LINEMAN-Wongnai, Ascend Money and Flash Express retain their unicorn status
Three Thai startups have won and retained “unicorn” status in a survey published by CB Insights in December.
LINEMAN-Wongnai, Ascend Money and Flash Express have all exceeded US$1-billion valuations before their initial public offering, making them three of over 1,200 companies to win or retain unicorn status following the global economic slowdown due to the pandemic.
Flash Express, the e-commerce logistics startup, recently received up to 15 billion baht in Series F funding, pushing its total valuation to over 70 billion baht. With a starting price of 15 baht and round-the-clock service, the company has seen over 1,000% growth in the past five years.
Ascend Money, founded by CP executive Supachai Chearavanont, achieved unicorn status in 2021 when its valuation exceeded 1.5 billion baht and has retained the status ever since. While Ascend might not be a household name, the company is behind the highly successful True Money Wallet that is used in 7-Eleven convenience stores. During fundraising, Ascend raised $150 million from US-based Bow Wave Capital and Alibaba’s Ant Group, making it Thailand’s first fintech unicorn. Ascend has since expanded to other financial sectors, offering loans and insurance.
LINEMAN-Wongnai, raised 9.7 billion baht in series B funding back in 2022, taking its total valuation to over $1 billion and making it the largest tech startup in Thailand by market valuation. The highly popular food delivery app has seen integration with restaurant review website Wongnai, expanding its user base. During series B fundraising, the startup received investment from GIC (Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund), along with LINE Corp, and Taiwan Mobile, among a host of others.
The rise of these startups contrasts the decline of Bitkub, a Thai startup that recently lost its unicorn status. Back in 2021, Bitkub was with Ascend and Flash Express among the nation’s three unicorns, having agreed on a deal in principle with SCB to sell 51% of shares to SCBX for 17.85 billion baht, rocketing its valuation past unicorn status. Bitkub’s in-house coin, the KUB, saw an almost 200% price hike, as did the SCB stock which was trading at 11% higher than before the news broke. However, due to the instability of the cryptocurrency market and the large investment needed, the deal collapsed. The company’s valuation, along with its currency, tanked. SCB cited concerns regarding Bitkub’s compliance with the Securities Exchange Commission, showing that unicorn status can be lost as easily as it is won.
