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Start-up RedDoorz raises $70 million in first close of Series C funding
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Friday, 23 August, 2019, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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RedDoorz, South-East Asia’s largest and fastest-growing hotel management and booking platform, raised $70 million as first close of a larger Series C funding.
Leading the round is Asia Partners, a Singapore-based growth equity firm founded by senior executives with an exceptional track record in scaling multi-billion tech companies (Sea, Naspers and Bukalapak) globally and across the region.
RedDoorz is the first portfolio company of Asia Partners, which focusses on growth-stage investments in technology and technology-enabled companies in Southeast Asia.
Two other leading funds, Rakuten Capital and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, joined the round.
Existing investors Qiming Venture Partners and International Finance Corporation (IFC) also reiterated their support by participating in the round.
The start-up’s Series C investment soon after RedDoorz announced its Series B funding of US$45 million in April 2019, due to the high investor demand.
The new funding brings the total amount of funds raised by the company to approximately $140 million since its launch in 2015.
RedDoorz is now among the best-funded start-ups in Singapore and, specifically, is the best funded company in its category of online affordable accommodations across South-East Asia.
Amit Saberwal, founder and chief executive officer, RedDoorz, said, “We are thrilled to welcome a new group of seasoned investors joining us in our mission to build the leading tech-enabled affordable travel brand in South-East Asia.”
“This new round is a testament to our strong business growth and market leadership position, we were able to build during the last few years. RedDoorz operates in some of the most dynamic markets in the world, and we see tremendous opportunities to continue growing our platform and expanding into new markets,” he added.
“We believe we are on the right track to create the next tech unicorn in South-East Asia and with the backing of our new investors, who bring deep expertise building large successful tech and digital businesses in our region, we are well positioned to fully execute on our strategy and mission,” Saberwal said.
RedDoorz will use the new funds to launch in new markets and scale technology, customer experience projects, people and marketing investments to further strengthen its leadership position in the region.
A significant portion of the latest proceeds will be used to build a second engineering hub in Vietnam, which will complement the current regional tech hub, based out of India.
The India tech hub currently employs over 60 employees across engineering, product management, UI/UX roles and is responsible for all technology initiatives, including websites and apps development, that powers the experience for RedDoorz's customers and hotel partners across Southeast Asia.
It is also focussing on advancing technology innovation projects such as RedFox, its proprietary dynamic pricing and inventory management system.
The company also plans to ramp up its hotel staff and quality training programmes across all properties in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, as it helps employ approximately 10,000 people across the region through its hotel partners.
The lead investor for this round, Asia Partners, was launched in 2019 by a team of senior executives, who were involved in two of emerging Asia’s most notable exits: the largest IPO (initial public offering) for a South-East Asian start-up (Sea Ltd) and the largest tech cash exit in Asia’s history (Flipkart’s sale to Walmart).
Oliver M Rippel and Nicholas A Nash, co-founders and partners, Asia Partners, said, “Our mission is to help build and mentor South-East Asia’s next generation of tech unicorns. Our team has a unique combination of investing and operating skills to help companies such as RedDoorz become true market leaders.”
“We have every confidence in the team’s ability to capture the enormous opportunity which exists in the affordable travel segment. This investment affirms our belief in RedDoorz’s vision and plan for the region,” they added.
Rakuten Capital, the corporate venture arm of Japanese Internet services giant Rakuten Group, has invested in regional leading companies such as Gojek, Carousell and Shopback.
The Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, a joint venture between Seoul-based Mirae Financial Group and Internet company Naver Corporation, counts HappyFresh and BigBasket as portfolio companies, and recently participated in Grab’s $1 billion Series H round.
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