LALAMOVE

Chow Shing-yuk was working in corporate consulting in Hong Kong when he noticed that hiring a van or truck for same-day delivery was absurdly inefficient — you had to call dispatch companies, negotiate prices, and wait for hours. Meanwhile, thousands of van drivers were sitting around with empty vehicles.

He saw the Uber model and applied it to logistics. He launched Lalamove (originally called EasyVan) in Hong Kong in 2013, matching delivery requests with available drivers via a mobile app.

The concept spread across Southeast Asia like wildfire.

Lalamove is an on-demand delivery platform connecting businesses and individuals with drivers who own vehicles of all sizes — motorcycles, cars, vans, and trucks. Users request a delivery through the app, a nearby driver accepts it, and the item is picked up and delivered within hours (or minutes for short distances).

Revenue comes from taking a commission on each delivery. They serve both B2C (a person moving a couch) and B2B (a restaurant restocking supplies) customers.

Instant Delivery (motorcycle/car), Same-Day Delivery (van/truck), Scheduled Delivery, Business Solutions (API integration for enterprises), Multi-stop routes

Expand from same-day delivery into scheduled and enterprise logistics services, where margins are higher. Grow in underpenetrated markets — Latin America (already in Brazil and Mexico) and Southeast Asia's smaller cities.

Build loyalty through a subscription model for businesses that use Lalamove daily. Leverage data from millions of deliveries to optimize routing and pricing.

The on-demand delivery market is hyper-competitive, especially in Asia where Grab, GoTo, and Didi all offer delivery services alongside ride-hailing. Driver retention is a constant struggle — gig economy workers switch platforms for better pay.

Maintaining quality and reliability with an independent driver network (not employees) is inherently difficult. Profitability remains a challenge given the commission-based model.

Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital, Shunwei Capital (Lei Jun), MindWorks Capital