Uzum’s first Uzbekistan unicorn, $ 1.5 billion evaluation

At a time when the world feels increasingly divided between East and West, Uzbekistan has become a happy medium, as a local unicorn of the Central Asian Nation, VineHas lifted $ 65.5 million in a new round of funding co-directed by China Tencent and the VR Capital of New York and London, with the participation of Finsight Capital based in the United States.

The equity tour carries the post -money enhancement of the staining startup at around 1.5 billion dollars – a leap of almost 30% of the valuation of 1.16 billion Licorne status first in March of last year.

Founded in 2022, Uzum started its course in Uzbekistan with a electronic commercial market called Uzum Market, and shortly after its success, the startup added the fintech with a debit card and then extended to its express food delivery service, Uzum Tezkor.

Uzum currently has more than 17 million monthly active users – almost half of the adult population in Uzbekistan, about two thirds of all users of smartphones in the country – and 16,000 merchants. During the first half of 2025 only, the startup recorded $ 250 million in the value of raw goods (GMV), almost 1.5 times in the year.

His digital banking arm, Uzum Bank, launched a visa debit card co-marked with pre-approved credit limits in August from last year. This product has already issued 2 million cards and is in the process of exceeding 5 million by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Uzum’s unmarked loan activities reached $ 200 million in volume funded in the first quarter, increasing 3.4 times compared to the same period last year. The startup too poster 150 million dollars in net profit in 2024 – a 9 -year -on -year -on -year taking.

With a portfolio covering electronic commerce, fintech and digital bank, how did a startup have a little over three years managed to evolve quickly-and attract the attention of global investors like Tencent?

The founder and CEO of Uzum Djasur Djumaev attributes success to a combination of deep local knowledge and disciplined execution. He believes that understanding the country’s culture, consumer behavior and the commercial environment – and associate it with the technical and operational expertise that global companies have developed – have been essential to create a business that can evolve quickly and permanently.

The startup has built its digital and physical infrastructure from zero to launch its activities in Uzbekistan. This includes the definition of a logistical capacity which has reached 112,000 square meters, with a storage capacity of 1.1 million square feet, allowing it to process more than 200,000 orders per day.

The startup has also set up more than 1,500 pickup points in 450 cities, cities, colonies and villages in the country to allow deliveries the next day. These collection points also allow the issue and distribution of Uzum bank cards.

“Bets on local expertise and infrastructure on the border markets give you an advantage to carry out and develop your business very quickly,” Djumaev told Techcrunch in an exclusive interview.

Initially, Uzum operated on a model fulfilled by operator to allow electronic commerce deliveries. It has since expanded to include options of realization by seller and delivery by sale, in order to complete 20 to 30% of deliveries via these new models. These new delivery models will also help Uzum to extend its storage units, which currently exceeds 1.5 million available for its delivery service the next day, against more than 600,000 SKU at the time of its last financing announcement in March 2024.

When he was asked what led to his hood table this time, the chief strategy of Uzum and the business development manager, Nikolay Seleznev, told Techcrunch that the main growth measures of the startup convinced the Chinese investor to present himself after several quarters of ongoing discussions.

Uzum plans to develop its Fintech activity by introducing a deposit product in September and long -term credit ease (more than 12 months at maturity) for its B2C customers. The startup also plans to extend its merchant base and help its existing and new merchants with its QR code payment treatment system, extend its visa debit card program and create new products to take care of small and medium -sized enterprises in the country.

Likewise, the startup plans to introduce new products adding value -added services to its electronic commerce activity, including those that help generate advertising revenues. He also works on the scale of his financial infrastructure with AI increasingly integrated into credit rating, protection against fraud and personalized user experiences.

In addition, Uzum plans to open its electronic commercial market for international merchants, starting with those of China and Turkey in September.

“We expect 10 to 15% of cross -border activity from these countries,” said Seleznev.

The startup has more than 12,000 people on its workforce, including blue passes at its pickup points, as well as technological teams, engineering and products in all its activity sectors.

Similar to other companies of its kind, which are profitable and have several ways to generate continuous income over time, Uzum plans to become public in the medium term. But before that, it aims to increase a B series of 250 to 300 million dollars in the first half of 2026.

That said, the startup has so far raised $ 137 million in shares, including the last round.