Bezos makes first-ever investment in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce

Amazon's Jeff Bezos made his first investment into Southeast Asia’s e-commerce space, investing RM362.96mil into Indonesian startup Ula. — REUTERS

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos participated in a US$87mil (RM362.96mil) Series B funding for Indonesian startup Ula, marking his first-ever investment in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce space.

Bezos Expeditions, Northstar group, AC Ventures and Citius joined the round co-led by Prosus Ventures, Tencent and B-Capital, the e-commerce marketplace Ula said in a statement on Monday.

The previous fundraising included US$10.5mil (RM43.81mil) seed round in June 2020 and an additional US$20mil (RM83.44mil) Series A round in January this year.

The startup that offers technology solutions to small retailers is seeking to expand its base to include more cities in the Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, explore overseas expansion across the region, develop the buy-now-pay-later offering, as well as building local supply chain and logistics infrastructure.

The startup also named Pandu Sjahrir as an adviser. Sjahrir is holding commissioner roles at the Indonesia Stock Exchange, ride-hailing giant PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, known as Gojek, and the local branch of Singapore’s Sea Ltd., which owns Shopee and online games developer Garena.

Ula is serving more than 70,000 traditional stores on its platform and offers more than 6,000 products. – Bloomberg