South Korean premium grocery-delivery firm Kurly has procured funding of US$150M from its existing investors.
Backers contributing to the Series E funding round were Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital, and DST Global, placing the firm’s valuation at roughly $780M, according to Deal Street Asia.
Despite the positive outlook as successful attraction of more than KRW400bn ($329M) over five rounds, the firm remains in the red as labour and operational costs drain profits while competition intensifies. It is expected that the coronavirus epidemic may yield a positive benefit to the firm as South Koreans stay home to avoid infection and order their food online.
The Market Kurly app introduced the “full cold-chain” temperature-controlled supply chain system to the country, allowing users to order fresh produce in the evening to be delivered to the home by dawn.
