SUNWAY ILABS AND CARSOME TO LAUNCH MALAYSIA’S FIRST AUTO ECOSYSTEM ACCELERATOR

Sunway City, 15th April 2022 - Sunway Innovation Labs (iLabs), the innovation arm of Sunway Group announced a joint partnership with Carsome, Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform to launch an accelerator programme – Carsome Mobility Lab.

Launching in the third quarter of 2022, Carsome Mobility Lab will be the first auto ecosystem focused accelerator in Malaysia looking to support global tech startups to deliver sustainable solutions in Carsome’s existing markets.

The programme will provide a holistic platform for startups in the auto ecosystem to scale by providing mentorship, opportunities for funding and access to partnership opportunities through Sunway and Carsome’s network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, corporates and industry experts.

Selected startups will be offered the unique opportunity to connect with Sunway’s 13 business divisions and Sunway City Kuala Lumpur’s thriving ecosystem as well as the Group’s extensive funding funnel and ecosystem comprising Orbit Malaysia, SunSEA Capital, Gobi Partners and The HIVE SEA for further funding and investment opportunities.

Sunway Group Chief Executive Officer of Digital and Strategic Investment Evan Cheah said, "We are excited to work with a successful unicorn like Carsome that is contributing to Malaysia and South East Asia's growth in the tech scene. Sunway Group has invested over RM 200 million in startups and venture building over the last few years and we remain committed to equipping and enabling businesses in developing greater local innovations as part of our commitment to nation-building and advancing the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

“The auto ecosystem is ripe for further innovation and disruption. We look forward to teaming up with Sunway to work with startups across Southeast Asia to bring cutting edge innovation that will benefit the entire auto ecosystem and ultimately add value to the vehicle ownership journey of all consumers,” added Carsome Group Head of Merger & Acquisition and Ecosystem Strategy Digbijoy Shukla.

For startups interested in the Carsome Mobility Lab, visit: https://sunway.my/CarsomeMobilityLab.

This is in line with Sunway’s vision to position Sunway City Kuala Lumpur as a living laboratory bringing in experts to generate sustainable, real-world solutions for the future urban spaces towards the betterment of our environment and humankind.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Carsome Eric Cheng said, “We are truly excited over this partnership with Sunway iLabs, as this is the first-of-its-kind accelerator in the Southeast Asian region to identify, partner and scale innovative start-ups. It is an honour for us to be supporting and boosting the entrepreneur and automotive communities through this unique programme. This is another huge step towards Carsome’s vision of creating the most trusted vehicle ownership ecosystem, powered by technology and data.”

Sunway Group Chief Innovation Officer and Director of Sunway iLabs Matt van Leeuwen said, "We are really pleased to see how our partnership with Carsome has grown into a broad-spectrum innovation platform covering R&D, tech talent development, and now also a startup accelerator programme. We believe that this first-of-its-kind auto ecosystem accelerator in Malaysia will help elevate startups to the next level by tapping the networks, market, mentors and funding offered by Carsome and Sunway. This is really a unique opportunity not to be missed by entrepreneurs who are looking to build a successful tech business in the automotive industry."