Korean Retailer Coupang Gets $1 Billion Investment

SoftBank Corp. and Coupang have announced a definitive agreement under which a subsidiary of SoftBank will invest $1 billion in Coupang, the largest and fastest growing standalone ecommerce player in Korea. The investment is expected to close at the beginning of July, and will bring the total amount of funding raised by Coupang over the past year to nearly $1.5 billion.

This funding will fuel Coupang’s innovations in its end-to-end fulfillment service, same-day delivery network and leading mobile applications that will extend Coupang’s leadership in the future. Coupang will also expand its R&D offices in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Shanghai and Seoul.

Driven by an unprecedented level of mobile engagement and its revolutionary delivery service, Coupang has become one of the world’s most disruptive ecommerce companies. With more than 25 million mobile application downloads and the highest number of active users, the company is the leading mobile commerce player in Korea. Today, mobile sales account for over 75% of the company’s revenue and over 85% of its total traffic.

“We welcome SoftBank as a long-term partner and look forward to leveraging their global expertise and vast network to further accelerate our growth,” said Bom Kim, Founder and CEO of Coupang. “This milestone investment from one of the greatest IT investors in the world provides even more financial strength and flexibility to expand our operations and redefine what a great end-to-end customer online shopping experience is all about.”

Nikesh Arora, Vice Chairman of SoftBank Corp., said Coupang is one of the fastest-growing and most disruptive Internet companies in the world.

“Coupang is setting a new standard for how ecommerce can and should be done across the globe with its innovative technologies and approach to same-day delivery, mobile commerce, and customer service,” Arora said. “We look forward to working with Bom Kim and his talented team and are excited to support their continued expansion.”

Coupang’s explosive growth is powered by its cutting-edge delivery service, built on its proprietary technology infrastructure. With unmatched retail selection, the largest end-to-end fulfillment operations in Korea and a home-grown fleet of “Coupang Men” to enable last-mile delivery, its monthly direct retail revenues have more than tripled in the past six months.