Indonesia grocery delivery player Astro raises $60m

There were re-ups from several existing investors, including AC Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Global Founders Capital (GFC), and Sequoia Capital India. The nine-month-old company, which was founded by a former Tokopedia executive, has now raised USD 90m in private funding.

AC, GFC, Lightspeed, and Goodwater Capital provided IDR 64bn (USD 4.5m) in seed funding last November and then returned for a USD 27m Series A three months later, according to AVCJ Research. That round was led by Accel and Sequoia. Senior executives from the likes of Traveloka, Ajaib, Meesho, Oyo, Swiggy, and Udaan also contributed capital.

Astro launched operations in September 2021, offering grocery delivery within 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, to approximately 50 locations in the Jakarta metropolitan area. The area has 30m residents. Deliveries are made by a fleet of around 1,000 drivers. The company claims revenue has grown more than 10x in recent months, with app downloads reaching 1m.

Fresh produce is sourced through collaboration with local farmers. Astro has since extended this model to local brands, establishing partnerships with a view to launching private label products. The initial focus is on coffee, bread, and seasonal treats, AC noted in a statement.

The new capital will go towards user acquisition, product development, and adding to a team that currently numbers approximately 200.

Techcrunch reported that, despite rising demand for on-demand delivery during COVID-19, e-grocery penetration in Indonesia is just 0.5%. In 2020, China and South Korea were on 6% and 34%, respectively. The Indonesian market is projected to be worth USD 6bn by 2025.

Investors are latching onto the opportunity, with e-grocery start-ups Sayurbox recently closing a USD 120m Series C round led by Northstar Group and Alpha JWC Ventures. Other competitors include HappyFresh, which secured USD 65m in Series D funding in July 2021.

VC-backed TaniHub, operator of a B2B platform that connects farmers with customers and other agriculture industry suppliers, also entered the B2C space. However, it reportedly shuttered that operation in recent months to focus on its core business.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Early-stage
• Consumer
• Technology
• Indonesia
• AC Ventures
• Lightspeed Venture Partners
• Sequoia Capital
• Tiger Global Management
• Accel Partners
• TMT
• Logistics
• e-commerce