Source Code Capital Portfolio Company BLUE Mobile Completes Series C Financing

源码资本·March 28, 2019·1·3

Southeast Asia New Retail + New Finance Platform

Southeast Asian tech company BLUE Mobile (BLUE) recently completed its Series C funding round led by Ant Group, with Joy Capital participating as a co-investor, establishing itself as a significant player in building new retail and new finance platforms across Southeast Asia.

BLUE currently operates BLUEmart smart vending terminals powered by mobile payment technology in Thailand and Indonesia, creating an integrated online-to-offline local lifestyle traffic entry point, with plans to expand into additional Southeast Asian countries.

BLUEmart is a fast-rising new-generation data-enabled, intelligently connected vending machine in the Southeast Asian market, offering local users high-frequency, essential, low-ticket consumer goods alongside readily accessible convenience services and seamless QR-code payment experiences.

Through localized technological innovation, BLUEmart has built an offline-to-online "Cash in" model that addresses numerous pain points hindering cashless mobile payment adoption in Southeast Asia — including low bank card penetration, outdated card-binding interfaces, and high costs.

Currently, over 6,000 BLUEmart units are operational, processing more than 300,000 transactions daily. The company projects deploying over 30,000 units within the coming year to serve more than 30 million users.

Image source: BLUE Mobile

Founded in 2015, BLUE's founding team hails from Huawei and top-tier Chinese internet companies. The company raised a million-dollar angel round from KongZhong in 2015, a ten-million-dollar Series A jointly led by Jiayu Capital and Joy Capital in 2016, and a tens-of-millions-dollar Series B led by Source Code Capital with Joy Capital and Jiayu Capital following on in 2018 — completing this Series C round in under a year.

With offices and R&D centers in Shenzhen, Bangkok, and Jakarta, BLUE has developed two core capabilities centered on scenarios: rapidly iterating online product operations and offline expansion penetrating urban capillaries. The company brings China's latest product and technology models to Southeast Asia while innovating through deep localization based on regional market conditions. By continuously coordinating online and offline operations, it integrates data empowerment across people, goods, and scenarios to improve operational efficiency and build distinctive platform competitiveness.

Image source: BLUE Mobile

Following this funding round, BLUE will actively pursue partnerships with Ascend, Dana, Lazada, Tokopedia, and other regional players to enrich mobile payment use cases and jointly build a mobile payment ecosystem, delivering better services and experiences to local users.

Kenny Man, head of Ant Group's international investment division, commented: "BLUE's deep localization capabilities are precisely what Ant values highly. Using new retail smart vending machines as an entry point into local lifestyle services is a more efficient and sustainable path, and we will continue empowering the Southeast Asian market."

Li Xiao, founding partner of Joy Capital, noted: "Joy Capital has long been bullish on the Southeast Asian track. Our continued support across three consecutive rounds reflects our strong confidence in the founding team. BLUE has turned many impossibilities into reality and taken an important step toward becoming a platform-level company in Southeast Asia."

David Wei, founder and chairman of Jiayu Capital, assessed BLUE's business model: "Smart vending machine-based new retail is a business that looks heavy but operates light. It combines with high-frequency user demand while continuously expanding its business logic through scenario-based repeat purchase and other operational maneuvers."

Yi Cao, founding partner of Source Code Capital, stated: "New retail, mobile payments, and other new economy models validated in China hold tremendous potential in Southeast Asia, while simultaneously facing infrastructure, localization, and other multifaceted challenges. As an important investment in Source Code Capital's 'Global+' strategy, BLUE has spent nearly four years in earnest practice, continuously iterating and evolving through the fusion of Chinese product and technology models with deep local operations, consistently creating value for more convenient lives across Southeast Asia."

Wang Leilei, chairman and CEO of KongZhong, was BLUE's earliest investor and discoverer. He encouraged the company to boldly move from online to offline, to take the long view, and to embrace challenges — believing that in narrow paths, the brave prevail. Serving as a startup mentor, he has encouraged the company throughout its journey to continually push the boundaries of its own understanding.