The Evolution of Indonesian Unicorns: From Cash Burning to Profitability and IPO Readiness
- Aug 13
- 7 min read
A New Era for Indonesia’s Startup Ecosystem
A few years ago, Indonesian startups competed on a single main front: growth. The number of users, service coverage, and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) were the yardsticks of success, as long as global investors kept pouring in funds. However, that landscape has now changed dramatically. In 2025, startup funding in Indonesia plunged 38% to around US$ 213 million—down roughly 85% from its peak of US$ 1.4 billion in 2023. Throughout that year, no new unicorn was born, and there was practically no large-scale initial public offering (IPO) besides PT Super Bank Indonesia Tbk.
Facing this new reality, investors now demand something different. Their focus has shifted from mere growth stories to a demand for healthy unit economics, operational efficiency, and reliable cash flow. For capital markets, the question has become simpler: which company is truly ready to go public next? The answer is no longer determined by who has the most users, but by who has the strongest business fundamentals.
Despite these challenges, Indonesia’s startup ecosystem remains one of the largest in Southeast Asia. It spans a range of strategic sectors, from travel and accommodation, finance, and healthcare, to business services. Today, some of these companies still operate privately, while others have successfully entered the capital markets.
Private Unicorns in Indonesia
Traveloka is a major name with an extensive ticket and hotel booking ecosystem, founded in 2012, with an indicated valuation of around US$3 billion. The company once explored an IPO via a SPAC scheme in 2021 worth around US$ 5 billion, but that plan was cancelled, and no new confirmed IPO plan has since emerged.
The company eFishery was once a rising star in digital agriculture, achieving unicorn status in 2023 with a valuation of around US$ 1.3 billion. However, since late 2024, the company has instead become a cautionary tale in governance: an independent investigation found indications of revenue inflation of nearly US$ 600 million, and its former CEO was sentenced to prison for financial-report manipulation and money laundering.
The lesson: a large valuation does not guarantee sound fundamentals. Governance and the credibility of financial reporting matter just as much as growth.
The fintech sector remains the most competitive. Xendit became a unicorn in 2021 with a valuation of around US$ 1 billion. Akulaku and Kredivo compete in digital credit and BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later), with Kredivo reaching a valuation of around US$ 2.5 billion. DANA is a major e-wallet player with a valuation of around US$ 1.2 billion in 2022.
This sector diversity shows that Indonesian startups have entered a more mature stage—becoming part of how people transact daily, rather than just being apps.
Former Unicorns That Have Entered the Capital Markets
Several startups have already taken their businesses public. Their performance serves as a real example: an IPO is not the finish line, but the beginning of ongoing market pressure and demands for transparency. Assessing the next candidate requires more than just valuation; it requires looking at readiness to withstand quarterly volatility, as experienced by Bukalapak.
Company | Exchange & IPO Year | Recent Performance (2025/2026) | Profitability Status |
GoTo Group | IDX (BEI), 2022 | H1 2026: net revenue of Rp10.99 trillion (+28.4% YoY); net profit of Rp607.48 billion. | Net profit for 2 consecutive quarters (Q1 & Q2 2026), a turnaround from losses. |
Bukalapak | IDX (BEI), 2021 | H1 2026: net revenue of Rp4 trillion (+29% YoY), but a period loss of Rp820.74 billion due to an investment impairment loss of Rp1.75 trillion. | Recorded a loss due to non-operational investment impairment. |
J&T Express | HKEX (Hong Kong), 2023 | FY2025: revenue of US$12.2 billion (+18.5% YoY); adjusted net profit of US$425 million (more than 2x). | Profitable; new markets (Middle East, Africa, Latin America) reaching full profitability. |
The Watchlist: Who Are the Next “Soonicorn” Candidates?
If the era of growth at all costs is over, the most interesting startups to watch share three traits: a strong market position, recurring revenue or stable cash flow, and a clear path to profit.
Being on the watchlist below is no guarantee of an imminent IPO. That decision depends on market conditions, funding needs, and internal readiness — especially in the much tighter 2025 funding climate.
Halodoc: A Digital Health Ecosystem
Halodoc is a leading private digital health platform founded in 2016. Although the company has no immediate IPO plans, it has raised up to US$ 285 million in total funding, including a US$ 100 million Series D round in 2023. Astra International serves as a key strategic investor with a 31.34% stake as of early 2025, supported by major global investors including Temasek, Novo Holdings, and UOB Venture Management to secure long-term capital stability.
To address post-pandemic user retention challenges, Halodoc is building an integrated healthcare ecosystem that connects online doctor consultations, pharmacy delivery, and broader medical services. Looking ahead, B2B expansion through corporate and insurance partnerships will drive its primary growth catalyst. However, a comprehensive evaluation of its financial strength remains limited because core business metrics such as revenue per user, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and service-level margins have not been publicly disclosed.
Amartha: Fintech for the Underbanked Segment
Amartha is a leading Indonesian fintech platform founded in 2010 by Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, focusing on micro-financing for the underbanked segment, particularly female entrepreneurs. By March 2025, the company had reached over 3.3 million micro-entrepreneurs, 99% of whom are women. To support its expansion, Amartha has raised an estimated US$ 53 million to US$ 519 million in total capital (including debt facilities). In June 2025, it secured US$ 55 million from Swedfund, Finnfund, and BIO as part of a US$ 199 million IFC-led syndicate, highlighting a strategic shift toward debt financing over pure venture capital.
