[StartupRecipe] Is Mega Series A the New Normal?

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#Weekly Funding Overview

#FUNDING

#TREND ANALYSIS

Is Mega Series A the New Normal?

Series A financing—typically the stage where startups that have validated product–market fit (PMF) prove their scalability—is getting significantly larger in South Korea. While Series A rounds were once commonly in the 5–10 billion won range, 2026 has seen multiple deals exceeding 10 billion won, giving rise to so-called mega Series A rounds. In 2026 alone, the largest single Series A reached 15.5 billion won, and the average Series A investment climbed to 13.7 billion won. With the median also rising, the overall scale of Series A financing is clearly expanding.

An analysis of three years of Series A data compiled by Startup Recipe shows a steady upward trajectory. In 2024, the average investment was approximately 894.59 million won, with a median of 4.3 billion won. The following year, 2025, saw an average of 7.071 billion won and a median of 5.0 billion won. Through September 2026, the average has risen to 13.7 billion won and the median to 7.0 billion won. Compared to 2025, the 2026 average is up 94%, and the median is up 40%. The fact that both metrics are rising together suggests this year’s expansion isn’t driven solely by a few outlier mega-deals.

The increase in maximum deal size is even more striking. The largest Series A in 2025 was 5.41 billion won, but in 2026 it surged to 15.5 billion won—a 2.9x increase in just one year. The record holder is Holiday Robotics, a physical AI and robotics startup, which secured a 15.5 billion won Series A this year. Other notable mega Series A rounds include Blue Elephant at 10 billion won, Dinoticia at 9 billion won, Boss Semiconductor at 8.7 billion won, Carbon6 at 6.23 billion won, and Exponent at 6.09 billion won.

Large-scale Series A investments are heavily concentrated in deep tech sectors such as physical AI, robotics, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing. In particular, fields that combine AI with hardware require substantial capital to build out R&D, production capabilities, and supply chains—pushing Series A rounds into the hundreds of millions or even billions of won.

Not all Series A rounds are becoming mega-sized, however. In 2026, the average (13.7 billion won) is nearly double the median (7.0 billion won), indicating that while mega-deals are pulling up the average, capital is increasingly concentrated in a smaller set of highly competitive, technologically advanced startups. The very nature of Series A is also evolving: it’s no longer just about validating a product or business model, but about securing the large-scale funding needed early on for deep tech firms to develop technology, scale production, and capture market share.

Although 2026 isn’t over yet, the average Series A investment has already grown by more than 90% year-over-year, and unprecedented 10-billion-won-plus deals have emerged. Still, it’s too early to declare mega Series A rounds the market’s new normal. That said, with deep tech startups continuing to attract large investments, the trend of Series A rounds reaching several hundred million won—or more—is likely to intensify in the coming years.

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