Build story · Singapore · 2009–2023
Sea Limited: games fund an e-commerce giant
Forrest Li built a profitable gaming business, used it to fund mobile-first marketplace Shopee, grew to a peak value of about $200 billion, then cut back sharply to reach profitability.
By Shivam Bhandari · Reviewed 31 October 2026 · How we write
by the numbers
- Garena founded
- 2009
- Shopee launch
- 2015
- Peak market value (2021)
- around $200 billion
- First profitable quarter
- late 2022
What happened
Forrest Li founded Garena in Singapore in 2009 to publish online games in Southeast Asia. Its own mobile game Free Fire, designed to run on cheap phones, became one of the world's most downloaded games.
Gaming profits funded Shopee, launched in 2015 as a mobile-first marketplace. Shopee offered free shipping, low or no seller fees, in-app chat, and games inside the shopping app. It overtook rivals to lead Southeast Asian e-commerce and expanded to Brazil. Sea listed on the NYSE in 2017, and its value peaked at around $200 billion in 2021.
When growth slowed after the pandemic, Sea cut costs, exited markets including India and parts of Europe, and laid off staff. It reported its first profitable quarter in late 2022.
Timeline
- 2009
Garena founded.
- 2015
Shopee launches.
- 2017
NYSE IPO; Free Fire launches.
- 2022
Major cost cuts; first profit.
what made it work
- Profitable business funded a new one.
- Mobile-first design for emerging markets.
- Free shipping and low fees drove adoption.
- Later discipline when growth capital dried up.
the lesson
Profits from one business can fund a bold expansion — but growth must eventually turn into sustainable economics.
Apply it to your business
- 1Use cash-generating businesses to fund new bets.
- 2Design for your customers' devices and budgets.
- 3Be ready to cut back when conditions change.
Laws at work in this story
Figures are rounded and drawn from public reports, company filings and widely cited coverage at the time. Check the company's latest filings before relying on any number.