Uzum: Uzbekistan's First Unicorn Reaches $1.5B Valuation

Uzbekistan's Uzum Achieves $1.5 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round

In a landscape often characterized by geopolitical divides, Uzbekistan is establishing itself as a unique bridge between East and West. This is exemplified by the success of Uzum, the nation’s first unicorn, which has secured $65.5 million in a recent funding round.

Investment Details and Company Growth

The funding was co-led by Tencent of China and VR Capital, a firm based in New York and London, with additional investment from FinSight Ventures, a U.S.-based venture capital company.

This all-equity investment elevates Uzum’s post-money valuation to approximately $1.5 billion. This represents a substantial increase of nearly 30% compared to the $1.16 billion valuation announced in March of the previous year.

Uzum's Evolution and Service Offerings

Established in 2022, Uzum initially launched as an e-commerce platform known as Uzum Market within Uzbekistan. Following its initial success, the company strategically expanded its services to include fintech solutions, starting with a debit card.

Subsequently, Uzum introduced Uzum Tezkor, a rapid food delivery service, further diversifying its portfolio.

User Base and Transaction Volume

Currently, Uzum serves over 17 million monthly active users. This figure represents close to half of Uzbekistan’s adult population and approximately two-thirds of the country’s smartphone users.

The startup recorded a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $250 million in the first half of 2025 alone, demonstrating a year-over-year growth of nearly 1.5x.

Expansion of Uzum Bank and Lending Services

Uzum Bank, the company’s digital banking division, launched a co-branded Visa debit card with pre-approved credit limits in August of the prior year.

To date, 2 million of these cards have been issued, with projections exceeding 5 million by the end of the current year.

Furthermore, Uzum’s unsecured lending business reached $200 million in financed volume during the first quarter, a 3.4x increase compared to the same period last year.

The company also reported a net income of $150 million in 2024, marking a 50% year-over-year improvement.

Factors Driving Uzum's Rapid Growth

How has a company just over three years old achieved such rapid scaling and attracted the attention of global investors like Tencent?

Djasur Djumaev, Uzum’s founder and CEO, credits the company’s success to a combination of in-depth local understanding and meticulous execution.

He emphasizes the importance of comprehending Uzbekistan’s unique cultural nuances, consumer behaviors, and business landscape, coupled with the technical and operational expertise found in established global companies.

Infrastructure Development

Uzum has invested heavily in building its digital and physical infrastructure from the ground up within Uzbekistan.

This includes a logistics network spanning 112,000 square meters, with a storage capacity of 1.1 million square feet, enabling the processing of over 200,000 orders daily.

The company has also established a network of over 1,500 pickup points across 450 cities, towns, settlements, and villages, facilitating next-day deliveries and serving as distribution centers for Uzum Bank cards.

Strategic Delivery Models and SKU Expansion

Initially operating on a fulfilled-by-operator model, Uzum has broadened its delivery options to include fulfillment-by-seller and delivery-by-seller approaches.

The goal is to route 20% to 30% of deliveries through these new models, which will also contribute to an expansion of Uzum’s stock-keeping units (SKUs).

Currently, over 1.5 million SKUs are available for next-day delivery, an increase from over 600,000 at the time of the last funding announcement in March 2024.

Tencent's Investment Rationale

Nikolay Seleznev, Uzum’s chief strategy and business development officer, explained that Tencent’s decision to invest was driven by the startup’s consistently strong growth metrics, following several quarters of discussions.

Future Plans and Expansion Strategies

Uzum intends to expand its fintech offerings by introducing a deposit product in September and a long-term credit facility for its business-to-consumer (B2C) customers.

The company also plans to grow its merchant base and enhance its QR code payment processing system, as well as expand its Visa debit card program and develop new products tailored to small and medium enterprises.

Furthermore, Uzum will introduce new value-added services to its e-commerce business, including those designed to generate advertisement revenue.

The company is also focused on scaling its financial infrastructure through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) for improved credit scoring, fraud protection, and personalized user experiences.

Uzum plans to open its e-commerce marketplace to international merchants, starting with those from China and Turkey in September, anticipating 10 to 15% of cross-border activity from these regions.

Workforce and Long-Term Vision

Uzum currently employs over 12,000 individuals, including personnel at its pickup points, as well as tech, engineering, and product teams across all business areas.

Similar to other profitable businesses with diverse revenue streams, Uzum is considering a public offering in the medium term.

Prior to that, the company aims to secure a Series B funding round of $250–$300 million in the first half of 2026.

To date, Uzum has raised $137 million in equity, including the latest funding round.