Indonesia-based travel marketplace company Traveloka is said to be in funding talks to raise US$400 million in a new investment round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. This would bring the firm’s valuation to US$4.1 billion, according to The Information on Thursday citing anonymous sources.
Bloomberg also reported on this new funding round, citing people close to the matter. According to these sources, Traveloka will use the new funds to expand into travel activities “like concerts or amusement parks”.
Currently serving the flight and hotel booking market, the six-year-old tech company was last valued at US$2 billion in 2017 after it raised nearly US$500 million led by Expedia with participation from East Ventures, Hillhouse Capital Group, JD.com, and Sequoia Capital, of which US$350 million can be attributed to Expedia.
While Traveloka was started in Indonesia, it has gone on to target a wider market in Southeast Asia as more middle-class consumers are travelling within the region. A 2016 study by Google and Temasek expects Southeast Asia’s online travel spend to hit $76 billion by 2025, and that online travel startups are amongst one of the top three areas for entrepreneurs in the region.
Takeaways:
— By placing more emphasis on activities and attractions, Traveloka might be encroaching further on the territory of Hong Kong-based activity marketplace Klook, which has just raised US$200 million in a Series D round. Klook, while expanding its footprint all over the world, has been building up a presence in Southeast Asia for several years.
Editor: Nadine Freischlad