Lalamove to expand delivery coverage in Asia, raises USD 300 Mn

Hong Kong-based on-demand delivery and logistics services provider Lalamove has raised USD 300 million in Series D funding. The funding round was led by Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia China, Eastern Bell Venture Capital and PV Capital. Existing investors including ShunWei Capital, Xiang He Capital and MindWorks Ventures also participated in the round.

The five-year-old startup entered India last month with operations in Mumbai. It is now looking to expand to two more cities, New Delhi and Bangalore. With the latest funding, Lalamove has entered the unicorn club, said a report by China Money Network, an online platform tracking investment and innovation in China.

The company, which was founded in Hong Kong in 2013 and started operations in China a year later, has more than three million registered drivers and served 28 million users so far. It boasts of delivering anything locally in 55 minutes. Outside mainland China, where Lalamove has seen tremendous growth over the last four years, the company is currently present in 11 cities across Asian countries including Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and India.

The latest round of financing will be mainly used for expansion of its existing businesses in mainland China, Southeast Asia and India as well as for the development of new business such as enterprise edition and automobile sales, the company said in a statement. The company is also looking to strengthen technological and innovation capabilities in China and Southeast Asia.

“I am very grateful to Hillhouse Capital Group, Sequoia China, and all the new and old shareholders for their confidence and support,” said Zhou Shengyu Shing, the founder and CEO of Lalamove.

“ In the past five years, the total share of China’s logistics industry over GDP has decreased from 18% to 14.6% which means that the industry is becoming more cost efficient, and we are convinced that the impact of deepening internet penetration and new technologies will continue to drive efficiency within the logistics sector and, Lalamove is well positioned to be at the forefront of this transformation,” he said.

Lei Zhang, founder and CEO of Hillhouse Capital, said, “Technology is redefining what can be achieved in the logistics industry, and Lalamove’s outstanding management team has placed it at the forefront of this trend. We have been impressed with the company’s success in Southeast Asia and China, and believe it is well-positioned to bring more efficient and convenient freight services to the sector.”