikasi Selular, Indonesia’s biggest wireless network provider.

Last month, Bloomberg first reported that the telcom operator was weighing investing in the super app.

Photo credit: Tech in Asia Indonesia

PT Telekomunikasi Selular, known as Telkomsel, is a subsidiary of state-owned PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk.

The collaboration marks an expansion of Gojek and Telkomsel’s partnership that has offered data packages to Gojek driver-partners since 2018.

With the deal, Telkomsel is looking to expand its digital business. “The investment reflects Telkomsel’s commitment as a digital telecommunication company to provide the services beyond connectivity. Telkom believes this collaboration will provide better solutions and services to the society in order to create [an] inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem,” the company said in a file.

With the partnership, the duo will launch initiatives such as innovative product offerings and cost savings through joint promotions and product bundles. They will also collaborate on growing Indonesia’s digital lifestyle sector and increasing the advertising technology solutions available to merchants.

Meanwhile, they will work together to implement professional training programs for Telkomsel employees and share practices to boost Indonesia’s technology talent pool.

With more than 170 million subscribers, Telkomsel says it’s the largest wireless carrier across the Southeast Asian region. This agreement is part of the company’s effort to strengthen its three digital pillars: digital connectivity, digital platform and digital services.

“We believe that working with Gojek and its extensive ecosystem will accelerate Telkomsel’s growth as a digital telco and our efforts to build an inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem, which is particularly crucial amid the pandemic and beyond,” said Telkomsel president director Setyanto Hantoro.

The development comes after Gojek raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Facebook, PayPal, Google, and Tencent as part of its ongoing series F round. Last month, it was also reported that Chinese tech giant Alibaba was in talks to invest US$3 billion into its archrival Grab.

Update (November 17, 16:05 pm): This article has been updated to include Telkomsel’s official statement.