Jeff Bezos in talks to back Indonesian e-commerce Ula – ProWellTech
One-a-half-year-old Indonesian e-commerce startup Ula, which has raised over $30 million and courted many high-profile investors, is inching closer to adding one of the biggest tech profiles to its captable.
The Jakarta-headquartered startup — which counts B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Quona Capital among its existing investors — is in advanced stages of talks to finalize a new round of over $80 million in which Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and world’s richest person, is also investing, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Bezos has agreed to invest in Ula through his family office, Bezos Expeditions, sources said. B Capital Group, Tencent and Prosus Ventures are positioning to co-lead the round, which could close as soon as this month.
Bezos’ interest in Ula, which operates a business-to-business e-commerce platform, comes at a time when Amazon has either not entered most Southeast Asian nations — or maintains a limited presence there.
Public relations reps of Ula did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
Ula helps small retailers solve inefficiencies that they face in supply chain, inventory and working capital. It operates a wholesale e-commerce marketplace to help store owners stock only the inventory they need, and also grants them with working capital.
The startup was founded by Nipun Mehra (a former executive of Flipkart in India), Alan Wong (who previously worked with Amazon), Derry Sakti (who oversaw consumer goods giant P&G’s operations in Indonesia), and Riky Tenggara (formerly with Lazada and aCommerce).
