Malaysia’s first tech unicorn Carsome Group, which operates a Southeast Asian used-car online marketplace, is said to be cutting “hundreds of jobs” to reduce costs as it works to reach profitability ahead of a potential stock-market listing, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
The company has scaled down its operations significantly in those two markets, which it entered in 2017, the people added. It has about 4,000 employees.
Carsome delayed its dual listing plans in Singapore and the US scheduled for last year on concerns that deteriorating macroeconomic conditions could dent its valuation. The company expects to break even this year and is set to achieve its first full year of profitability in 2024, chief executive officer Eric Cheng said earlier. Carsome is preparing to be ready for an initial public offering, and when there is a window, the company can list quickly, he reportedly said.
Carsome raised $290 million early last year at a valuation of $1.7 billion in a series E round led by the Qatar Investment Authority as well as 65 Equity Partners and Seatown Private Capital Master Fund, both of which are backed by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte. The round also saw participation from investors such as Mediatek, Sunway, Gokongwei Group, YTL Group, and Taiwan Mobile.
Carsome has become Malaysia’s first tech unicorn as part of a share-swap deal that take a stake in iCar Asia in July 2021.
Founded in 2015, Carsome has expanded into Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. The company works with more than 13,000 dealers and sold more than 150,000 cars last year.
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