Series F Funding Round Gojek Closed in January 2020, Continue to Plan IPO?

As previously noted, startup decacorn Gojek is currently raising funds in a series F round. The company is targeting new funds of $3 billion (equivalent to 42,2 trillion Rupiah) to support accelerated expansion in the regional arena.

Last round announced last September 2019 with the participation of insurance and investment company AIA Indonesia. Previously in July 2019, Visa and three Mitsubishi business units also joined. Including Astra in March 2019 and Google, JD.com, and Tencent Holdings in October 2018.

In an event in Singapore, Co-CEO Gojek Andre Soelistyo said that the series F round is likely to be closed in January 2020. It is estimated that the company has currently booked around $2 billion. Said to be giant E-commerce Amazon is in talks to strategic partnership with Gojek.

Possible IPO

On another occasion, in an interview with the Commissioner Gojek Boy Thohir, it was stated that every existing business unit has been designed to gain profit in the future. According to him, the new investment round that is being raised is part of the growth plan (growth).

"In the future, every part of the business Gojek will profit. The goal is to reach a certain size. In order to achieve this, you have to spend money first. When it reaches its growth target, Gojek akan profitable, said Boy.

He will also encourage companies to conduct public offerings (IPOs). "I think every startup will develop into a public company. This is a way for investors to exit."

Boy also directs Gojek to go public on the stock exchange. He also continues to encourage the IDX to be more proactive in providing added value to startups so they are more interested in doing IPOs in Indonesia.

Andre also conveyed the IPO plan in Press conference 9th birthday Gojek in Jakarta (02/11). Currently, the company is already preparing steps to go there, although it has not yet determined the best time. It is also confirmed that the IDX will be an option, because there is an opportunity for the company to register in two places (dual listings).

Expansion news

Currently Gojek has started to enter the market in several countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore. Meanwhile in Malaysia and the Philippines it is in the ripening stage. The latest news is that they have formed a strategic partnership with the largest taxi company in Singapore, Trans-Cab. As of December 2019, taxi services can be ordered through the application Gojek. Meanwhile in Malaysia, the local government has given permission to Gojek to conduct a due diligence on motorcycle taxi services online in 2020.

"Growth in Thailand and Vietnam is very good. Gojek potential to become a market leader. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is the biggest market. Players who dominate the Indonesian market become champions, because they represent half of the regional market," said Boy.

He also commented on his competitors, Grab, which currently has a higher valuation. "I believe Gojek will be the champion in Southeast Asia. Even as its competitors probably have more funds. I think money is not everything. Indonesian companies must support Gojek."

In addition to transportation services, at this time Gojek has operated various types of services. Including the newest platform video on demand GoPlay. Platforms digital wallets his also managed to penetrate the market. According to reports Fintech Report 2019, GoPay is a service digital wallets most widely used in Indonesia.