THAILAND- Line Man Wongnai, a Thai food, and package delivery service, has raised US$265 million in the latest funding round thus becoming the newest startup unicorn in the country.
The funding was led by Singaporean sovereign fund GIC Pte. Other investors included Taiwan Mobile Co., BRV Capital Management and PTT Oil & Retail Business Pcl.
The company plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its food delivery business, expand into new services and upgrade its technological infrastructure.
The start-up, which is also backed by billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group, was established in 2020 following the combination of Line Man’s on-demand platform and Wongnai restaurant review services into an e-commerce app.
Line Man Wongnai, which has more than 700,000 restaurants on its platform and created 100,000 delivery jobs across Thailand, saw its business take off during the pandemic as consumers holed up at home turned to food deliveries.
The company said it is aiming to have an initial public offer (IPO) within the next few years.
It competes with Singapore-based super app Grab and Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda in Thailand.
At least three other unicorns have emerged from Thailand in recent years, including logistics and courier service Flash Group, digital payments firm Ascend Money and crypto exchange Bitkub.
Yod Chinsupakul, CEO, Line Man Wongnai, said “We are committed to driving Thailand forward. Today, we promise to bring best-in-class and tailor-made products and services to help Thai people live better.”
Recently, the start-up gathered 13 famous brand partners providing products and discounts of more than 100,000 rights to help restaurants fight the inflation crisis.
Recently, the start-up gathered 13 famous brand partners providing products and discounts of more than 100,000 rights to help restaurants fight the inflation crisis.
Some of the partners include Unilever, Islander, Golden Mountain, DD Paper Cup DezpaX among others.
They offered free distribution of basic ingredients necessary to operate a restaurant business, including cooking ingredients, cooking gas, packaging, cleaning products, coffee equipment, and internet packages.
Mr. Ekkaluck Wiriyakowitthaya Chief Operating Officer, Lifestyle & Solution Services, at the firm, said that the collaboration will help restaurants reduce costs and increase sales at the same time and encourage those on the platform to maintain a consistent level of quality.
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