Malaysia-based e-commerce aggregator iPrice Group has secured funding from South Korean Internet conglomerate Naver, it said in a press release Monday. The amount remains undisclosed. This direct investment is in addition to what Naver had previously invested in iPrice via its subsidiary, LINE Ventures.
Founded in 2014, iPrice lets consumers see how much an item would cost on different e-commerce websites, like Shopee or Lazada, across different categories like electronics and fashion. It has a presence in seven markets: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
Naver is best-known in South Korea for its eponymous online search engine. It has many subsidiaries, including messaging app LINE, which has garnered reasonable success in Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, and its own price comparison website which it has been running since 2001.
Takeaways:
— Naver’s strategic investment will give iPrice a boost in terms of product discovery and comparison insights.
— It will also help pave a road for Naver to better explore Southeast Asia’s burgeoning e-commerce scene. Its chat app LINE has garnered popularity in Thailand and Indonesia and has some e-commerce integrations.
— Naver is also an investor in Southeast Asian O2O leader Grab, having joined Toyota and other investors in the ride-hailing giant’s latest financing round.
Editor: Nadine Freischlad