Car trading startup Carsome appoints new CTO

Malaysian online used car marketplace Carsome has appointed Chet Sin as its latest Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the startup’s new product development and lead the engineering, product and infrastructure team to drive expansion across Southeast Asia.

Chet brings approximately 10 years of system development and product execution expertise to the startup.

Prior to joining the Carsome, Chet held the role of Head of IT and Digital Commerce at pan-Asian life insurer FWD Insurance. During his tenure there he was responsible for overseeing the company’s digital commerce platform (iFWD) technology operations to meet the business’ transformation needs.

Other former posts include Head of Commercial Systems at AirAsia BIG, where he spearheaded the system development for the successful integration of online travel retailing into the loyalty business, and VP of Engineering at Singaporean online food ordering platform Oddle.

Chet’s focus at Carsome will be to innovate and push boundaries in the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data infrastructure to provide best-in-class digital experience, as the startup seeks to expand into a one-stop solution for all automotive needs.

“Carsome has established itself as one of the leading regional players in the automotive industry in a short span of four years since our inception in 2015. Chet’s extensive experience in driving transformative innovations across different industries will be an invaluable asset to us as we expand our offerings to be a one-stop solution for all automotive needs, in our pursuit to drive Southeast Asia’s automotive industry forward,” said in a statement Eric Cheng, Co-Founder and CEO at Carsome.

“We are just beginning to tap the power of technology in bringing convenience and transparency to the used car supply chain and I’m confident that Chet will lead the charge in realising our vision.”

From a car price comparison website to the fastest growing online used car platform in Southeast Asia

Since its establishment in Malaysia in 2015, Carsome has since expanded to Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore and has one of the largest dealers network in Southeast Asia, with more than 6,000 registered dealers on its platform.

Unlike iCar Asia, Carro, and other online car dealers in the region, Carsome only sells through professional car dealers that it pre-screens rather than facilitating consumer-to-consumer trades.

Through its online bidding portal, customers are able to sell their second-hand vehicles directly to dealers nationwide. Carsome facilitates the entire car selling process, from inspection, to valuation, bidding and payment as well as logistics needs, allowing the customers to sell their cars as fast as one day with zero charges and minimal effort.

The company also handles the administration paperwork for both sides of the transaction.

In March 2018, Carsome raised US$19 million in Series B round led by Burda Principal Investments, the VC arm of the German media firm that formally entered Southeast Asia last year, alongside existing backers Gobi Partners, InnoVen Capital and Lumia Capital. 

More recently, the startup was reported to be in talks to raise US$40 million in a Series C funding round by the end of this year, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

“I’m impressed by the vision of Carsome in transforming the automotive industry through technology. It’s an amazing opportunity to be part of Carsome’s expansion and my goal is to leverage my experience in the design and implementation of digital transformation plan to help actualise Carsome’s vision and provide the best-in-class digital experience,” said Chet.