Thai startup Wongnai scores series B funding for big O2O push

Intouch Holdings announced today that it injected an undisclosed amount of series B funding into Thai food and beauty salon review portal Wongnai. The investment was made through Intouch’s venture capital arm, InVent.

The fresh cash will finance Wongnai’s new O2O (online-to-offline) services and its expansion into other lifestyle verticals, Intouch said in a statement. Tech in Asia has reached out for more details about those plans, but we are yet to hear back.

Wongnai features over 200,000 restaurants, beauty salons, and spas across Thailand on its platform, with detailed information about each merchant and user reviews. Its over two million registered users can search for what’s top rated in Bangkok, follow their friends, upload photos, and do quick write-ups about the places they visit.

“Wongnai also provides location-based services through users’ mobile phone GPS, so they can enjoy the most recommended local businesses nearby or within their proximity,” said co-founder and CEO Yod Chinsupakul.

Last year, the company rolled out a major addition to its product, the evoucher, which lets users avail of discounts at merchant stores.

That was the company’s first move toward O2O services, Yod said.

“We are particularly excited about Wongnai’s plan [to launch] new O2O services, building on its strong brand and solid user base. Recent studies show that Thai consumers are already spending around five hours each day on their mobile phones and in many ways Intouch is best positioned to take Wongnai to the next level with our access to over 38 million mobile subscribers as well as a strong network of local SMEs in Thailand,” Thanapong Naranong, vice president and head of venture capital at Intouch, said.

Yod said Intouch is “an ideal strategic partner” considering that “80 percent of our current traffic [is] already coming from mobile.”

Intouch is an an asset management company based in Thailand that’s engaged in telecommunications, media, IT, and digital content. It founded its VC arm InVent in 2012. InVent focuses on growth-stage internet and mobile companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Wongnai is the ninth company in InVent’s portfolio and its biggest investment so far. It is also the first ever series B investment in a Thai startup made by a Thai VC, according to Intouch. InVent has invested over US$8 million in technology startups.