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Updated at 8:15 p.m. PT, October 3: In a statement, Ula confirmed TechCrunch’s report. The startup said it raised $ 87 million in its Series B funding round. The round was, as TechCrunch reported, co-led by Prosus Ventures, Tencent and B Capital. Jeff Bezos has invested in the new round.
“We launched in 2020, with a unique mission to give small neighborhood retailers the technology to increase their revenues. We take a long-term approach to solving the underlying problems of traditional retailers by investing in technology, supply chain and data-driven credit offering, ”said Nipun Mehra, Co-Founder and Director General d’Ula, in a statement.
“Ula’s new investors have global expertise and share this long-term corporate mindset. We are grateful to them for believing in Ula’s mission and look forward to learning from their experience reimagining retailing in other emerging markets, ”he added.
Our original story follows:
Indonesian e-commerce startup Ula, which has raised more than $ 30 million and wooed many top investors since launching last year, has now won the trust of the richest person in the world.
The founder of Amazon has invested in the new funding round of the one-and-a-half-year startup, sources and others familiar with the matter told me.
The Jakarta-based company – which counts B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Quona Capital among its existing investors – is at an advanced stage in talks to finalize a new funding round of more than $ 80 million.
Jeff Bezos has agreed to invest in Ula through his family office, Bezos Expeditions, people said, asking for anonymity as the matter is private. B Capital Group, Tencent and Prosus Ventures are positioning themselves to co-lead the cycle, which could end as early as this month.
Bezos’ interest in Ula, which operates a business-to-business e-commerce platform, comes at a time when Amazon has not entered most countries in Southeast Asia – or maintains a limited presence there.
Ula’s public relations representatives did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
Ula helps small retailers solve inefficiencies they face in supply chain, inventory and working capital. It operates an e-commerce wholesale marketplace to help store owners stock only the inventory they need and also gives them working capital.
The startup was founded by Nipun Mehra (former executive of Flipkart in India and former partner of Sequoia Capital India), Alan Wong (who previously worked with Amazon), Derry Sakti (who oversaw the operations of consumer goods giant P&G in Indonesia), and Riky Tenggara (formerly at Lazada and aCommerce).
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