Vietnam’s Tiki confirms $258m raise in series E funding (updated)

Update (Nov. 8, 8:50 p.m. SGT): This article was updated to include confirmation from Tiki about the fundraising.

Vietnam-based ecommerce major Tiki has confirmed its US$258 million in series E funding led by insurance major AIA.

Tech in Asia previously reported that Tiki’s valuation neared US$1 billion after this round, making it one of the rare tech soonicorns in the country.

Photo credit: Tiki

Other notable investors in this round include Taiwan Mobile, Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, STIC Investments, and Yuanta Fund.

AIA has contributed about US$60 million to the total amount. In July, AIA Vietnam signed a 10-year partnership with Tiki to become the ecommerce platform’s exclusive insurance partner. Starting in December, consumers in Vietnam can buy AIA insurance on the Tiki platform and will be able to manage their insurance accounts and claims on Tiki in the future.

Other notable backers in the fundraise include UBS AG London Branch, Taiwan Mobile, and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund.

Earlier this year, Taiwan Mobile announced that it  had injected US$20 million into Tiki. The investment was expected to help Tiki and the telco’s ecommerce platform, Momo (different from Vietnamese e-wallet MoMo), explore new growth opportunities beyond Vietnam.

See also: Why Shopee’s Taiwanese archrival is plotting a Southeast Asia expansion

In Vietnam, Tiki is facing fierce competition, trailing behind regional players Shopee and Lazada in both monthly web traffic and app ranks, according to iPrice Group’s latest quarterly data.

Last year, Tiki was reportedly in a merger discussion with local ecommerce platform Sendo, but the deal fell through.

Taking inspiration from Amazon, Tiki was founded in 2010 by Vietnamese entrepreneur Son Tran and originally only sold books. It has since ventured into other categories and now offers a marketplace for third-party sellers.

In a press statement, Tran says that the final goal for Tiki is not an initial public offering or to achieve unicorn status. “We want to become a place where Vietnamese people can find every product or service that they need,” he says.

However, Bloomberg reported that the company is eyeing a public listing in the US via a special purpose acquisition company as early as next year.