Participated · Series C · Sep 2019

Founded in 2013, Pomelo operates as both an online and physical fashion retailer offering women’s apparel, shoes, bags, and accessories that blend local, global, and South Korean (Soko) trends. The company employs artificial intelligence to optimize pricing, assist in design decisions, and personalize its e-commerce experience. Currently, Pomelo runs nine stores across Bangkok, Phuket, and Singapore while selling region-wide through its website. Management plans to expand aggressively, targeting 150 branches throughout Southeast Asia by 2023 and establishing new outlets in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Manila, and Ho Chi Minh City. Beyond storefront growth, the firm intends to further develop its supply-chain automation platform to support scaling. To date, Pomelo has secured more than US$83 million in total funding, providing capital for geographic expansion and technology investment. The company is led by CEO David Jou.

Led · Equity · Jan 2019

Grab Financial Group operates as Grab's financial-services arm, delivering digital payments, AutoInvest micro‑investment features, insurance products and other consumer and SME financial services through the Grab app. The unit launched several new financial products for consumers and SMEs in August 2020 and has expanded offerings including micro‑investments and loans. Its revenue grew more than 40% in 2020 versus 2019, driven by consumer adoption of AutoInvest and insurance products. GFG benefits from close operational synergy with Grab, the region’s largest unicorn, which has supported scale and distribution. The broader market for digital financial services in Southeast Asia expanded during the COVID‑19 pandemic, supporting GFG’s growth trajectory. Related strategic moves include Grab-Singtel’s consortium being awarded a full digital-banking license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in December 2020, which could further enable financial-services expansion. Grab began as a ride-hailing service and has expanded into food delivery, hotel booking, and payments. It is especially popular across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The app has been downloaded onto more than 166 million mobile devices in the region. The company has raised nearly $10 billion in total, including a recent over $700 million funding from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has said it wants to make its financial services available to Grab’s users, indicating deeper fintech integration. Grab was founded by Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling in June 2012. Grab is a Singapore-based ride-hailing and super app operator that became Southeast Asia’s undisputed ride-hailing leader after acquiring Uber’s regional business. The company offers on-demand services and payments and is pursuing further expansion across markets such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Grab is exploring a spinout of its financial services business that could attract investors including PayPal and Ant Financial. It is Southeast Asia’s highest-capitalized startup and has been running a large, rolling Series H to fund growth and fend off rivals like Go-Jek. The company has raised $7.5 billion to date following a new $300 million investment from Invesco announced in this article. Prior Series H activity includes a $1 billion capital injection from Toyota last June and contributions that swelled the round to $4.5 billion, with Grab later saying it would add $2 billion to reach a $6.5 billion close. Grab is a Singapore-based ride-hailing company that has expanded into a super app offering mobility, food delivery, parcel delivery, digital payments and financial services. The company is pursuing further platform expansion and plans to build more services on its app across on-demand mobility, delivery and financial services. Recent partnerships include a content streaming tie-up with Hooq and a joint venture with Ping An Good Doctor to develop AI-based medical services. Grab is in an active Series H fundraising process and has attracted significant strategic investors. SoftBank Vision Fund invested $1.46 billion as part of a $4.5 billion Series H round that values the company at about $14 billion, according to CNBC sources. The round also includes strategic capital from automakers Toyota and Hyundai Motor as well as Microsoft, Ping An Capital and OppenheimerFunds, which Grab says demonstrates shareholder and partner interest for continued growth across Southeast Asia. Grab operates ride-hailing, food delivery (Grab Food) and logistics services across eight markets. The company says it has completed three billion rides and claims 130 million downloads. Grab is pursuing an ongoing Series H fundraising, aimed at a sizable capital raise and anchored by a $1 billion investment from Toyota. Other Series H contributors named in reports include Microsoft, Booking Holdings and Yamaha Motors, and SoftBank is transferring its investment to its Vision Fund with plans for further investment. To date Grab has raised $6.8 billion and was most recently valued at $11 billion. The company faces competition from Go-Jek as it expands its regional footprint.