Kurly lands $210M pre-IPO at a $3.3B valuation just months after its last funding

Just half a year after its last Series F round announcement, Korean online grocery startup Kurly has closed a $210 million in a pre-IPO round from single backer Anchor Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm. 

The latest funding brings its total raised to approximately $761 million and values the company at $3.3 billion.  

The Seoul-based startup that provides next-day grocery delivery services across the country will use the fresh capital to advance its data infrastructure and logistics service and recruit talent.  

The news comes on the heels of the announcement of its local IPO, shifting the listing location from the NYSE. The Korean Exchange has eased listing requirements for a startup that values more than $854 million (1trillion won) to attract technology startups. 

Kurly expects its estimated company valuation after the listing up to approximately $5.8 billion. The company plans to file an IPO application early next year, aiming to go public in the first half of 2022. 

Kurly claims a total of 10 million users and of that amount, more than 2.4 million are monthly active users, a spokesperson at Kurly said. 

Kurly’s sales have improved 100% since inception, based on its press release. It generated $845 million of sales and $97 million of operating loss in 2020, as reported. 

Kurly was the first company in South Korea to deliver premium food early in the morning the next day when it launched back in 2015. Local competitors later adopted the overnight delivery service. 

Its previous backers include DST Global, Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital, Aspex Management, MiraeAsset Venture Investment, and Korea-based strategic investors CJ Logistics and SK Networks.