Upstart Courier Service Raised More Than $2 Billion to Fight Alibaba-Backed Rivals

J&T Express, an upstart Southeast Asian logistics and courier service that has expanded aggressively in China, has raised more than $2 billion to fund its fight against rival parcel delivery companies backed by Alibaba, people familiar with the matter said. It’s another example of how control of shipping has emerged as a key link in winning the e-commerce market, as Amazon has demonstrated in the U.S. by expanding aggressively in all facets of the delivery chain.

Hillhouse Capital and Boyu Capital—two of China’s biggest private equity firms known for their tech investments—and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China participated in J&T’s latest funding round, the people said. J&T Express’s pre-money valuation in the round was $6 billion before the injection of the fresh capital, according to the people. Sequoia and Oppo declined to comment. Boyu, Hillhouse and J&T didn’t respond to requests for comment. J&T had previously raised a total of $200 million and was valued at about $540 million as of 2017, according to Pitchbook.