Carousell raises 85$ Million in funding

Singapore classifieds marketplace Carousell has raised US$85 million in series-C funding. The round was co-led by Rakuten Ventures and EDBI, with participation from existing investors 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures and Sequoia India, as well as new investor DBS.

A pioneer of mobile classifieds in 2012, Carousell will use the capital injection to accelerate its product innovation to reimagine classifieds. A key component will be investment into talent and deep technology capabilities.

“In the past six years, we’ve gathered a lot more data, feedback and learnings about the problems and friction people face when buying and selling online. We are laser-focused on solving these problems with technology and catering to local cultural norms and behaviours in Southeast Asia while ultimately serving our core mission of inspiring everyone in the world to start selling,” says co-founder/CEO Siu Rui Quek.

“The investment will enable us to continue building up our teams with top-tier talent to accelerate our development of highly anticipated features, and more AI and machine learning capabilities.”

In the two years following its last round of funding, Carousell’s seven-country marketplace has quadrupled in volume globally, featuring more than 144 million listings and 50 million items sold. Carousell began to realise its AI vision last year with the launch of predictive features like Smart Listings, personalised browsing and chatting.

In the past year, Carousell has also expanded its marketplace offerings in Singapore with high-value categories such as cars, property, jobs, services and finance. In conjunction with the investment, DBS and Carousell will be collaborating to offer financial products and payment services on Carousell’s platforms.