Coupang turns to Taiwan as key hub for global growth

Taiwan has emerged as a key strategic hub for Coupang’s global growth, as the company brings fast delivery to more regions and develops AI-powered logistics technologies.

Taiwan is a relatively new market for the New York Stock Exchange-listed company, which began expanding into the country in October 2022. The move came after the e-commerce giant established a strong presence in Korea, where it has operated since 2010. In just a few years, Coupang connected more than 300,000 sellers on its platform in Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Hong Kong with consumers in the Taiwanese market.

Coupang recently completed its fourth fulfillment center in Taiwan, which opened in April. Located in the Bausan Guanyin Logistics Park in Taoyuan City in northwestern Taiwan, the facility was designed to accelerate exports, particularly from U.S. businesses, to the Taiwanese market.

“By removing traditional barriers such as complex logistics, long shipping times and high costs, we made it easier for U.S. companies to expand internationally," the company said in a statement released after the logistics center opened.

"American sellers can now reach new customers in Asia and beyond with greater efficiency, reliability and scale.”

Coupang’s logistics hubs in Taiwan are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for the company’s signature Rocket Delivery service that brings orders to consumers’ doorsteps as soon as the next day. The company said that by integrating robotics, machine learning and end-to-end supply chain coordination across its global network of sellers, it connects ordering, fulfillment and delivery in a single synchronized system.

“This technology powers Rocket Delivery, which now reaches across approximately 70 percent of Taiwan’s geography, seven days a week, including weekends,” the company said. Technology was a major part of the company’s continued investments in Taiwan, which last year saw the largest U.S. investments ever in the country and the second-largest approved foreign investment.

Mark Ross, CEO of Coupang Fulfillment and Logistics, said following the completion of the latest hub, Coupang is “bringing together American innovation and the company’s proven logistics expertise to Taiwan.”

He added the company will continue expanding logistics infrastructure and extend its footprint into central and southern Taiwan, reinforcing its long-term commitment to Taiwanese customers.

Coupang Taiwan, the U.S.-based company’s local subsidiary, launched its Wow membership service in March 2025, offering free delivery and easy refunds. Without a membership, free delivery is available only for purchases of more than 490 New Taiwan dollars.

Membership was introduced after Coupang’s mobile app ranked among the most-downloaded apps on Apple’s App Store and Google Play in 2023 and 2024. The rankings reflected the company’s growing presence in Taiwan, where it was successfully competing with established e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Momo less than two years after entering the market.

Coupang Inc., the New York Stock Exchange-listed company founded and headed by Korean American founder and Chairman Bom Kim, invested more than $900 million in Taiwan last year alone to expand its local infrastructure and introduce advanced logistics services. The investment has helped Coupang Taiwan register more than 1,100 patents in AI, logistics and commerce since entering the Taiwanese market. As the business has grown, more than 10,000 Korea-based sellers of food, beauty, fashion and everyday goods now sell to Taiwan’s population of 23 million through the platform.

In a conference call last month, Kim said, “What took four years to implement in Korea, we were able to introduce in Taiwan in just one year. This was possible because we applied the same technology and operational know-how accumulated in Korea.”

Coupang’s rapid expansion in Taiwan has received support from the Taiwanese government.

When the company completed its second logistics center in the country in November 2023, then-Taiwanese Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua said Coupang’s investment would strengthen local supply chains and create new business opportunities, contributing to Taiwan-U.S. commercial and trade relations.

Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Lee Huai-jen highlighted Coupang’s active participation in Taiwan’s cross-border e-commerce development. Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng also expressed support for Coupang, calling it a “leading U.S.-listed company investing in Taiwan.”

“Coupang’s expansion in Taiwan has been driven not only by its logistics competitiveness and product sourcing capabilities but by favorable market conditions such as the preference for Korean media culture and Korean products and Taiwan's business and regulatory environment that is highly receptive to foreign investment,” said Park Jeong-eun, a professor at Ewha Womans University’s School of Business.

Coupang’s growth in Taiwan has continued as the company faced scrutiny in Korea over a massive data breach.

In June, Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission fined Coupang more than 624 billion won ($458 million) after the breach, which went undetected for months, exposed the personal information of more than 37.5 million people who had shopped on the platform. The fine was the largest ever imposed by the country’s data protection watchdog.