Malaysia-based e-commerce aggregator platform iPrice Group said today at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that it has received USD 10 million in Series B funding led by ACA Investments, an affiliate of Japanese financial institution Daiwa Securities Group Inc.
The latest funding round also saw the participation of Daiwa PI Partners, as well as returning investors Line Ventures and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund. Line Ventures led a USD 4 million investment for iPrice in 2018.
iPrice’s Series B round takes the company’s total funds raised to USD 19.7 million.
Founded in 2014, iPrice allows consumers to compare prices between e-commerce sites. The company claims to have 1.5 billion product listings from more than 1,500 merchant partners, with about 20 million monthly visits. It now operates in six Southeast Asian markets—Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia—in addition to Hong Kong.
Speaking at the event at iPrice’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, iPrice Group CEO and co-founder David Chmelar said the startup has to move beyond merely acting as an e-commerce aggregator. “To pursue our next journey, we need to be where the consumers are,” he said. “We need to engage users directly on our platform, continue our strong presence on Google as it remains a vital starting point for many shoppers, and enable partners across the region.”
This includes leveraging media platforms, social media apps, and emerging super apps to engage shoppers in the region through content such as professional product reviews and in-depth information about sellers. iPrice also publishes a quarterly report ranking popular e-commerce sites in the region.
iPrice said it will give consumers many opportunities to discover new products so that they won’t be “at a loss” in the rapidly changing e-commerce landscape.
The startup said its main iPrice business unit, which accounts for 50% of revenue, is operating at a 30% EBITDA margin, while other parts of the business could be profitable within the next two to three years.