STIC Ventures invests $2 mn in Vietnamese logistics startup EcoTruck

South Korea-based venture capital firm STIC Ventures has recently invested $2 million in a Vietnamese logistics startup EcoTruck, a move aimed at boosting the VC firm's overseas presence by increasing investments in Vietnam's startup segment, according to the VC industry on May 21.

The investment was made via the 22 billion won ($19.5 million) STIC-IBK Pioneer Fund, which was set up in October 2020. Prior to this, EcoTruck had raised around $1.7 million in a pre-Series A round in 2018 from investors including VC firms Nextrans, FuturePlay and Hong Kong-based Access Ventures.

The logistics startup plans to use the proceeds for technology development and business expansion.

Founded in 2017, EcoTruck operates a business-to-business (B2B) platform that connects merchants with truck vendors. It holds the largest market share in Vietnam’s logistics service market, driven by its ability to provide the most optimal route for its clients as well as an automated tracking system and status updates.

EcoTruck offers its services to more than 200 corporate clients.

STIC Ventures made the investment betting on EcoTruck’s potential in Vietnam’s logistics market. Vietnam's population has reached around 100 million and its land area is more than three times that of Korea, but its logistics infrastructure is relatively underdeveloped.

“EcoTruck's revenue rose around fivefold over the last three years -- and that strong growth is what probably attracted STIC Ventures," said a VC industry official.

This marks STIC Ventures' third investment in Vietnam. Since spinning off from its parent company STIC Investments in 2018, the VC firm has invested in a Vietnamese e-commerce company, Tiki, and a travel platform, Go2Joy.

According to industry watchers, STIC Ventures has set sights on Asia's emerging markets -- setting up offices in China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam to help boost its investment activities in these regions.

Write to Jong-woo Kim at jongwoo@hankyung.com
Danbee Lee edited this article.