Our timeline and history

Infographic illustrating the growth of Carousell Group over 13 years as a multi-category platform for secondhand items in Greater Southeast Asia, detailing various phases from foundation to advancing trust and convenience.

Carousell Group is the leading multi-category marketplace and recommerce group in Greater Southeast Asia, on a mission to make secondhand the first choice for everyone.

1. What is Carousell Group?

  • Founded: August 2012, Singapore
  • Mission: Making secondhand the first choice for everyone
  • Leading Presence: Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam
  • Brands: Carousell, Cho Tot, Mudah.my, Laku6, REFASH, LuxLexicon, OneShift, Revo Financial
  • Offices: 8 (Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam)
  • Monthly Active Users: Tens of millions
  • Team Size: 1,000+ teammates
  • Investors: Telenor Group, Rakuten Ventures, Naver, STIC Investments, 500 Global, Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India)

2. What are Carousell Group’s two business models?

A. Multi-category classifieds platforms

Empowering everyday users to buy and sell secondhand directly on our platforms.

  • Marketplace categories: Cars, Luxury, Mobile Phones, Fashion, Home & Living, Property, Services
  • Brands: Carousell (SG, HK, MY, PH, TW, ID), Cho Tot (VN) and Mudah (MY)

B. Omnichannel recommerce business

Helping users buy, sell or consign directly with our brands or trusted partners for convenience and speed.

  • Main focus areas: Fashion, luxury, mobile phones, cars
  • Brands: REFASH (fashion in SG, HK, MY), Laku6 (electronics in ID, integrated into Carousell SG and MY), LuxLexicon (luxury in SG, MY)
    Note: we have also integrated certain capabilities and programmes into our classifieds platforms

3. How does Carousell Group build trust in recommerce?

These programmes are core enablers of our omnichannel recommerce business, building trust and convenience:

  • Certified: Items are thoroughly verified against multiple checkpoints before listing. Depending on the platform, category and geography, this programme may be run by Official Stores, Certified Partners or both, and come with varying mechanics.
  • On-platform payment and delivery: Available in SG, HK, MY, TW, and VN via popular local payment methods, tracked delivery in various shipping formats (e.g. door-to-door, bulky, locker pick-up/drop-offs etc), and full refunds for non-delivery of items.
  • Sell to Platform: Users can sell or consign directly to our brands or trusted partners, with seamless experiences across categories like fashion, mobile, cars, and more.

4. How does Carousell use AI?

Carousell has been building for an AI-first classifieds experience since 2018, using AI to make selling and buying simpler, faster and more trusted for everyday users. Today, we integrate it across our operations in three main ways:

  • Enhancing the user experience to drive growth:
    For users, AI improves the user journey through auto-generating listing details from photos/videos for faster selling, and providing personalisation and enhanced search for seamless shopping discovery. This creates a better experience, driving transactions, engagement, and productivity.
  • Driving internal efficiency to improve productivity:
    Internally, we apply AI to streamline operational tasks, from customer support workflows to content moderation. We also use it to assist in technical areas like coding and content generation, which allows our teams to focus on higher-value work as we scale. It helps us build a leaner, more productive organisation.
  • Strengthening trust and safety through content moderation and fraud prevention at scale:
    AI is crucial for making the platform safer through real-time content moderation and fraud prevention at scale. This ensures the overall integrity of listings and transactions, fostering a more reliable and secure environment for all users.

5. How does Carousell Group contribute to sustainability?

Carousell Group set out to measure the climate impact of our community’s choice to buy and sell secondhand. By quantifying these benefits, we aim to show how secondhand actions reduce carbon emissions and inspire deeper participation in the circular economy.

Carousell Group’s Circular Economy Impact Report

  • 153,141 tonnes of carbon emissions potentially avoided in 2023 — equal to CO₂ absorbed by 9 million trees annually
  • 3 in 5 purchases on Carousell Group potentially replaced a new item
  • Average of 14kg CO₂e avoided per item, equivalent to producing 22 plastic bottles