It looks like Singapore will debut it’s second ever unicorn after Grab. Trax Retail has just announced it has raised $100 million at it’s Series D round. Reuters reported that this would put the company’s value at around $1.3 billion.
The number is more than enough to put the startup in the exclusive unicorn club in the country. Despite the huge number of large scaled startup in the country, Singapore has only had one Grab. Which, technically, a part of Malaysian’s too.
HOPU investments, a private equity firm led the $100 million investment. IT is a firm that focuses mainly on China-related venture that plays around the consumer and technology sectors. Boyu Capital, DC Thomson Ventures, Warburg Pincus, Investec and Broad Peak Investment have also previously invested in the company.
Trax Retail future: unicorn, more expansion and NASDAQ IPO
“We are convinced that Trax can grow rapidly in China’s consumer landscape. Trax’s global leading technology and CPG experience, coupled with its entrepreneurial management team, should allow it to quickly capture this white space.” Gunther Hamm – Director of HOPU.
Earlier this year, the company has made an acquisition on US-based company, Shopkick with $200 million. It has also stated a plan for a US IPO within the next two years. And with the newest funding, it is not impossible for the company to go public earlier than two years.
With a headquarter in Singapore, Trax retail works worldwide. It mainly does the research and development in Israel. And the company operates in more than 50 countries around the world.
Trax offers a technology for retail business to monitor their products in the shelves. So that they can get an immediate respond as to whether their marketing strategy works well or not, etc. Big food retail companies such as Coca-Cola, Heineken and Nestle have been using Trax’s technology for a while.
