Indonesian e-commerce platform Astro secures $27m in funding 

Astro, an Indonesian on-demand rapid e-commerce platform for groceries and other everyday necessities, has raised $27 million in Series A funding from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital India.

AC Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Goodwater Capital have also participated in the funding round. The round also received support from founders and senior executives from Traveloka, Ajaib, Meesho, OYO, Swiggy, and Udaan.

The funding will be used to grow the startup’s reach, service more consumers throughout Indonesia, and triple the staff size by 2022.

While grocery are one of the largest retail sectors in Indonesia, digital penetration is one of the lowest (0.4%) compared to e-10% commerce’s penetration. With the pandemic driving digital adoption, the opportunity for e-grocery in Indonesia is huge, with a $6 billion market expected by 20251.

In September 2021, Vincent Tjendra, a former Associate Vice President of Tokopedia, created Astro to deliver groceries and basics like as snacks, drinks, milk, and bread to consumers within 15 minutes of placing an order. On its app, the company offers over 1,500 SKUs at low pricing that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Astro has created around 15 hubs across Jakarta since its introduction and plans to grow its network to serve millions more Indonesians.

The e-commerce platform also ensures that standard COVID-19 health procedures are followed in their delivery and even in their warehouse.

Aakash Kapoor, VP, Sequoia India, said that consumers will always want faster delivery, better selection and value pricing.

Because of this, the quick commerce model sits at the pinnacle of such consumer demand.

“With growing affluence, the Indonesian market is reaching an inflexion point in e-grocery and other consumer categories, opening up a large market opportunity,” Kapoor said in a statement.

GFC, AC Ventures, Lightspeed, and Goodwater Capital had earlier invested US$4.5 million in the startup as seed capital.