Coupang breaks into top 100 private tech firms by value

Coupang, a Korean social commerce provider, said yesterday it was included on a U.S. list of the world’s 100 most valuable private technology companies, being the only local firm to make it onto the list.

The start-up, which provides deals to local consumers, ranked 19th on U.S.-based media Business Insider’s annual “Digital 100” list, which evaluates companies on several metrics, such as financial performance, market share and growth rate.

The list said Coupang “has been cash-flow positive since late 2011 and operating and net income profitable since May 2012,” estimating the company’s value at $1.5 billion.

It also said Coupang, which resembles Groupon and Amazon, is likely to see its operating and net income end in the black for fiscal 2012.

Coupang, which started operations in August 2010, provides services to roughly 1.5 million users. In May, it became one of the first local social commerce providers that started to reap profits despite growing competition among similar deal providers.

Meanwhile, a number of global IT firms were also included on this year’s list. China’s Alibaba grabbed the top spot, while U.S.-based social media Twitter ranked third.

Yonhap