Latest on Korean Startups

Chief Executives
Com2uS, Gamevil Chairman Song Byung-joon: Mobile game pioneer, sports enthusiast
About eight years ago on Oct. 5, 2013, Song Byung-joon, the then-chief executive of South Korean mobile game developer Gamevil Inc., visited the office of its recent rival, Com2uS Corp. It was the day after Gamevil announced the 70 billion won ($63
Jun 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Shopping app Ably raises another $55 mn
South Korea-based Ably Co., operator of the fashion app Ably, announced on Jun. 2 that it has raised 62 billion won ($55.7 million) in a Series B ex...
Jun 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate culture
Inside Coupang: Close-knit, challenge-seeking, data-driven
Coupang Corp. has a unique corporate culture for a company headquartered in South Korea. Industry insiders highlight that this uncommon cultur...
Jun 01, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPO funding
Market Kurly raises another $200 mn at a $2 bn valuation
The valuation of Kurly Inc. has now surpassed 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion). The operator of South Korea’s online grocery and gourmet fo...
Jun 01, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Luxury goods platform MUST'IT raises over $10 mn from VC firms
South Korea-based luxury goods platform MUST'IT has secured 13 billion won ($11.7 million) in a bridge round from venture capital firms Kakao Invest...
May 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
AI chip startup FuriosaAI wraps up $70 mn Series B round
South Korea-based artificial intelligence startup FuriosaAI has recently wrapped up an 80 billion won ($72.1 million) Series B round, attracting inv...
May 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Healthcare
National health insurance to cover dental startup AIOBIO’s QLF device
AIOBIO’s dental diagnostic devices will be covered by South Korea’s national health insurance from June 1. AIOBIO is the country’s...
May 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Money flowing into fast-growing sneaker resale market
South Korea-based online fashion platform Musinsa has spun off its sneaker resale platform SoldOut to create a subsidiary named SLDT, alongside secu...
May 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Metaverse
Metaverse makes digital nomads the new norm
It’s been about four months since Lee Seul, a manager at real estate app Zigbang, worked from the company office in Gangnam, one of South Kore...
May 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fintech
KakaoBank’s skyrocketing valuation fuels debate on financial reform
There have been near-endless debates regarding the “proper valuation” of KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest internet-only bank that ...
May 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Cloud firms rush to secure footing in pet data market
The pet care market is set to ride a "cloud wave" as companies make use of pet data on cloud storage spaces to tap into the growing pet care market,...
May 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
Travel app Yanolja seeks $900 mn from SoftBank pre-IPO
South Korea’s largest travel platform Yanolja is in negotiations with SoftBank Vision Fund for an investment up to 1 trillion won ($900 millio...
May 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
AI-based startup Riiid raises $175 mn from SoftBank
Artificial intelligence-based learning platform Riiid Inc. has raised $175 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the South Korean company said on May...
May 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
STIC Ventures invests $2 mn in Vietnamese logistics startup EcoTruck
South Korea-based venture capital firm STIC Ventures has recently invested $2 million in a Vietnamese logistics startup EcoTruck, a move aimed at bo...
May 24, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Fintech platform Toss seeks $180 mn in fresh funding
South Korean fintech startup Toss is seeking to raise 200 billion won ($177 million) in fresh funding, which would almost treble its valuation to 8 ...
May 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Fashion platform Ably looks to raise over $20 mn
South Korea-based Ably Corporation, the operator of fashion platform Ably, is seeking to raise around 40 billion won ($35.3 million), attracting a p...
May 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Webtoons
Kakao Japan secures over $500 mn from Anchor Equity; valuation tops $7 bn
Kakao Corp.’s Japanese unit is set to secure 600 billion won ($530 million) from South Korea-based private equity firm Anchor Equity Partners....
May 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korea's COVID-19 test kit maker applies for $1.2 bn IPO
SD Biosensor Inc., South Korea's largest manufacturer of COVID-19 test kits, has applied for an initial public offering to raise up to 1.3 trillion ...
May 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Chat fiction app operator eyes global expansion, webtoon market
As smartphones have become essential to everyday life, chat fiction -- storytelling in the form of fictional text messaging -- has become popular am...
May 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Team Blind secures $37 mn in Series C round; eyes Nasdaq listing
Teamblind Inc., the operator of Blind, an anonymous social platform for discussion on workplace issues, has successfully concluded its $37 million S...
May 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
SkyLabs wraps up $20 mn Series B round; eyes 2022 listing
South Korea-based healthcare startup SkyLabs has wrapped up its 22.5 billion won ($20 million) Series B round, with plans to focus on beefing up its...
May 17, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Wealth management
Songs and art: Fractional investing bedazzles millennial investors
Meet Mr. A, born in the '80s and a self-proclaimed "analog person" who enjoys collecting CDs and artbooks of his favorite painters. But recently, Mr...
May 17, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
E-sports startup Bigpicture Interactive in talks to raise over $9 mn
South Korea-based e-sports startup Bigpicture Interactive Corp. is currently in talks with various venture capital firms to raise over 10 billi...
May 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
SoftBank Ventures invests in fashion app targeting middle-aged women
South Korea-based Queenit, a fashion mobile platform targeting middle-aged women, has secured around 5.5 billion won ($5 million) from a pool of hig...
May 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Colosseum rises to e-commerce challenge with one-stop solution
Fulfillment companies are expected to enjoy sharp growth this year, thanks to the global e-commerce boom fueling demand for fulfillment services, ...
May 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Character IP startup Studio Origin wraps up $4 mn Series A round
South Korea-based character entertainment startup Studio Origin Corp. has successfully concluded a 5 billion won ($4.4 million) Series A round, the ...
May 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Food tech startup Sir.LOIN seeks Series B funding; valuation to top $40mn
South Korea-based food tech company Sir.LOIN Inc. is seeking Series B funding in the range of 10 billion won as industry watchers project the startu...
May 06, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
IB-turned-podcaster in quest of hidden startup gems
A seasoned investment banker of Korean origin, David Kim, has turned his eyes to rising startups that have yet to receive attention and began to int...
May 06, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Ad tech firm Moloco joins unicorn club via Series C round
Moloco Inc., a data-driven advertising solutions firm, has concluded its Series C funding round, rendering the company a newcomer to the unicorn clu...
May 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Freelancer market platform Kmong raises near $28mn in Series C round
South-Korea based freelancer market platform Kmong Inc. has successfully attracted 31.2 billion won ($27.8 million) in its latest Series C funding, ...
May 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read
Latest News
- 1 Maybe Happy Ending: How a Seoul-made robot love story rewrote Broadway playbook
- 2 NPS yet to schedule external manager selection; PE firms’ fundraising woes deepen
- 3 Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition
- 4 BMW surpasses Mercedes in Korean sales amid imported vehicle market shake-up
- 5 Seoul appeal: Korean art captivates Indonesia’s affluent connoisseurs