As Amartha expands its footprint in this high-potential yet high-risk market, its primary challenge lies in maintaining credit quality. Consequently, tracking core financial metrics such as Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratios, repayment rates, cost of credit, and operational efficiency remains critical to evaluating its long-term business sustainability and financial health.
Mekari: A SaaS Recurring Revenue Model
Mekari, a prominent Indonesian Software as a Service (SaaS) provider founded in 2015 (formerly Sleekr), has secured US$ 71 million to US$ 83 million in total funding, highlighted by a $50 million Series E round in 2022 led by Money Forward. Powered by a diverse product ecosystem—including Talenta (HR), Jurnal (accounting), Klikpajak (tax), and Qontak (CRM)—the company serves over 35,000 business clients and 800,000 active users. Driven by strong recurring revenue, its estimated Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) surged from US$ 43 million in 2022 to roughly US$ 97.5 million in 2024.
To optimize Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and maintain efficient CAC, Mekari actively executes a cross-selling strategy across its suite of business tools. The company further strengthened this expansionary approach through strategic M&A activities, acquiring financial management platform Jojonomic in 2024 and e-commerce enabler Desty in August 2025 to scale its end-to-end B2B SaaS ecosystem.
Social Commerce Reaching Tier 2 and 3 Cities
This Indonesian leading social commerce platform, founded in November 2018, empowers a vast reseller network and effectively bridges brands with consumers in underserved tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Backed by US$ 78 million in total funding—including a US$ 39–40 million Series C round led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in May 2023, Evermos expanded aggressively; scaling its GMV by 17x between FY2020 and FY2022 alongside a network of 160,000 active resellers as of January 2023.
However, evaluating Evermos’ long-term business fundamentals requires looking beyond top-line GMV expansion to assess true bottom-line profitability. Consequently, key investment analysis hinges on operational efficiency metrics, including take rates, logistics costs, reseller retention rates, and CAC efficiency across lower-tier Indonesian markets.
Macro Catalysts: Drivers of the Next IPO Wave
The road to an IPO is not just about internal readiness. Macroeconomic conditions and capital market dynamics will also shape the direction of the next few years.
A Much Tighter Funding Climate
Startup funding plunged 38% to US$ 213 million in 2025, about 85% lower than the 2023 peak. There were no new unicorns or rounds above US$100 million throughout that year, and the median funding closing time lengthened to 17 months.
Soonicorn candidates are likely to rely more on internal revenue (like Mekari and Evermos) or debt from development institutions (like Amartha), rather than large equity rounds as seen in 2021.
Profitabilitas Kembali Jadi Prioritas
Investor kini lebih hati-hati memberi valuasi tinggi hanya karena pertumbuhan pengguna. Fokusnya bergeser ke rangkaian: Revenue → Gross Margin → EBITDA → Arus Kas Operasional → Arus Kas Bebas.
PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk.’s case proves the market rewards cost-efficiency discipline. But EBITDA is not the only measure of health PT Bukalapak.com Tbk.’s case shows revenue can grow while losses persist due to non-operational factors.
Local Capital Markets vs. Global Exchanges
The IDX offers access to domestic investors and a large retail base. However, companies with a regional scale may choose a global exchange for broader liquidity, as J&T Express did by choosing Hong Kong.
A dual-listing strategy is an option, though it requires consideration of regulation, cost, and a company structure that is far from simple.
Fintech Remains Strategic, Governance Becomes a Must
Fintech’s dominance is no coincidence—a large population, high digital penetration, and financial services not yet fully served by traditional banking.
But big opportunities come with big risks: regulation, credit quality, data security, and competition. The eFishery case is a reminder that governance is now an absolute requirement, not merely a nice-to-have.
Conclusion: From Unicorns to Sustainable Public Companies
Indonesian startups are entering a new phase. The measure of success has shifted from user growth and large valuations toward efficiency, profitability, and governance—accelerated by the shock to market trust following the eFishery case and the tight funding environment of 2024–2025.
The companies that survive are not the ones expanding most aggressively, but those able to combine business scale with conventional operational discipline.
Halodoc, Amartha, Mekari, and Evermos are worth watching, but soonicorn candidate status should not be judged on valuation alone. Investors need to look at revenue growth, the health of unit economics, EBITDA and cash flow, governance quality, and the resilience of the business model without easy capital injections.
Indonesia’s next generation of startups to succeed in going public will not simply be the most sophisticated or the ones with the most users, but those able to prove their business can be profitable and sustainable.
For investors, it is time to look beyond the “unicorn” label — because the market now judges how strongly a company generates value for its shareholders, as clearly seen in the contrasting performance of GoTo, Bukalapak, and J&T Express in the first half of 2026.
Disclaimer: This content is created for educational purposes or service promotion, and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any specific Securities. Any risks arising from investment decisions made based on the information in this publication are the sole responsibility of the respective audience. The data was sourced from various sources. PT KAF Sekuritas Indonesia is licensed and supervised by the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan / OJK).
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