CHINESE truck services startup Full Truck Alliance has reached a valuation of nearly US$12 billion after it raised US$1.7 billion in a new funding round, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The fundraising comes as the company is planning an offshore initial public offering as soon as next year, the sources said, with one of them adding the venue will likely be New York.

Full Truck Alliance is the result of a 2017 merger between truck services platforms Yunmanman and Huochebang.

The company yesterday announced the completion of the fundraising, led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital, Permira and Fidelity.

Full Truck Alliance said its existing investors, including All-Stars Investment, GGV Capital, Hillhouse Capital Group, Tencent Holding and Yunfeng Capital also joined the funding round.

The company said in a statement it plans to use the funds for technology, service and business model innovations.

Full Truck Alliance, one of the biggest startups in SoftBank’s global portfolio, operates a marketplace that connects millions of mostly independent truckers with merchants that require shipping. It makes money by charging a fee when brokering transactions, and from servicing drivers by selling top-up toll cards and directing them to service stations.

It was said to have broken even as early as mid-2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic locked down cities across China and cast its logistics sector into disarray.

Full Truck Alliance, known as Manbang in Chinese, said yesterday it broke even this year and currently handles transactions for some 10 million truckers and 5 million shippers. It’s also expanding into automotive technology and backs autonomous trucking startup Plus.AI.

(SD-Agencies)