- RedDoorz announced a fresh investment of USD 70M. The funding comes in quick succession after its US$45M round due to high investor demand.
- This new investment is the first close of a larger Series C round and is led by Asia Partners with participation from new investors Rakuten Capital and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund.
- The new capital will be used for market and product line expansions, and to build a second tech hub in Vietnam amongst other growth initiatives.
- The Philippines is one of the fastest growing countries for RedDoorz. Local operations have expanded to 150+ hotels in more than 10 cities since its launch in 2018.
RedDoorz, Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing hotel management and booking platform, recently announced that it raised US$70 million as first close of a larger Series C funding.
Leading the round is Asia Partners, a Singapore-based growth equity firm founded by senior executives with an exceptional track record in scaling multi-billion tech companies (Sea, Naspers, Bukalapak) globally and across the region. RedDoorz is the first portfolio company of Asia Partners, which focuses on growth-stage investments in technology and technology-enabled companies in Southeast Asia.
Two other leading funds, Rakuten Capital and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, joined the round. Existing investors Qiming Venture Partners and International Finance Corporation (IFC) also reiterated their support by participating in the round.
The startup’s Series C investment follows shortly after RedDoorz announced its Series B funding of US$45 million in April 2019. The new funding brings the total amount of funds raised by the company to approximately US$140 million since its launch in 2015.
RedDoorz is now among the best-funded startups in Singapore and, specifically, is the best funded company in its category of online affordable accommodations across Southeast Asia.
Amit Saberwal, Founder and CEO of RedDoorz said, “We are thrilled to welcome a new group of seasoned investors joining us in our mission to build the leading tech-enabled affordable travel brand in Southeast Asia. This new round is a testament to our strong business growth and market leadership position we were able to build during the last few years. RedDoorz operates in some of the most dynamic markets in the world and we see tremendous opportunities to continue growing our platform and expanding into new markets.”
“We believe we are on the right track to create the next tech unicorn in Southeast Asia and with the backing of our new investors, who bring deep expertise building large successful tech and digital businesses in our region, we are well positioned to fully execute on our strategy and mission.”
RedDoorz will use the new funds to launch in new markets and scale technology, customer experience projects, people and marketing investments to further strengthen its leadership position in the region. A significant portion of the latest proceeds will be used to build a second engineering hub in Vietnam which will complement the current regional tech hub based out of India.
The company also plans to ramp up its hotel staff and quality training programmes across all properties in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines as it helps employ approximately 10,000 people across the region through its hotel partners.
In the Philippines, RedDoorz has already created more than 1,000 jobs since the company launched in the country in 2018. The company grew its network of properties to more than 150 hotels across 10 cities during the first quarter of 2019, including locations in Metro Manila, Baguio, Pampanga, Tagaytay, Palawan, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao. RedDoorz has also recently added Bohol, General Santos City, Roxas City and Caticlan as new destinations that can now be explored by the Filipino consumers. These will be followed by new launches in Boracay Island, Antique, Capiz, Negros Occidental, Dumaguete, and Tacloban City by end of the year as the company continues to pursue an aggressive nationwide expansion.
The lead investor for this round, Asia Partners, was launched in 2019 by a team of senior executives who were involved in two of emerging Asia’s most notable exits: the largest IPO (initial public offering) for a Southeast Asia startup (Sea Ltd.) and the largest tech cash exit in Asia’s history (Flipkart’s sale to Walmart).
Oliver M. Rippel and Nicholas A. Nash, Co-Founders and Partners of Asia Partners said, “Our mission is to help build and mentor Southeast Asia’s next generation of tech unicorns. Our team has a unique combination of investing and operating skills to help companies such as RedDoorz become true market leaders. We have every confidence in the team’s ability to capture the enormous opportunity which exists in the affordable travel segment. This investment affirms our belief in RedDoorz’s vision and plan for the region.”
Rakuten Capital, the corporate venture arm of Japanese Internet services giant Rakuten Group, has invested in regional leading companies such as Gojek, Carousell and Shopback. The Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, a joint venture between Seoul-based Mirae Financial Group and Internet company Naver Corporation, counts HappyFresh and BigBasket as portfolio companies and also recently participated in Grab’s US$1 billion Series H round.