Astro Announces Series B Funding Worth 872 Billion Rupiah

Startups quick commerce Astro today (30/5) announced the acquisition of series B funding of $60 million or equivalent to 872 billion Rupiah. This round was led by Accel, Citius and Tiger Global with the participation of previous investors such as AC Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Lightspeed, and Sequoia Capital India.

With the fresh funds obtained, since its establishment in September 2021, Astro has recorded a total equity funding of $90 million or equivalent to 1,3 trillion Rupiah. Previously they had also booked series A . funding which was announced in early February 2022 worth $27 million or equivalent to 387 billion Rupiah led by Accel and Sequoia Capital India.

It was also stated that the newly raised funds will be focused on customer acquisition and enriching product coverage. Team recruitment will also be a focus in 2022.

Record positive growth

New Astro accommodates users around Jabodetabek. Currently they have operated in 50 points spread across the region. Point of presence (dark store) This is important, because it allows Astro to fulfill orders with a maximum duration of 15 minutes.

Throughout 2022, Astro recorded 10x growth by claiming higher delivery efficiency to customers. Also conveyed, the Astro application has been downloaded almost 1 million times in the first six months. The team lineup has also grown rapidly, now having 200 staff working on a WFA (Work From Anywhere) basis.

“Astro's mission is to make people's lives simpler and easier. Our Astronauts (as the Astro team) continues to serve customers when they need us the most, especially during the recent Omicron Covid-19 spike, where Indonesia experienced an unprecedented number of cases," he said. Astro Co-Founder & CEO Vincent Tjendra.

Astro offers more than 1.500 product SKUs at competitive prices through the app. To increase user retention, a number of strategies were developed. This includes providing UX that considers accessibility for customers of all age groups.

Get into business private label

Astro has also started collaborating with local businesses to launch products private label. Their initial product was bread and coffee --- Astro's initial effort to collaborate with more partners to provide a wider selection of products. Previously, to meet demand during Ramadan, Astro also worked with hydroponic farmers to provide fresh fruit and vegetable products.

Astro is not alone in working on this market segment. A number of other players are also trying to provide similar services, including AlloFresh which was founded by CT Corp and Bukalapak, SayurKilat from SayurBox, Tokopedia Now, Bananas, and so on.

From the data submitted, the potential for fresh food supply services is still very large in Indonesia. Service digitization penetration in the sector is still around 0,4%, compared to E-commerce which has reached 10%. The pandemic also boosts adoption online groceries, it is projected that the sector will be worth $6 billion by 2025.