Mobile Applications Developed by Unicorn Startups in Southeast Asia

Mobile Applications Developed by Unicorn Startups in Southeast Asia

Several Southeast Asian startups have achieved unicorn status, some of which are developers of mobile applications that are widely used in the region.

The term “unicorn,” a reference to the rare mythical beast, describes any privately-owned startup worth US$1 billion or more. The name, coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013, acknowledged that such valuations were unusual at that time. However, in the past years, there has been a dramatic transformation in the startup scene. Capital investment into private companies significantly increased with remarkable speed. Consequently, unicorns became less rare and their value has grown to US$1.1 trillion. Among these unicorns, almost half are from the United States of America and several are from China (See: The 10 biggest unicorns in the world – mapped / World Economic Forum).

However, the emergence of unicorn startups is not limited to the US and China. In 2018, professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) conducted a survey among 700 business leaders. The said research indicated that the majority named the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as “the economy with the right conditions to spark the next unicorn startup.” (See: Where will the next unicorn start-up in Asia Pacific come from? / PwC).

The Rise of Unicorn Startups in Southeast Asia

Over recent years, Southeast Asia (SEA) has become one of the leading regions in the rising startup industry across the globe. This is due to a large number of funds being invested in the region as venture capital. In fact, a report by Bain & Company indicated that there were 524 investment deals in 2017 alone, four times as many as that of 2012 (See: Investing in Southeast Asia: What’s behind the boom? / Bain & Company).

Additionally, a study by investment company JLL found that US$4.8 billion of US$7.8 billion of global investments were injected into the region from 2013 to 2017. As a result of the interest and the continuous business, economic, and technological growth in SEA, the region is dubbed as a prospect investment hub and is expected to produce 10 unicorn startups by 2024 (See: 10 Unicorn Startups in Southeast Asia / Flexisource).

Southeast Asian Mobile Applications That Have Achieved Unicorn Status

The surge in the growth of the Southeast Asian digital economy has led to the development of eight tech unicorns at present. These businesses have developed apps popular in the region and even worldwide. These startups are now leading in their respective industries on a regional and global scale: from e-commerce to gaming to ride-hailing (See: The six tech unicorns of Southeast Asia / ASEAN UP). Here are the apps developed by Southeast Asian Unicorns:

Grab

Grab image

“Grab” is an all-in-one platform that provides transportation services in almost all ASEAN countries. Grab founder Anthony Tan conceptualized the idea behind the app after his classmate complained about how difficult it is to hail a taxi in Malaysia (See: Everything you need to know about Grab / TechEdt).

Today, the app’s services include ride-hailing, food delivery service, and cashless payment solutions. Similar to Uber, Grab allows users to conveniently book private cars and taxis from the region’s largest community of drivers, order food delivery from their favorite restaurants, and make cashless in-app payments and at merchants within the city (See: Grab – Transport, Food Delivery, Payments / Google Play Store).

App name Grab
Company name, origin country Grab Taxi Holdings Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Release date June 2012 as MyTeksi (Reference)
Countries available Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia
Languages supported English, Burmese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Malay, Simplified Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 160 million downloads (Reference)
Company value US$14 billion as of 2019 (Reference)
Funding GGV Capital, Tiger Global Management, Vertex Ventures, Softbank Capital, Softbank (Reference)
Campaigns Last June 2019, Grab implemented its “Gratitude” campaign where the company provided complimentary bottles of water in their cars. (Reference)
Customer support strategies Grab’s official websiteHelp Center provides easy-to-understand information on how to solve problems in each service and various situations. If users are still experiencing difficulty, they can contact Grab through its assistance hotline.

Garena

Garena image

The “Garena” app is developed by the Singaporean game startup Sea. The Sea Group, formerly known as Garena, has the largest gaming service in Southeast Asia and provided the platform for some of the industry’s most popular games like Defense of the Ancients, League of Legends, and Arena of Valor (See: 10 Unicorn Startups in Southeast Asia / Flexisource).

With the Garena app, users can play hit mobile games developed by Sea, use special features to win rewards for various games, check game statistics, as well as chat with other Garena users (See: Garena / Google Play Store).

App name Garena
Company name, origin country Garena Online Private Ltd (Singapore)
Release date April 21, 2014 (Reference)
Languages supported English, Danish, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 10,000,000+ downloads (Reference)
Company value Over US$10 billion as of 2019 (Reference)
Funding Tencent Holdings, General Atlantic, Hillhouse Capital Group, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Toivo Annus (Reference)
Campaigns Garena holds landmark regional esports events such as the Garena World tournament in Bangkok (Reference)
Customer support strategies Garena’s Support Page provides answers to frequently asked questions and gives players access to email inquiries.

