GoJek Raises $1.2 Billion, Further Contributing To The Great Ridesharing Boom

Morning Report: The great ridesharing boom continues, despite a complete dearth of profits.

Another day, another billion dollars flowing to a private company. Today, Indonesia-based Go-Jek raised a $1.2 billion round according to both TechCrunch and Reuters.

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The funds are notable for their scale—any round that starts with a “b” is going to cause wave—and their source. Google is taking part, putting $100 million or so into in the deal.

Google famously invested in Uber back in 2013, far before the companies became enemies locked in expensive litigation. Now, it is backing an Uber rival. (For a far more expansive list of the various investments, partnerships, and the like in the ridehailing space, head here.)

Notably, the company is paying for the round in flesh. The $1.2 billion round is worth a huge chunk of Go-Jek, according to TechCrunch:

We understand the investment gives Go-Jek a valuation that is a touch above the $3 billion that Tencent agreed to invest at last year.

Ouch. That will leave a mark.

Regardless, there’s now even more money in ridehailing than ever before, at least from a money-in perspective. Uber, one of the two leading global companies in the space, lost billions last year and is working on a path to profitability so it can approach the public markets.

Go-Jek, on the other hand, is about to have a huge new wave of cash at its disposal. Who needs to go public?

From The Crunchbase Daily:

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• Apple will make a one-time US tax payment of about $38 billion and repatriate most of the estimated $252 billion in cash it currently holds overseas. The company said it plans to invest $30 billion in capital expenditures in the US in the next five years, open a new campus, and create over 20,000 new jobs.

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• After 19 years as a private company, online polling provider SurveyMonkey is reportedly planning an IPO. The Silicon Valley company has raised more than $1.1 billion in venture and growth financing to date, with annual revenues believed to well exceed $200 million.

Uber rival Go-Jek seeks $1.2B

• Indonesia-based ride-hailing app Go-Jek is reportedly raising capital from Google, Singapore’s Temasek and China’s Meituan-Dianping as part of a $1.2 billion fundraising round to help compete with heavily funded rivals Grab and Uber.

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