Lalamove

The company was founded in Hong Kong in December 2013 by Chow Shing-Yuk (Shing Chow), a Stanford graduate and former professional poker player. Chow sought to digitize the fragmented van-hailing market, which traditionally relied on call centers. The company launched as EasyVan and focused on matching users with van drivers for moving and logistics.

In 2014, the company rebranded to Lalamove^[2] to facilitate expansion into international markets. It entered Singapore in 2014, followed by Bangkok and Taipei in 2015. In Mainland China, the company adopted the brand name Huolala (Chinese: 货拉拉; lit. 'Goods La La').

Lalamove expanded rapidly across Southeast Asia, entering the Philippines (Manila) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) in 2017^[3].

In 2018, the company launched in India, though its operations there were later halted.

In 2019, Lalamove expanded outside Asia for the first time, launching in Latin America with operations in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City. That same year, the company raised US$300 million in a Series D funding round, achieving "unicorn" status with a valuation exceeding US$1 billion^[4].

In March 2020, Lalamove made its first strategic investment by participating in a pre-series B funding round for logistics company Inteluck.^[5] On 24 November 2020, the Government of India banned 45 Chinese apps, including Lalamove, from operating in India, citing security concerns.^[6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Lalamove launched the "Deliver Care" CSR initiative to provide free delivery services to NGOs and medical frontline workers^[7]. The CSR initiative helped deliver over 200,000 essential items including face masks, hand sanitiser, personal protection equipment and hot meals to frontline medical works and underprivileged families. In total, more than 86,000 beneficiaries were reached.^[8] Lalamove also partnered with Quezon City local government in the Philippines to launch the LalaJeep, a new delivery type on the Lalamove app, to help jeepney drivers who were displaced from work due to the community quarantine.^[9]

In 2021, Lalamove raised US$1.5 billion in Series F funding led by Sequoia Capital China and Hillhouse Capital, valuing the company at approximately US$10 billion.

In January 2022, reports emerged that Lalamove, along with cargo delivery subsidiaries of DiDi and 58.com, had been summoned by local transportation regulators in Shanghai, after a rising number of cases of drivers providing illegal freight services were noted to originate from the platforms. Lalamove was ordered to rectify these practices that the authorities described as “damage that stems from disorderly expansion". In the same month, Lalamove had already been one of eight companies to be summoned by China's Ministry of Transportation and warned about unclear pricing schemes, rising membership fees, unfair competition, and illegal transportation.^[10]

In 2022, Lalamove launched their operation in Dhaka, Bangladesh.^[11][12]

In 2024 and 2025, Lalamove expanded into the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), launching operations in Istanbul, Turkey, and Dubai, UAE.

In June 2025, Lalamove announced their first move into electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing with the launch of DuoLa Auto, Lalamove’s own NEV brand. Lalamove's plan to enter EV manufacturing has been in the works for a few years, with initial reports surfacing in 2021. The first product of DuoLa Auto is DuoLa Bafang (多拉八方), an electric microvan designed for the logistics industry. The DuoLa Bafang van is developed and produced jointly with Changan Kaicene, with Changan's own version being sold as the Kuayue Xingguang (星光). Lalamove added “new energy vehicle sales” to its business scope officially in 2023 and stated in its Hong Kong Stock Exchange prospectus that the company is exploring new opportunities in electric commercial vehicle research and development.^[13]

Lalamove describes its core business as "on-demand intra-city logistics." The platform offers various service types depending on the market:

• Freight & Delivery: The core service matching users with drivers of motorcycles, cars, vans, and trucks (ranging from 1-ton to large lorries) for point-to-point delivery.
• Moving Services: Specialized services for home and office relocation, often including driver assistance with loading.
• Inter-city Freight: Connecting businesses for long-haul logistics between cities.
• Lalamove Ride: A ride-hailing service launched in select markets (e.g., Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam) to compete with Grab and Gojek, often marketing lower commission rates for drivers.
• Enterprise Solutions: API integration for e-commerce businesses to automate deliveries.
• Vehicle Rental & Sales: In China, the company operates a business line selling and leasing vehicles to drivers, focusing heavily on New Energy Vehicles (NEVs).

The Lalamove app utilizes a proprietary matching algorithm to pair orders with nearby drivers. Features include:

• Multi-stop Deliveries: Allowing users to add up to 20 stops in a single route.
• Real-time Tracking: GPS tracking of the delivery vehicle.
• Instant Driver Matching: Claiming an average match time of under 30 seconds in mature markets.

Following safety incidents in 2021, the app was updated with enhanced safety features, including an in-ride audio recording function, "Safety Center" with one-touch emergency assistance, and deviation alerts if a driver strays from the navigation route.

• Uber
• Grab (company)
• GoGoX (formerly GoGoVan)
• Gig economy