Singapore’s CARRO achieves ‘unicorn’ status, raises S$477 million in Series C Funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2

• Carro becomes Southeast Asia’s first automative marketplace unicorn in 5 years
• Investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, EV Growth and others
• Carro will double down on expansion in Thailand and Indonesia, enhance their financial services business, and invest further in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities

Singapore, 15 June 2021 — Carro, Southeast Asia’s largest automotive marketplace, today announced that it has raised SG$477 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, making it the first automotive marketplace unicorn in Southeast Asia. Notable investors in this new round of financing include several prominent Indonesian based funds including EV Growth.

“This is a huge milestone for us. We are grateful for the strong support from our investors, which reaffirms our belief in the transformative power of AI in the automotive industry to deliver exceptional customer experience. As digitalisation shapes the global landscape through new consumer habits and business practices, it is a very exciting time for an end-to-end online car marketplace like Carro.” said Aaron Tan, CEO and Founder of Carro.

Carro will use the funds to strengthen its market position and expand its retail offering across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore – markets that have seen significant growth in the past year. Carro will also enhance its portfolio of financial services by expanding beyond in-house loan financing, as well as accelerate development of its AI capabilities.

“Carro is transforming the automotive industry in Southeast Asia by providing a seamless buying and selling experience for both consumers and car dealers. Powered by AI, Carro’s technology platform provides consumers with full-stack services and transparency throughout the car ownership process,” said Greg Moon, Managing Partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers. “We are delighted to partner with Aaron and the Carro team to support their ambition to expand into new markets and use AI-powered technology to make the car buying process smarter, simpler, and safer.”

SoftBank Group first invested in Carro through SoftBank Ventures Asia, its venture capital arm, in 2016 and has continued to support Carro’s growth initiatives through the years.

Carro provides a full-stack service for all aspects of car ownership and uses AI-powered technology to transform the car buying and selling experience. It has pioneered innovative services such as Singapore’s first contactless car purchase service, first car subscription service and the first region-wide behaviour and usage-based car insurance. Carro closed its financial year ending March 2021 with over a 2.5x growth in revenue and continues to be EBITDA positive for the second year running. Carro was also named Asia Pacific’s fastest growing company in 2021 by The Financial Times and Statista.

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Bloomberg: Singapore’s Carro Is a Unicorn With $360 Million Led by SoftBank
The Business Times: Carro eyes IPO after SoftBank-led US$360m unicorn round
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e27: Carro becomes unicorn following US$360M Series C raise, plans to go public in 18-24 months
Nikkei Asia: SoftBank supercharges Singapore’s Carro to unicorn status
Reuters: Singaporean automotive marketplace Carro says raises $360 mln to become unicorn
TechCrunch: Automotive marketplace Carro hits unicorn status with $360M Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2
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