Gojek

Gojek image

“Gojek” was developed in Indonesia and started out as a ride-hailing app for motorcycles, locally referred to as “ojek.” Today, it has expanded to a full on-demand service platform which includes transportation, food delivery, logistics, payment, and daily services (See: The 10 unicorn startups in SouthEast Asia you should know about / TechSauce). Additionally, Gojek prides itself as an app with a social mission of helping improve the welfare and livelihood of the Indonesian people (Gojek / Google Play Store).

App name Gojek
Company name, origin country PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (Indonesia)
Release date January 6, 2015 (Reference)
Countries available Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore (Reference)
Languages supported English (Reference)
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 25 million (Reference)
Company value US$11 billion as of 2019 (Reference)
Funding Tencent Holdings, Sequoia Capital India, Warburg Pincus, Temasek Holdings, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (Reference)
Campaigns #LifeWithoutLimits CampaignGO-FOOD: Menu Terserah (The ‘Optional’ Menu) CampaignGO-JEK Versi Kamu or #YourGOJEK Campaign#CariPahala Campaign#AnakBangsaBisa Campaign(Reference)
Customer support strategies Users can reach out to the Gojek support team at drivercare.sg@go-jek.com or by calling the customer support hotline.

Tokopedia

Tokopedia image

“Tokopedia,” whose name comes from “toko,” which means “store” in Indonesian, and “pedia,” a suffix derived from encyclopedia, is the leading online marketplace platform in Indonesia (See: The 10 unicorn startups in SouthEast Asia you should know about / TechSauce). The app allows users to shop for various items from trusted merchants, pay their monthly bills, buy and reserve travel tickets, receive interesting vouchers and gift cards, manage finances and investments, as well as find product recommendations (See: Tokopedia / Google Play Store).

App name Tokopedia
Company name, origin country Tokopedia PT (Indonesia)
Release date June 23, 2015 (Reference)
Countries available Indonesia (Reference)
Languages supported English, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese 
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 90 million (Reference)
Company value US$7 billion as of 2018 (Reference)
Funding Sequoia Capital India, East Ventures, Alibaba Group, CyberAgent Capital, SoftBank Ventures Asia (Reference
Campaigns Tokopedia’s #MulaiAjaDulu (“Just Start It”) series (Reference)
Customer support strategies Users can contact Tokopedia Customer Support through phone, email, or social media (Reference)

Traveloka

Tokopedia image

“Traveloka” is an all-in-one travel platform that has established partnerships with roughly 100 domestic and international airlines, covering over 200,000 international routes. Unlike typical online travel agencies, Traveloka also offers other services such as trip booking, domestic airport transportation, and train booking (See: The 10 unicorn startups in South East Asia you should know about / TechSauce). The app also offers exclusive membership discounts and daily promos to its users (See: Traveloka / Google Play Store).

App name Traveloka
Company name, origin country Trinusa Travelindo, PT (Indonesia)
Release date July 31, 2014 (Reference)
Countries available Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia
Languages supported English, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese
Download links App Store / Google Play Store 
Number of active and registered users 35 million (Reference)
Company value US$4.5 billion as of 2019 (Reference
Funding Sequoia Capital, Global Founders Capital, East Ventures, Hillhouse Capital Group, GIC (Reference)
Campaigns “Traveloka Xperience” platform for travel and lifestyle activity booking (Reference)
Customer support strategies Users can contact Traveloka customer support through the following links:Frequently asked questions
Email support

Live chat and call center options are also available.

Bukalapak

Bukalapak image

“Bukalapak,” blended from the Indonesian words “buka” and “lapak” meaning “open” and “a stall” respectively, is another online marketplace giant in Indonesia. The app serves as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) buying and selling platform. With Bukalapak, users can easily open an in-app online store, as well as buy from any stores all over Indonesia. Additionally, the app prides itself as a reliable online trading platform with a 100% money-back guarantee if items are not delivered as promised (See: The 10 unicorn startups in SouthEast Asia you should know about / TechSauce).

App name Bukalapak
Company name, origin country PT Bukalapak (Indonesia)
Release date July 21, 2015 (Reference)
Countries available Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan (Reference)
Languages supported English
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 50 million (Reference)
Company value US$1 billion as of 2019 (Reference)
Funding 500 Startups, GIC, STRIVE, Ant Financial, Emtek Group (Reference)
Campaigns Bukalapak Smart Shopping Campaign (Reference)
Customer support strategies Users can reach Bukalapak through its customer support page (in Indonesian):  The page provides answers to frequently asked questions as well as email support.

Trax

Bukalapak image

Established in 2010, “Trax” is a Singaporean tech unicorn that develops computer vision technology for companies that manufacture and retail fast-moving consumer goods. The app is used to “collect, measure and analyze what is happening in physical shelves” (See: What we do / Trax Retail).

With Trax, organizations can reduce the time for manual auditing and maximize their sales. App features also include tools for task prioritization, automated KPI calculations, role-based task lists, reports highlighting gaps and opportunities, targeted questionnaires and surveys, historical store data, geo-located images, and offline reporting capabilities (See: Trax Retail / Google Play Store).

