Klook, Asia’s leading platform for experiences and travel services and Cyberport unicorn, successfully completed a US$210 million financing, supporting business growth and fortifying financial stability. The equity round is led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from BPEA EQT, Asia investment funds Atinum Investment and Golden Vision Capital, and corporate investment arms from Southeast Asia, including Krungsri Finnovate (under Bank of Ayudhya), Kasikornbank Financial Conglomerate and SMIC SG Holdings. The round also includes bank facilities from Citi, J.P. Morgan, and HSBC.
Klook will strategically allocate the new funds to three key areas for growth. Firstly, in product innovation, expanding its city pass offerings to enhance traveler convenience and savings. Secondly, by scaling social and digital marketing through the Klook Kreator program, driving conversions with authentic, social, user-generated content. Thirdly, by advancing innovation through continuous AI integration. Its recent collaboration with Google Cloud will integrate Generative AI across the platform, covering automated translations, content generation, and customer service chatbot. The company will also collaborate with the new strategic investors in the region, to increase market share and boost growth, tapping into the fast-growing middle class in Southeast Asia.
Two Cyberport community companies from Singapore have also recently closed their respective Series-A rounds to fuel their plans for expansion.
Lendela, a digital loan matchmaking platform that joined the Cyberport start-up community in 2018, raised US$5M in a funding round led by Chocolate Ventures. Existing investor Cocoon Capital also participated in the round, as well as new investors, including Phillip Private Equity and Genting Ventures.
The start-up has developed a platform that matches borrowers with suitable loan options and streamlines the loan application, completing the process in as little as ten minutes. Currently serving over 100,000 customers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Australia, Lendela doubled its revenue growth last year and remains profitable across key markets.
With its fresh capital, Lendela aims to grow its product portfolio and expand its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region. The company also plans to launch in a new market by the third quarter of 2024.
Prior to this round, Lendela had raised a total of US$2.9M, including a pre-Series-A round in 2021 and a seed round in 2018.
Sleek, another Singapore-based company and Cyberport start-up alumnussecured US$14M in its Series-A round.
Sleek’s platform provides a range of digital back-office services to help simplify essential business operations, from company opening and company secretary services to bookkeeping, payroll, tax advisory and employment visa assistance. The company has enabled over 5,000 customers to focus on growing their businesses instead of being bogged down by clerical and administrative responsibilities.
Recently, Sleek introduced a Business Account service to enrich its suite of offerings. This new service allows entrepreneurs and small business owners to open deposit accounts without all the paperwork hassles associated with traditional financial institutions.
Sleek’s round was led by Jungle Ventures and White Star Capital. The company plans to strengthen its tech and product development while expanding its presence beyond Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The company also intends to attract top talent to support its growth.
