Indonesia-based ride-hailing giant Gojek has secured around $1.2 billion in a fresh funding round to help compete with Singaporean rival Grab, the media reported.
The fresh funding increased Gojek’s Series F round total to just under $3 billion.
The names of the investors in the funding round for Gojek were not disclosed.
Co-chief executives Andre Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi said in an internal document cited by the report, “We’re not stopping there as we are still seeing strong demand among the investment community to partner with us. There are a number of exciting ongoing conversations that we will be able to update you on very soon.”
Gojek’s initial target was to raise around $2.5 billion in its Series F funding round. Last year, Gojek raised around $1 billion from investors such as Google, JD.com and Tencent.
Last month, various media houses reported that Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giants Grab and Gojek are reportedly discussing a potential merger.
If the potential merger between Grab and Gojek successfully takes place, it will create one of the most highly-valued startups globally. Currently, Grab is valued at around $14 billion and Gojek, on the other hand, is valued at around $9 billion.
Reportedly, Gojek wants a 50 percent stake in the merged entity; however, Grab wants to hold a controlling stake. The management of both firms held numerous meetings over the last years. Also, recently Grab President Ming Maa and Gojek chief executive Andre Soelistyo held a meeting with regard to the potential merger.
However, responding to a media inquiry, a Gojek spokesperson said that the media reports regarding discussions of a potential merger with Grab are not accurate.