App name Trax
Company name, origin country Trax (Singapore)
Release date October 26, 2016 (Reference)
Countries available Worldwide
Languages supported English, Cambodian, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 50,000+ downloads (Google Play Store)
Company value US$1.1 billion as of 2019 (Reference)
Funding Warburg Pincus, Investec, Boyu Capital, HOPU Investment Management Company, DC Thomson Ventures (Reference)
Customer support strategies Trax customer support can be reached through their official website contact page. Users can also call them their customer service phone number or email their head office. (Reference)

Lazada

Lazada image

Established in 2012, “Lazada” is the most popular e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia. A pioneer in the Southeast Asian eCommerce landscape, Lazada is home to 155,000 sellers and 3,000 brands and serves 560 million users through its marketplace platform. The startup’s services are backed by a broad range of tailored marketing and data service solutions.

Furthermore, the Lazada focuses on providing an excellent customer experience by offering comprehensive customer support, convenient return process, and various payment methods such as cash-on-delivery (See: About us / Lazada).

App name Lazada
Company name, origin country Lazada Group (Singapore)
Release date January 15, 2014 (Reference)
Countries available Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam (Reference)
Languages supported English, Ara English, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Nepalese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Singapore, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 50,000,000+ downloads (Reference)
Company value US$3.15 billion as of 2017 (Reference)
Funding Summit Partners, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, Temasek Holdings, Alibaba Group, Rocket Internet (Reference)
Campaigns “Go Where Your Heart Beats” regional campaign (Reference)
Customer support strategies Users can reach Lazada through the official website contact page or they can view answers to frequently asked questions in the official website help center. Lazada customer support can also be contacted through their hotline service or live cha t.

Other Growing Southeast Asian Mobile Applications

With Southeast Asia’s growing cluster of unicorns, the region has become more attractive to investors due to its remarkable value creation. As such, unicorn startups in the region are anticipated to increase. Here are some of the apps developed by startups in line to achieve unicorn status:

iflix

Lazada image

“iflix” is a free and subscription video streaming service headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The company is focused on providing services in emerging markets such as those in Southeast Asia (See: iflix user base hits 300,000, eyes further expansion / Philippine Daily Inquirer).

The app functions as a digital hosting and distribution platform for Asian, Middle Eastern, and Western TV shows and movies acquired through partnerships with more than 150 international studios and content distributors (See: iflix Claims 1 Mil. Members / Media Business Asia).

App name iflix
Company name, origin country iflix Ltd (Malaysia)
Release date May 16, 2015 (Reference)
Countries available Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Maldives, Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Morocco (Reference)
Languages supported English, Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Cambodian, French, Indonesian, Lao, Malay, Nepali, Thai, Vietnamese (Reference)
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 19 million (Reference)
Company value more than US$350 million as of 2019 (Reference)
Funding EDBI, Delta Partners, Jungle Ventures, Sky, K3 Ventures (Reference)
Campaigns iflix free tier streaming for developing markets (Reference)
Customer support strategies iflix customer support can be reached through their official website contact page, Facebook chat, and email.

Carousell

Lazada image

“Carousell,” a C2C e-commerce marketplace app developed in 2012, prides itself as “a simple way to sell the clutter.” With this app, buying and selling new or secondhand items can be done more easily and conveniently. Users can immediately list goods they want to sell and use the app’s chat feature to discuss transactions (See: Singapore’s next 3 unicorn startups / Tech Collective).

App name Carousell
Company name, origin country Carousell Pte.Ltd. (Singapore)
Release date June 26, 2013 (Reference)
Countries available Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan
Languages supported English, Indonesian, Malay, Simplified Chinese
Download links App Store / Google Play Store
Number of active and registered users 10,000,000+ downloads (Reference)
Company value US$560 million as of 2019 (Reference)
Funding 500 Startups, Sequoia Capital India, EDBI, Golden Gate Ventures, Rakuten (Reference)
Campaigns “Carouselland” flagship event for rebranding (Reference)
Customer support strategies Users can reach Carousell email support through the official website support page, or get answers to frequently asked questions from the official website help page.

The Future of Southeast Asian Unicorn Startups

There have been several unicorn startups that emerged in Southeast Asia for the past years. The continuous economic and technological growth in the region is bound to provide new opportunities for promising unicorns in the coming years. As such, more tech companies will undoubtedly strive harder to reach this coveted position.

Most of the top unicorn companies focus on consumers and rely on a high volume of users. For some organizations, managing day-to-day operations on top of handling numerous customer concerns can be a daunting challenge. With the help of customer support experts like adish Co., Ltd., aspiring unicorns can outsource some tasks to focus on their core business.

For nearly a decade, adish Co., Ltd has proven to bring delight in every connection by providing online services such as customer support, monitoring, and community management. With our hard work and team effort, we can help you achieve unicorn status.