iPrice Group, the Southeast Asian e-commerce aggregator platform, has raised $10 million in its Series B funding round led by ACA Investments, a Daiwa-linked fund management company.
The round was also participated by Daiwa PI Partners, LINE Ventures and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund.
The Malaysian startup last raised an undisclosed round from Korean internet giant, Naver, in August 2018. Its other early investors include regional venture capital firms, Cento Ventures and Venturra Capital. iPrice Group seeks to expand beyond price comparison, its mainstay since its inception in 2014.
The company operates three business lines at the moment: price comparison for electronics, health and beauty; product discovery for fashion and home and living; and coupons for all verticals. According to a statement, iPrice’s price comparison unit accounts for 50 per cent of its revenues, operating at a 30 per cent EBITDA margin. It also aims to turn other business units to similar profitability in the next 2 to 3 years.
iPrice Group CEO and co-founder David Chmelař shared that the company will move closer to its consumers in this next stage of growth.
To pursue our next journey, we need to be where the consumers are. 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, such as media platforms, social media apps, and all the emerging super apps, to provide e-commerce content for their audience.
— David Chmelař, Co-founder and CEO of iPrice Group
Apart from providing consumers with a list of popular products, reviews and in-depth information about sellers, iPrice also offers online bargains by curating coupons and deals daily. The statement added that iPrice has also been expanding its service with apps like LINE and Home Credit.
iPrice has the potential to become the biggest e-commerce aggregator in the entire Asian continent… Aside from this, iPrice’s strong management, deep understanding of SEA’s consumer behavior, and diverse, talented staff from various countries have given us the confidence to invest in this company.
— Hirofumi Imamura, Director of Daiwa PI Partners
iPrice Group currently operates in seven countries across Southeast Asia — Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. It reports having clocked 5 million transactions and over 20 million monthly visitors on its platform in 2019.
Originally published by Dealstreet Asia.