Friday Fundings: Grab, Rippling, and ChargePoint

South Korean PE Firm Invests in Grab

Grab, a Singapore-based food delivery, ride-hailing, and digital financial services company, is raising $200 million from Stic Investments Inc, a South Korean PE firm. Grab is one of Southeast Asia’s most well-funded tech startups. It has raised about $10 billion so far, including $3 billion from SoftBank (SFTBY), which is also a SoFi investor. Though Grab’s ride-hailing business has been battered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, investors see potential for its food delivery and payment arms.

Stic Investments manages about $4.5 billion in assets, including Big Hit Entertainment Co, which is the firm behind popular K-pop band BTS. Stic has been aiming to expand its presence in Southeast Asia with investments in Vietnam and Indonesia. Its investment in Grab is an important step for the company’s goal of gaining ground in the region.

Rippling Achieves Unicorn Status With New Funding

Rippling, an employee management software startup, just reached unicorn status after a Series B funding round. The $145 million round, led by Founders Fund, brought the company’s valuation to $1.35 billion.

Rippling gives companies tools to manage payroll, benefits, employee devices, and more. Currently, the company handles $3.5 billion in annual payroll. Last quarter was its highest sales quarter to date, even though it has recently scaled back marketing efforts.

Rippling plans to use its new funding for research and development. Parker Conrad, the company’s CEO also noted that the funding gives Rippling “peace of mind” during a time of uncertainty surrounding the structure of workplaces.

ChargePoint Raises Funding to Keep Up With the Rise of Commercial EVs

ChargePoint, a company that operates a network of independently owned EV charging stations, just secured a $127 million extension to its Series H funding round. Investors included Chevron (CVX) Technology Ventures and American Electric Power (AEP).

ChargePoint already has over 114,000 charging stations in its network. With the new funding, it plans to grow its portfolio for commercial and fleet vehicles. It also plans to expand its marketing and sales efforts.

The market for EVs is booming, and demand is not just for private passenger vehicles. Large companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Lyft (LYFT) are making plans to transition to using EVs. ChargePoint wants to make sure it is ready to keep up with the growth of commercial electric vehicles.

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