Malaysian Rental Portal Speedhome Gets Capital Injection to Expand Regionally

Formerly known as Speedrent, Speedhome, a property rental portal based out of Malaysia, has announced a successful Series A funding round, led by Gobi Partners and investment holding company and Allianz subsidiary, Allianz Malaysia. So far, Speedhome has raised RM7 million (US$1.7 million) with plans to use the capital for regional expansion and further technology development. 

CEO Wong Whei Meng said:

“This fund will help us kickstart our regional expansion in Bangkok and accelerate our efforts towards making Speedhome as the region’s super app for property investors.”

Speedhome is looking to expand to 10 other cities within the next five years, specifically Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Speedhome offers a simpler way for consumers to rent property with the added benefit of being a zero-deposit automated platform that connects landlords with qualified tenants and provides a number of rental protection services for both parties. These protections include insurance and rental protection of up to RM42,000 (US$100,000) thanks to the company’s partnership with Allianz Malaysia. 

Zakri Khir, CEO of Allianz Malaysia, said:

“Digital partnerships are very much part of our strategy at Allianz Malaysia as we look towards capitalizing on new opportunities and new markets. However, more importantly, we are equally driven to support our local digital champions, startups like Speedhome, and currently have over 50 active digital partnerships across various sectors. Speedhome has been a standout digital player in the property rental industry, whose innovative ideas have enhanced the way we do business.”

Speedhome uses a combination of mobile tech and automation to collect a pool of tenants. The interaction of all users is transparent to help both parties make better-informed decisions during the rental process. Landlords can list their properties for free and connect with potential tenants through the website and the convenient mobile app. 

Thomas G.Tsao, Chairman of Gobi Partners, said: 

“Speedhome is one of our first investments for Gobi’s SuperSeed Fund II. This investment also marks another venture into the booming proptech industry for our firm. In Indonesia, we currently have two proptech investments that are doing well during these uncertain times — online short-term home rental marketplace Travelio, and premium coworking space operator GoWork. As such, we see great things ahead for Speedhome, and we are optimistic about the company’s ability to perform well in the Malaysian market.”