Although the firm refused to disclose the exact valuation, this injection has won the firm a place in the coveted unicorn list

Tokopedia CEO and Co-Founder William Tanuwijaya

Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia today confirmed that it has raised a US$1.1 billion investment led by Chinese internet giant Alibaba, with participation from existing investors.

At the company’s anniversary event in Jakarta, Tokopedia CEO William Tanuwijaya announced that Alibaba will be a minority stakeholder in the company.

Although Tanuwijaya refused to disclose the exact valuation at which the funding was injected, this injection has won the firm a place in the coveted unicorn list, along with Go-Jek and Traveloka.

Prior to this funding round, Tokopedia has raised US$100 million from SoftBank Group and Sequoia Capital. It rumoured to have raised another funding round.

Tokopedia plans to use the new funding to strengthen and accelerate their business, build “the best technology R&D centre in Southeast Asia,” and attract new talent who had been building their career abroad to contribute in their home country.

Tokopedia is the second online marketplace in which Alibaba has invested in, after its buying of majority stake in Lazada last year.

Also Read: Choose which battles to lose so you can win the war – Tokopedia CEO William Tanuwijaya

Alibaba’s investment into Tokopedia has been rumoured since July; it was initially reported to raise US$500 million from the Chinese internet giant.

At the same time, Tokopedia has also been reported to be in talks for an investment from Alibaba rival JD.com. No clear information yet on what happened to the deal, but it is likely to have been dropped with Alibaba joining in.

Tanuwijaya said that Alibaba was chosen as the startup aims to learn from a “teacher and role model” with a vast experience in the global e-commerce sector.

He stated that the company has secured two million merchants on its online marketplace, 35 monthly visitors on site and application, with 150 million views.

Founded in 2009, the company is now run by 1,500 employees and has moved into a new office building in South Jakarta —aptly named the Tokopedia Tower.

The funding news came only one day after Indonesian fashion e-commerce platform Sale Stock announced a US$27 million Series B+ funding round from Gobi Partners, Alpha JWC Ventures, Convergence Ventures, Golden Equator, KIP, MNC, and SMDV.

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Image Credit: Tokopedia

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