Carro, the AI-powered used-car marketplace headquartered in Singapore, is preparing to take the leap onto a US stock exchange. The SoftBank-backed company is in discussions with advisers about a potential Nasdaq listing that could value it north of $3 billion.

The plan, as currently structured, involves a confidential filing as early as June 2026 with a target capital raise of up to $500 million. If it goes through, Carro would become one of the few Southeast Asian automotive tech firms to land on a major US exchange.

From garage startup to unicorn

Founded in 2015 by Aaron Tan, Aditya Lesmana, and Kelvin Chng, Carro built its business on the premise that buying and selling used cars in Southeast Asia was needlessly painful. The platform uses AI for vehicle valuation and customer engagement, essentially trying to bring data-driven transparency to a market historically built on gut feelings and questionable odometer readings.

The company hit unicorn status in June 2021 after closing a $360 million Series C round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Total funding now sits at over S$700 million, roughly $526 million, with backing from SoftBank and several sovereign wealth funds.

Carro’s geographic ambitions have expanded meaningfully since that unicorn-minting round. In 2022, the company announced a joint venture with SoftBank Corp. to launch used-car subscription services in Japan. It has also made acquisitions in Hong Kong and Australia, pushing well beyond its original Southeast Asian footprint.

Why this matters beyond cars

Carro itself has no crypto connection. The company has made no announcements about blockchain integrations, digital tokens, or anything resembling a Web3 strategy. This is a straightforward AI-driven marketplace play.

What investors should watch

The competitive dynamics are also worth monitoring. Carro operates in a space where incumbents like Carvana in the US have demonstrated both the massive upside and the near-death volatility that comes with digitizing car sales. Carvana’s stock famously cratered over 99% from its peak before staging a dramatic comeback.

The automotive commerce sector is increasingly converging with fintech, as car subscriptions, digital financing, and AI-powered pricing create new revenue streams beyond simple buy-sell transactions. Carro’s joint venture in Japan and its multi-market expansion suggest the company is building toward a platform model rather than a simple marketplace.