Market Kurly Raises 200 Billion Won Amid COVID-19... Cumulative Investment Surpasses 400 Billion Won

Series E Funding Round Completed
DST Global Emerges as New Lead Investor
"Continuous Innovation Amid High Growth in Online Grocery Shopping"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Market Kurly, the operator of the dawn delivery specialist 'Market Kurly,' has successfully raised 200 billion KRW in Series E funding. This is not only the largest investment raised in the company's history but also ranks first in terms of single investment amounts for domestic startups this year.

Kurly announced on the 8th that it has completed its fifth round of funding worth 200 billion KRW. New lead investor DST Global, along with existing investors Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Fuse Venture Partners (formerly Global Venture Partners), SK Networks, Translink Capital, and Aspex Management participated in the round.

As a result, Kurly's total cumulative investment over five years has increased to 420 billion KRW. Given that venture investment sentiment worldwide had frozen due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), this signifies external recognition. Kurly was recently ranked 11th among the 500 fastest-growing companies in the Asia-Pacific region by the Financial Times.

Revenue growth has also been steep. From its founding year in 2015 to 2019, when it achieved 428.9 billion KRW, Kurly showed an average annual growth rate of 3.5 times. The logistics center area expanded 4.9 times, and shipment volume increased 2.9 times, strengthening its fulfillment services. By the end of this year, it plans to open the Gimpo logistics center, which is 2.5 times larger than its existing logistics centers.

John Lindfors, partner and Asia representative of DST Global, who newly joined as lead investor, said, "After observing the Korean market and Kurly for several years, Kurly has continued high growth in the rapidly expanding online grocery market and was the first to introduce the dawn delivery service. They have demonstrated continuous innovation in logistics and played a pioneering role in changing Korean consumers' grocery shopping habits, which led us to decide to invest."

Kim Seul-ah, CEO of Kurly, stated, "This investment is a result created together by investors who believed in Kurly's potential despite difficult investment conditions, customers who love and trust Market Kurly, and employees who have built a widely used service." She added, "We will continue to enhance the completeness of Market Kurly's services, lead both quantitative and qualitative growth in the online grocery market, and do our best to provide services that repay consumer trust for a long time."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.