Carousell

Overview

Carousell is a Singapore-founded consumer-to-consumer marketplace for buying and selling secondhand and new goods, built mobile-first from day one. Established in 2012 by three National University of Singapore friends — Quek Siu Rui, Lucas Ngoo, and Marcus Tan — it has grown into one of the largest classifieds and recommerce platforms in “Greater Southeast Asia,” operating across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Carousell Group runs a family of brands including Carousell, Chợ Tốt (Vietnam), Mudah.my (Malaysia), Refash, LuxLexicon, and Laku6. It reached unicorn status (valuation north of US$1.1 billion) and remains independently backed by investors such as Telenor, Rakuten Ventures, Naver, and Peak XV Partners.

What they’re known for

Carousell is famous for making it trivially easy to sell your used stuff from a phone: snap a photo, add a price, and list it in under a minute — a “snap-to-sell” flow purpose-built for a smartphone-first Southeast Asian audience that largely skipped the desktop era. Its very first sale was an Amazon Kindle for S$75. Culturally, “to Carousell something” became shorthand in Singapore for offloading secondhand goods, and the brand is closely tied to the region’s push toward recommerce and the circular economy under its mission to “make secondhand the first choice.”

History

• 2012 — Founded in Singapore (14 May) by Quek Siu Rui, Lucas Ngoo, and Marcus Tan, seeded with a ~US$35,000 university grant; first item sold was a Kindle for S$75.
• 2016 — Acquired Caarly, a mobile-first used-car marketplace, to strengthen its autos vertical.
• 2019 — Naspers-owned OLX invested US$56M for ~10% (valuing Carousell at ~US$560M) and handed over OLX Philippines; later merged with Telenor’s 701Search (Mudah, Chợ Tốt, OneKyat), pushing valuation past US$850M with Telenor as largest minority shareholder (32%).
• 2021 — Raised funding rounds taking valuation past US$1.1B, achieving unicorn status.
• Dec 2022 — Laid off 110 employees (~10% of workforce); CEO admitted being “too optimistic” about investment pace; IPO/SPAC plans shelved.
• 2023–2024 — Strategic pivot toward managed recommerce, anchored by the Carousell Certified program (inspected electronics and luxury goods); launched Carousell Campus HQ in Singapore.
• 2024 — Second layoff round (~76 workers) citing consumer-demand slowdown; losses narrowed to US$33.2M on US$119.3M revenue.

Business model

Carousell operates primarily as a third-party marketplace connecting individual buyers and sellers, with no core commission on peer-to-peer classifieds sales. Instead it monetizes through:

• Advertising / promoted listings — sellers pay (often via in-app “Carousell Coins”) for Bumps, Spotlight, and Profile Promotion to boost visibility. Classifieds/advertising revenue was ~US$52.8M in FY2024 (up ~10.6%).
• Listing fees in high-value verticals — autos, property, jobs, and services (first listing typically free).
• Recommerce — a more first-party, managed model where Carousell inspects, certifies, and helps transact electronics and luxury goods (Carousell Certified), plus subsidiary brands like Refash and Laku6. Recommerce revenue was ~US$53M in FY2024. This segment carries logistics/inventory costs but targets higher trust and take.

Total FY2024 revenue was US$119.3M (up 2.9% YoY), roughly evenly split between recommerce and advertising, with gross margins historically above 80% on the classifieds side.

Why it succeeded

Carousell’s edge was being aggressively mobile-first in a mobile-first region: while Western classifieds (Craigslist, eBay) were desktop-rooted, Carousell built for smartphone users in Southeast Asia who leapfrogged the PC entirely, reducing friction to seconds per listing. It then consolidated the fragmented regional classifieds landscape through well-timed M&A — absorbing OLX Philippines and Telenor’s 701Search assets (Mudah, Chợ Tốt) — buying market leadership rather than fighting for it country by country, as covered by TechCrunch and the South China Morning Post. The caveat: growth outpaced discipline. Revenue rose 67% in 2022 but losses widened past 50% to ~US$63M, triggering two rounds of layoffs and a shelved IPO. Its recovery — narrowing FY2024 losses to US$33.2M — came from a sharper focus on higher-margin recommerce and its core classifieds business rather than pure top-line expansion.

Notable facts

• Founded in 2012 with a ~US$35,000 university grant; first sale was a Kindle for S$75.
• Unicorn valuation of over US$1.1B; more than 150 million monthly active users reported by early 2025.
• FY2024 revenue: US$119.3M (+2.9% YoY); net loss US$33.2M (down ~13% YoY); cash ~US$50.5M.
• FY2022 revenue US$82.5M (+67%) but loss of US$63M (+50%), the trigger for cost-cutting.
• Recommerce (US$53M) and advertising (US$52.8M) were nearly evenly split in FY2024.
• Telenor became the largest minority shareholder (32%) after the 2019 701Search merger.
• Operates a multi-brand portfolio: Carousell, Chợ Tốt, Mudah.my, Refash, LuxLexicon, Laku6, OneShift, Revo Financial.

Links

Title	URL	Type	Note
About Carousell Group	https://press.carousell.com/carousell-group/	official-site	Official Carousell Group press/about page (homepage bot-blocks fetch)
Carousell (company) — Wikipedia	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousell_(company)	article	Company overview, founding, acquisitions, geography
Carousell FY24: Losses Narrow to $33.2M as Revenues Edge Upwards	https://www.onlinemarketplaces.com/articles/carousell-fy24-losses-narrow-to-33-2-million-as-revenues-edge-upwards/	article	FY2024 financials breakdown
Carousell Grew Revenue 67% As Losses Widened 50% In 2022	https://www.onlinemarketplaces.com/articles/carousell-financial-results-2022/	article	FY2022 revenue and losses
Carousell To Layoff 110 Employees—10% Of Total Workforce	https://www.onlinemarketplaces.com/articles/carousell-to-layoff-110-employees-10-of-total-workforce/	news	Dec 2022 layoffs; CEO comment; IPO shelved
Singapore’s Carousell lays off 76 workers, cites ‘slowdown’	https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3289745/carousell-lays-76-workers-cites-slowdown-consumer-demand	news	2024 second round of layoffs
SG unicorn Carousell narrows losses in 2024 on higher ad revenue	https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/carousell-earnings-2024-450751	news	2024 earnings (partial paywall)
Southeast Asia’s Carousell snags $56M from Naspers-owned OLX	https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/10/carousell-naspers-olx	news	OLX/Naspers investment and OLX Philippines transfer
Singapore’s Carousell snaps up rival 701Search	https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/3038696/singapores-carousell-snaps-rival-701search-it-seeks-dominance	news	701Search merger, Telenor stake, US$850M valuation
The Carousell Business Model – How Does Carousell Make Money?	https://productmint.com/carousell-business-model-how-does-carousell-make-money/	article	Monetization: promoted listings, Coins, listing fees