Latest on Korean Startups
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Content
Sandbox Network sets up China affiliate for business expansion
South Korea’s largest multichannel network (MCN) company Sandbox Network Inc. has made another major step forward in expanding its China busine...
Jul 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
4by4's AI solution for high-def video content lures metaverse players
Displays are everywhere – refrigerators, automobiles, and even robots. And this display boom has sparked a fresh opportunity for 4by4 Inc., a S...
Jul 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Music & Entertainment
Samsung Galaxy boosts YouTube Music’s market share in Korea
YouTube is quickly growing in South Korea’s music market, the world’s sixth-largest. The number of YouTube Music’s monthly active u...
Jul 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Metaverse
Soaring metaverse stocks face mixed outlook in Korea
The share prices of South Korean metaverse companies have skyrocketed throughout this year, in an environment where fan meetings, press conferences a...
Jul 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Games
Nintendo Korea logs record-high revenue despite boycott of Japanese goods
Japanese video game giant Nintendo Co. posted an all-time high revenue in South Korea last year despite consumers boycotting Japanese products. The c...
Jul 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kakao Pay delays IPO following regulator request to refile prospectus
Kakao Pay Corp., the digital settlement platform unit of South Korea’s top messaging app operator Kakao Corp., is delaying its planned initial ...
Jul 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Digital currency
Kakao’s Ground X to work on Korea central bank digital currency initiative
Kakao Corp.’s blockchain arm Ground X was selected as a simulator for the Bank of Korea-led central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, beati...
Jul 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
Ex-TMON CEO launches e-commerce startup; raises over $17 mn in seed round
South Korea-based e-commerce startup RXC has secured around 20 billion won ($17.5 million) in a seed round -- an impressive and rare amount consideri...
Jul 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kakao Pay must refile IPO registration statement to FSS
South Korea’s financial regulator Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on July 16 requested correction of Kakao Pay’s IPO registration sta...
Jul 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
Masayoshi Son's top pick Yanolja eyes 2023 Nasdaq listing
South Korea's largest travel platform Yanolja has raised 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) from the Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Vision Fund II, marking th...
Jul 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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[Exclusive] M&As
Affinity, GS Retail likely to acquire Korean delivery platform Yogiyo
A consortium led by global investment firm Affinity Equity Partners is the most likely candidate to acquire South Korea’s second-largest food d...
Jul 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
Top industry talents launch AI chip startup; market takes note
South Korea-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Rebellions Inc. is drawing industry attention as AI chips become mainstays of the semiconducto...
Jul 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
7brau becomes Korea's second craft brewery en route to IPO
South Korea-based Seven Brau Co., or 7brau, is poised to become the country's second craft brewery to make a trading debut, following the footsteps o...
Jul 14, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
Atlas Labs makes it easy to transcribe phone calls via AI technology
South Korean startup Atlas Labs is making it easier for people to keep track of their phone conversations via Switch, an app that uses artificial int...
Jun 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
Impressivo to bridge fitness and healthcare industry via sensing technology
San Francisco-based startup Impressivo is seeking partnerships in the fitness and healthcare sector as the company aims to bridge the fitness and hea...
Jun 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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M&As
Korea’s M&A market heats up with record deals in first half
South Korea’s merger and acquisition market is heating up as both big conglomerates and promising startups seek to buy out businesses with grow...
Jun 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fintech
Toss en route to being Korea’s first fintech decacorn; valuation tops $7 bn
South Korea-based mobile financial platform Toss is en route to becoming the country's first fintech decacorn, or a company valued at over $10 billio...
Jun 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
AI startup Voyager X raises over $25 mn in Series A funding round
South Korea-based artificial intelligence startup Voyager X Inc. has successfully raised around 30 billion won ($26.4 million) in a Series A funding ...
Jun 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
Morai's virtual testing solution reduces testing period for self-driving cars
A self-driving car needs to pass all sorts of tests before setting off for the open road. It needs to experience different types of roads, terrain fe...
Jun 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Tencent-backed Krafton's mega IPO seen as overvalued
South Korea-based game publisher Krafton Inc.'s highly-anticipated initial public offering is raising concerns that it may be overvalued. The company...
Jun 17, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
DearU strives to catch up with leading K-pop fan platform Weverse
Imagine getting this text from your favorite K-pop group member: “Hey, what did you eat for lunch? Can’t wait to see you at the concert t...
Jun 17, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
PigUp targets MZ consumers with new meat culture
South Korea's island of Jeju is famous for its native citrus and pork. It's also where Shin Woo-sup, the founder of startup studio Futurera, came up ...
Jun 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Krafton mega IPO on horizon: Industry game-changer
Krafton Inc. is set to become the first South Korean decacorn startup, or a company valued at over $10 billion, to make a trading debut on the countr...
Jun 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
K-pop fan engagement platform DearU eyes H2 listing
South Korea-based fan platform DearU Co. has filed a preliminary application to the Korea Exchange with plans for a trading debut on the country&rsqu...
Jun 14, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startup investments
NPS joins in TPG-led $125 mn funding for Kakao Mobility
The National Pension Service has committed $100 million to a TPG consortium that recently raised $116.8 million to invest in Kakao Mobility Co., Sout...
Jun 10, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce platforms
Kakao's fresh e-commerce strategy puts Naver, Coupang on guard
South Korea’s mobile platform Kakao Corp. is set to shake up the country's e-commerce market in the second half of the year with the launch of ...
Jun 07, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Internet banks
KDB bets big on fintech platform Toss ahead of 2023 IPO
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) has decided to invest 80 billion won ($72 million) in the fintech startup Toss via a rights offering. This marks the...
Jun 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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The Deep Dive
Misandry controversy rattles Korean retailers; CEO of No.1 fashion app steps down
Gender-discrimination controversies are rattling South Korean retailers, with two companies recently accused of misandry in publicity campaigns. In M...
Jun 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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CEO profile
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 offi...
Jun 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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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 ext...
Jun 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
