Podcast Highlights: Building a Mobility Ecosystem in SEA
Welcome to the 139th edition of the eXponential Finance Podcast. Whether you listen to us for the first time, or are a regular, we appreciate your spending time with us.
Kay Kyeongsik Woo is the Founder of MVL (Mass Vehicle Ledger), TADA (ride hailing) and ONiON (electric tricycles).
Earlier in his founder journey, Mothership, a Singaporean online magazine, portrayed Kay as the “Korean guy who made a ride hailing app for the Singapore market after meeting driver who called himself a ‘dog’”.
But then, the sequencing evolved quite naturally. The blockchain needed a use case to prove its utility, so the zero-commission ride hailing up was worn, and when expanding from Singapore to Cambodia, the need for manufacturing/financing/renting a captive vehicle production seemed inevitable.
This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music, and many other major platforms via our Spotify Podcaster Page.
The following is a summary of the discussion produced with Claude.
Origins and Initial Business Model
Kay Woo started his journey in the mobility industry after moving from New York to Hong Kong in 2015. Initially, he launched a cross-border car reservation service. However, with major players like Uber and Grab struggling to make profits, investors were skeptical about new entrants in the ride-hailing space.
In 2018, Kay introduced a new protocol called MVL (Mass Vehicle Ledger) and chose Singapore as the first market to launch TADA, combining blockchain technology with ride-hailing. The timing was opportune as Uber had just merged its Southeast Asian operations with Grab, creating a near-monopoly in the region.
TADA’s unique selling proposition was its 0% commission model for drivers, made possible by blockchain and token economics. This approach allowed TADA to attract drivers and offer cheaper fares to customers while still growing its ecosystem.
Challenges and Growth
Initially, TADA focused on acquiring drivers, leveraging the appeal of the 0% commission model. However, attracting users proved challenging as many were already locked into existing platforms like Grab. The COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly provided a boost to TADA’s growth. As overall demand for ride-hailing services decreased, drivers looked for platforms with better earning potential, and users sought cheaper options. This alignment of needs helped TADA gain market share.
Revenue Model and Token Economics
While TADA doesn’t charge commissions, it generates revenue through a platform fee of 60 cents per trip, similar to the “software usage fee” implemented by competitors. This fee has made the company profitable. Additionally, TADA uses a portion of its revenue to buy back its MVL tokens from the market and redistribute them to drivers as incentives.
The MVL token can be used to redeem service vouchers for ride-hailing and to pay for battery swapping services for electric vehicles in Cambodia. About 70% of the total token supply is in circulation, with the remaining 30% held by the foundation.
Expansion into Other Markets
After Singapore, TADA expanded into Cambodia, identifying it as a promising market due to its developed capital city and the prevalence of smartphone-based ride-hailing. In Cambodia, TADA noticed that most taxis were three-wheeled vehicles imported from India. This observation led to the company’s next venture: manufacturing electric three-wheelers.
Electric Vehicle Manufacturing
TADA launched Onion Mobility to produce electric three-wheelers (tuk-tuks) in Cambodia. This move was driven by several factors:
1. The need to access vehicle movement data for their blockchain ecosystem.
2. The relatively lower technical barrier to entry for producing two and three-wheelers compared to four-wheeled vehicles.
3. The opportunity to address the financial challenges faced by drivers in acquiring vehicles.
As of the podcast recording, TADA had delivered over 700 electric three-wheelers in Cambodia over the past two years.
Innovative Financing Model
To help drivers who struggle to obtain loans due to lack of credit history or poor credit scores, TADA introduced a “Rent to Own” program. Drivers can rent the vehicles, work on the TADA platform, pay rental fees, and eventually claim ownership of the vehicle.
TADA is also connecting this vehicle financing to Japanese investors. Instead of earning low interest rates from bank accounts, Japanese investors can purchase these vehicles and earn higher returns (5–10%) from the rental income paid by drivers in Cambodia.
Data Collection and Monetization
TADA collects vehicle movement data, including location and condition. While the company doesn’t solely rely on selling this data for revenue, it uses the information to provide value-added services. For instance, investors who purchase vehicles through TADA’s financing program can access a dashboard showing the driver’s income, location data, and driving distance.
Blockchain Implementation and Future Plans
Currently, TADA operates as a dApp (decentralized application) token. While they initially planned to move to a layer-one blockchain (either by forking Ethereum or another existing blockchain), they’ve shifted focus to becoming a sharp application for real-world use cases by connecting with existing blockchain infrastructure.
TADA is preparing to accept crypto payments (USDC and USDT) in Singapore and is exploring integrations with smart wallet services. They’re also in discussions with companies like Coinbase and Crypto.com to potentially white-label their wallet and payment gateway services.
Expansion Plans
TADA is currently operating in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. They plan to expand to Hong Kong in the fourth quarter of this year, with Korea, Japan, and New York in the pipeline for the near future. In Japan, they’re working on overcoming regulatory hurdles by partnering with local prefectures and existing taxi services.
Reflections on the Journey
Kay acknowledges that building TADA has been challenging, as they’re essentially running three significant businesses (blockchain protocol, ride-hailing service, and electric vehicle manufacturing) that each require substantial resources. However, he emphasizes that they didn’t start everything at once but made strategic choices at each stage of their growth, often driven by the need to survive.
While in hindsight their journey might appear as a straight line, Kay stresses that every decision was about survival and staying focused on mobility. The company’s ability to make these various elements work together synergistically has allowed them to provide better returns for drivers and users.
Token Performance and Market Events
TADA’s token (MVL) experienced a significant price spike during the 2020–2021 crypto bull run. The company was featured in Korean and Asian media as one of the few blockchain projects with a real-world application. This attention, combined with listings on major exchanges like Upbit, led to a surge in trading volume, reaching a peak of $1 billion in daily trading volume at its height.
Conclusion
TADA represents an innovative approach to ride-hailing, combining blockchain technology, zero-commission models, and electric vehicle manufacturing to create a unique ecosystem. By addressing pain points for both drivers and riders, and expanding strategically into promising markets, TADA has managed to compete with larger, established players in the Southeast Asian mobility market. Their future plans, including expansion into new markets and integration of crypto payments, suggest continued innovation and growth in the intersection of blockchain and mobility services.
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