Kurly Inc. Raises $200 Mn In Series F Funding The startup will use new capital to invest in advancing its proprietary technology and top talent while reach new customers through the expansion of overnight delivery services and to continue innovating Korea's fast-growing mobile grocery market
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Kurly Inc., the operator of Korea's mobile grocery shopping app Market Kurly, on Friday, announced that it has raised $200 million in Series F funding round at a $2.2 billion post-money valuation. This funding round was led by major existing investors including Aspex Management, DST Global, Sequoia Capital China and Hillhouse Capital, and participated by new investors including Millennium Management, a global investment management firm with approximately $52 billion in assets under management, and CJ Logistics Corporation, a Korean logistics company who has recently signed an MOU with Kurly in a joint effort to broaden the company's overnight delivery services nationwide.
"We are excited to continue to support Markey Kurly with our investment. Korea is one of the fastest-growing and largest e-commerce markets globally, and Kurly has been the leader in e-Commerce innovation. They have built a consumer-centric brand focused on superior product quality and user experience. We believe there is significant potential ahead of Kurly from expansion into other consumer categories and new geographies. Aspex is looking forward to many years of growth with Kurly," said Hermes Li, founder and portfolio manager, Aspex Management.
With its growth and continued leadership in the highly competitive Korean mobile grocery market, the company achieved a $2.2 billion in post-money valuation in this round. Kurly generated $845 million in annual sales in 2020, marking a 124 per cent year-over-year growth.
The company believes that margins will also continue to grow as it achieves scale and operational efficiency while offering quality products and services.
With funds from this round, Kurly plans to further advance its service technology and enhance operational efficiency. From innovating automated supply chain systems to augmenting ordering and payment platforms, Kurly is pinpointing its focused approach at e-Commerce fulfillment to satisfy growing customer demands. Kurly also plans to invest in a pipeline of top talents to engineer its innovations and continue to create value for its customers.
"This funding round is a testament to Kurly's contributions in transforming customer's everyday habit of conducting grocery shopping at physical stores into a more convenient way of shopping online by offering a superior selection of products through its innovative delivery service. The Company has also been successful in bringing merchandises to the customers at a reasonable price through service technology empowered by the use of its proprietary data analytics. We are delighted to have new capital which would allow us to further invest in logistics infrastructure, people and technology to continue to innovate mobile grocery market and improve lives of consumers, producers and workers," added Seul-A Kim, chief executive officer and founder, Kurly.
In addition, Kurly plans to invest in its logistics infrastructure and the expansion of its geographical footprint. In March 2021 the company established its logistics facilities at Gimpo fulfillment center, the largest temperature-controlled logistics center in Korea to date, which has allowed the Company to procure more than twice as much order volume as before its facility establishment at Gimpo. Also, Kurly has broadened its coverage of overnight delivery services to major cities in Chungcheong province in May of this year and targets to introduce its feature services to Southern provinces in Korea later this year to further its geographic footprint and reach new customers throughout Korea.
As an industry leader in the matters of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability, Kurly has been actively implementing various initiatives including All Paper Challenge campaign in 2019 featuring the usage of 100 per cent FSC approved paper for all of the company's delivery packaging and the introduction of "Purple Box' in 2021 to promote reduced use of packaging materials, among many others.
