The funding round saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital India and its Southeast Asia Surge fund, Febe Ventures, Antler, as well as new investors Access Ventures, JG Summit and Western Technology Investment.
The proceeds will help the Singapore-headquartered startup to expand its supply chain platform.
The company is adding warehouses, partnering with transport operators, and hiring employees for its Bengaluru office, as per a press statement.
“Currently, the Southeast Asian markets would account for about 80% of our transactions, with Australia being about 20%. For the next year, we are seeing growth across all of these markets with specific emphasis on Singapore, which is often the gateway for new brands entering the region,” cofounder and CEO Constantin Robertz told ET in an interaction.
Locad’s platform was largely built by its technology and engineering team based in Bengaluru. The platform synchronises inventory across sales channels and coordinates end-to-end order fulfilment for B2C and B2B orders, from storage to delivery, through a network of warehouses and shipping partners.
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Founded in 2020, Locad has so far served more than 200 brands in Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong and Australia. According to the company, it has handled more than 2 million transactions.“Tech and data are at the heart of what we’re building here at Locad. To realize this, we’re doubling down on our hiring efforts in key locations such as Bengaluru where we have a strong team of developers and marketers helping grow the product and business end-to-end,” cofounder and chief technology officer Shrey Jain said in the statement.
“We believe that Locad’s logistics engine will spur greater participation in the digital economy as consumers outside of Tier-1 cities can now receive their orders 2-3x faster at a fraction of the usual cost,” said Ervin Lim, vice president, Reefknot Investments.
Locad’s clients include ecommerce and omnichannel business of Levi’s, Reckitt Benckiser and Emma Sleep. It is also expanding access to its logistics infrastructure to growing D2C and mid-market merchants, the company said.
Founded by Robertz, Jain and Jannis Dargel after the trio worked for years in Southeast Asia’s ecommerce, transportation and logistics ecosystem, Locad had last raised $4.9 million as part of a seed-funding round led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge programme in July 2021. It was part of Surge’s fifth cohort of 23 companies.
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