Lalamove, a Hong Kong-based logistics on-demand service, has closed a $30 million Series B as it begins to consider a public listing.
The company, which was founded as EasyVan three years ago, is currently present in 50 cities in China and five cities across Southeast Asia. It plans to use this new capital to expand to 60 more cities in China and Asia by the end of 2017.
This round takes the company past $60 million raised from investors. The Series B was led by Beijing-based Xianghe Capital, a new VC firm founded by Baidu’s former head of M&A Hesong Tang. New investor Blackhole Capital participated alongside existing Lalamove backers MindWorks Ventures and Crystal Stream.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Blake Larson, Managing Director for International at Lalamove, said the company is close to reaching profitability.
“This round definitely puts us in a very strong position to grow the business while it isn’t easy to raise now, especially in the on-demand space. Already, several of our cities are profitable, we are cash flow positive and we will be profitable by end of the year,” Larson said,
“We now have enough money that we don’t need to raise again, but that doesn’t necessary mean we won’t. We know we have a model that works [so] it’s not a matter of if we can list but when,” he added. “There’s no line in the sand, but we’re in a financial position that we could list in two or two and a half years.”
Larson didn’t say anything further about a future IPO, such as the location that Lalamove might choose.
