As part of the first major fundraising by the courier startup, TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd., iMile Delivery LLC has been invested in Dubai-based iMile Delivery LLC, according to people familiar with the matter.
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The Series A financing round, one of the largest by a female founder to date, raised $40 million and valued iMile at $350 million, according to a statement. The people said ByteDance committed around $10 million at a lower valuation, and asked not to be named because the information isn't public.
Beijing-based ByteDance didn't want to say anything. The names of investors and the amounts they have put into the company would not be disclosed by iMile.
Consumer habits have shifted during the coronaviruses lockdowns that kept people at home and glued to their devices. Amazon Inc. is competing for dominance with its regional rival Noon.com in the Middle East, even before the pandemic.
They face stiff competition from new entrants like JD.com and Chinese sellers that are often more affordable, such as online retailer SheIn, backed by Tiger Global Management. E-commerce vendors are increasingly using social media to target shoppers, which may explain the TikTok owner's investment in a shipping company.
ByteDance is counting on TikTok and other global products to spur growth, just as it struggles with a weaker economy and stiffer regulations at home. TikTok is quickly turning into an online marketplace where influencers can sell products through livestreams, not unlike its domestic rival Douyin. The global short-video sensation TikTok recently launched a dedicated app for merchants to manage orders and refunds in Indonesia.
The fresh capital will support iMile's plans to hire more engineers in China and invest in its technology while extending services beyond e-commerce into banking and telecommunications. The shipping to consumers in the Middle East is largely handled by local player Aramex PJSC, backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADQ, and global carriers like FedEx Corp. or UPS. Dubai-based Fetchr, which also targeted Chinese e-commerce, is on the brink of being liquidated.
In 2017, Rita Huang, who was previously employed at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Huawei Technologies Co., co-founded the company.
With vendors now selling directly to the consumer and technological digitization, factories in China are now able to access customers from all over the world, Huang said in an interview. They can bring down costs by cutting the middlemen out. None of the Wildfires Are Worse, and One Chemical Company is Reaping the Benefits.