MyTukar Set To Benefit From SoftBank Funding For Carro

myTukar’s parent company, Carro, has announced the successful raising of US$360 million through a Series C funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Singapore-based Carro represents Southeast Asia’s largest automotive marketplace, and has become the first automotive marketplace unicorn in SEA with this round of funding. Notable investors in this new round of financing include several prominent Indonesian based funds such as EV Growth.

With the fresh funds raised, Carro will be in a good position to strengthen its market position and expand its retail presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore; these have seen significant growth in the past year. Carro has myTukar, Jualo and Genie under its umbrella. Carro will also enhance its portfolio of financial services by expanding beyond in-house loan financing, as well as accelerate development of its AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities.

“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.

SoftBank Group had first invested in Carro through SoftBank Ventures Asia, its venture capital arm, in 2016. It 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 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 had closed its financial year ending 30 March 2021 with more than 2.5x growth in revenue. It is also EBITDA positive for the second consecutive year. Further, Carro was also named Asia Pacific’s fastest growing company in 2021 by The Financial Times and Statista.

“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.”