Private equity groups Carlyle and TPG have co-led a ₩140bn ($126m) round for Kakao Mobility, a South Korea-based ride hailing service backed by internet technology provider Google, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Google, Carlyle and TPG have provided a total of roughly $826m in funding for Kakao Mobility, according to a statement issued by its parent, internet group Kakao Corp, cited by Reuters.
Founded in 2015 as Kakao Taxi, Kakao Mobility runs an on-demand mobility app dubbed Kakao T, which the company claims has 28 million registered users.
Kakao Corp spun off Kakao Mobility in 2017 with $437m in a round led by TPG, which invested alongside financial services provider Orix, Korea Investment Partners, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Teacher Retirement System of Texas and University of California Retirement Plan.
The company then secured $46.6m from Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Teacher Retirement System of Texas and University of California Retirement Plan the following year.
Carlyle Asia Partners V, a vehicle for Carlyle, then supplied $200m for the company in February this year at a valuation exceeding $3bn, before Google added $50m two months later.
