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 company announced on May. 12.

Participants of the latest funding include major venture capital firms such as Korea Investment Partners and Mirae Asset Venture Investment.

Studio Origin specializes in character intellectual property (IP) business such as developing character brands and content. The team includes well-versed brand designers, such as Jeong Seung-won, the former creative director at SmartStudy, the creator of global YouTube hits Pinkfong and Baby Shark Dance.

“We will use the proceeds to invest in our character IP portfolio and to create characters targeting overseas markets,” said a Studio Origin official. The company plans to officially launch its character IP business in 2023.

Studio Origin was established in February 2020 by Hans Jo, who had shepherded the development of character brands when he worked at Kakao Friends, the subsidiary of messaging operator Kakao Corp., as well as LINE, the messaging operator of platform giant Naver Corp.

Currently, the company is creating its own character IP portfolio and working on character projects with several large business groups such as developing character merchandise and setting up pop-up stores.


Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com
Danbee Lee edited this article.