New joint venture looking to revive Robinhood

The SET-listed tech company SKY ICT and the shipping conglomerate Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA) are joining forces to secure the intellectual property of the homegrown food delivery app Robinhood in a 100-million-baht deal.

The unexpected joint venture comes at a time when the platform’s multi-billion-baht transition to a consortium led by the 100-year-old trading firm Yip In Tsoi has reached an abrupt standstill.

The deal includes the platform’s software and brand logo, a source close to the deal told the Bangkok Post.

SKY ICT and Thoresen will each hold a 45% stake in the entity, while Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) will hold the remaining 10%.

The SCB board has already approved the deal, which is expected to be signed by the end of November, with operations under the new group beginning in December, the source added.

Purple Ventures, the SCB subsidiary that operates Robinhood, was sold to a group of investors led by Yip In Tsoi Group in September 2024 for 2 billion baht.

The deal comprised an upfront payment of 400 million baht and performance-based payments of up to 1.6 billion baht.

However, Yip In Tsoi in recent months has refrained from actively marketing the platform due to concerns over sustaining its heavy capital burn, according to the source.

The new consortium led by SKY ICT and Thoresen will acquire the core IP and platform software directly from SCB, while keeping the operational platform active without interruption.

Deal differences

Yip In Tsoi initially entered into an agreement to acquire and operate the entire Robinhood delivery platform under the Robinhood brand.

The agreement stipulated that if the platform turned a profit, earnings would be shared with SCB. If its losses reached a critical threshold, the business could be returned to SCB.

Yip In Tsoi’s cumulative spending — including acquisition costs and ongoing platform operating losses — has exceeded 500 million baht.

Due to sustained financial losses, Yip In Tsoi will return all Robinhood operations to SCB.

“The new consortium projects initial operational losses and has planned a financial runway capable of sustaining losses of up to 1 billion baht during the platform’s initial relaunch phase,” the source added.

Despite previous operational challenges, Robinhood has maintained continuous delivery operations.

The management of the new consortium has confirmed that it will retain all 82 existing employees to preserve stability, the source added.

The new owners aim to reposition Robinhood as a home-grown Thai “super app” capable of competing directly against multinational delivery giants.

Market competition

To revitalise platform activity, Robinhood is preparing to launch a competitive pricing strategy to address a key concern among merchants in Thailand’s delivery sector.

Foreign-owned delivery platforms currently levy gross profit (GP) fees of approximately 30%, while Robinhood will cap its GP fee at between 5% and 10.5%.

Under the platform’s merchant contracts, vendors accepting the GP rate must guarantee storefront price parity, ensuring online consumers pay the same menu prices as walk-in diners.

While Robinhood has 100,000 registered merchants on its system, the number of active vendors has declined to the tens of thousands.

The consortium plans an immediate “quick-win” campaign following the official announcement to rebuild merchant confidence and restore active listings, the source said.

Break-even goal

The source said the platform is targeting financial break-even within three years.

The consortium has allocated an operational budget of 300 million baht for its first year, to be spent directly on consumer promotional discounts and driver incentives.

The platform is expanding Robinhood Express, its dedicated messenger and document delivery service, to broaden its revenue channels.

Management has also retained the Robinhood brand name.

The source added that the delivery service would bring direct added value to SKY Group’s business roadmap in the near future, including through taxi drones.

SKY Group is studying the technology and plans to launch the service at Phuket Airport in 2027-28, targeting existing demand from foreign tourists.

Losses narrowing

According to the business data provider Creden.co, Purple Ventures’ revenue fell by about 51% to 305 million baht in 2025, from 622 million a year earlier.

Nevertheless, its financial performance improved significantly, with net losses narrowing by 97% to 90 million baht.

Earlier, Yip In Tsoi aimed to make Robinhood break even and achieve profitability by 2026, with ambitions to pursue an initial public offering within 3-4 years.

Robinhood in September introduced a gross profit fee of just 10.5%, with no additional charges, for restaurants participating in its “Same Price as In-Store” campaign. The aim was to attract merchants through lower fees and transparent pricing rather than relying heavily on consumer discounts.

The platform faces fierce competition from dominant players Line Man Wongnai and Grab, which benefit from larger customer bases, established delivery networks and stronger promotional capabilities.

Meanwhile, ShopeeFood has emerged as another challenger, taking advantage of Shopee’s e-commerce customer base and buy now, pay later services to attract price-sensitive consumers.

According to the Singapore-based research firm Momentum Works, Thailand’s food delivery market recorded a gross merchandise value (GMV) of US$5.1 billion in 2025, making it the second-largest market in Southeast Asia.

The market became increasingly concentrated in 2025 following Foodpanda’s withdrawal in May that year, leaving Grab and Line Man controlling a combined market share of close to 90%.

In 2025, Grab maintained its market leadership with a 47% share of GMV, followed by Line Man with 41% and ShopeeFood with 10%, according to Momentum Works.