‍Beep beep! InDrive just raised another $150M in debt from General Catalyst. But wait, who’s InDrive anyway? And what are they doing in Southeast Asia?

• They raised $150M in debt from the same firm last year.
• They claim to have had 54% growth in net revenue in 2023.

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🕰️ A little bit of history

Founded in Russia in 2012, InDrive divested their Russian entity in 2022. They’re now headquartered in the US.

• The company has no plans for investment in Russia—they have their sights set on the rest of the world.

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🚘 Claim to fame

We all know how high fares for ride-hailing apps are these days. InDrive does it differently.

They’re known for their “bid-based” system. Instead of having to pay the set rate that you see in-app once you key in your destination, InDrive lets you name your fare for the ride.

• Any nearby drivers can reject, accept, or negotiate the fare offer.

While they launched their first city in the US last year, they’re more focused on markets like Latin America and Asia, which have limited mobility and public transportation options.

Markets with high travel costs and emerging tourism are also interesting for the company.

• They are active in over 700 cities and 45 countries.

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🌏 The SEA story

They have been operating in Indonesia since 2019. They’re also active in Malaysia and Thailand.

Bumps on the road. They were accredited by the Philippines’ transportation authority in December last year but were suspended in January this year for their signature bid-based pricing system.

• They have removed their bid-based system for their Philippine app and claimed they are ready to meet with the transportation authority.

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💥 What’s next?

They’ll be using the funding for targeted launches, product development, service expansion and deepening their presence in new and existing markets, including SEA.

• They also launched a venture and M&A arm last year that aims to invest $100M in startups.