Sequoia leads $6 million investment in Singaporean mobile marketplace app

Reuters

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Sequoia Capital has led a $6 million investment in Singapore's Carousell, a mobile marketplace app, the firms said on Thursday, highlighting growing investor interest in mobile-based services in the region. The other investors in the current round of funding include Rakuten Ventures, the venture capital fund of Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten Inc, and Golden Gate Ventures. Carousell allows sellers to list an item for sale by taking a photo. Buyers can purchase items by chatting with sellers via an in-built private chat messenger. Carousell said the funding will be used to accelerate international expansion to countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan. Earlier this week, Rakuten invested $10 million in Singapore's PocketMath, a mobile advertising platform, in what was the biggest single investment by Rakuten Ventures to date. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Stephen Coates)