Kakao Mobility, the mobility arm of South Korean messaging company Kakao, has acquired London-based super app operator Splyt for an undisclosed sum, according to media reports, citing a company release.
The purchase is the first overseas acquisition for Kakao Mobility, which operates the transportation app Kakao T. With this deal, Kakao will expand its global presence across Asia and Europe. It currently operates in 30 markets outside of South Korea, including Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.
“Splyt and Kakao Mobility’s technology teams have been collaborating since 2019 to integrate and enable global ride-hailing services for Kakao T users through Splyt’s ride-hailing API platform,” Splyt CTO Stephen Mason was quoted as saying in a TechCrunch report.
Founded in 2015 as a platform for on-demand transportation, Splyt has branched out into tourism and finance over the past years. It has accumulated over 2 billion users, via its partnerships with leading online platforms such as Alipay, Uber, Binance, Grab, Trip.com, and Booking.com.
The startup currently has around 30 employees in 25 countries who will be joining Kakao mobility post-acquisition. Its key management team will be integrated with Kakao Mobility.
In June 2020, the ride-hailing platform raised $19.5 million in a Series B financing round led by SoftBank and joined by American Express Ventures. Grab previously participated in its Series A funding round which gathered $8 million in total in 2019.