Singapore's Carousell valued at US$1.1 billion after bagging US$100 million in new funding

SINGAPORE: Online classifieds marketplace Carousell has raised US$100 million in a fresh round of funding, taking its valuation to US$1.1 billion, it said on Wednesday (Sep 15).

The latest round of funding was led by Korean private equity firm STIC Investments. 

The valuation means that Carousell has joined the "unicorn" club of start-ups, which refers to companies valued more than US$1 billion. 

"The investment will power the group’s ambitions to redefine commerce for secondhand goods and automobiles in an increasingly digitally savvy, affluent and sustainability-conscious region," said the company in a media release. 

Carousell CEO Quek Siu Rui said that STIC's investment was "a validation of our mission and strategic direction". 

"We’ll deepen our investments in recommerce across more categories and markets, and will continue to seek opportunistic acquisitions in scaling up," said Mr Quek, who is also co-founder of the company. 

STIC's managing director Jason Cho added that the firm was "highly confident" that Carousell will be at the center of the secondhand economy in the region at a time when more "environmentally conscious consumers are shifting towards a circular economy". 

Mr Cho will join Carousell's board of directors as part of the funding round. 

Founded in August 2012, Carousell began in Singapore and now operates in eight markets across Asia.

The company's previous backers include Telenor Group, Rakuten Ventures, Naver and Sequoia Capital India. 

The company is looking at authentication capabilities for higher-value products, including luxury goods and cars.

"Our goal is to make transacting in a secondhand marketplace as convenient and trusted as any e-commerce platform so that secondhand can truly be the first choice," said Mr Quek.