[StartupRecipe] Funding in Top Fashion Startups

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Aug. 15~ Aug. 19]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 372.5 billion.

Company	Inudustry	Amount	Round	Investors
Medility	healthcare	-	GRANT	TIPS
Playtag	Education	-	GRANT	TIPS
ADforus	Ad tech	-		VTok
AI-nomis	AI	-	Seed	Korea Investment Accelerator
12MONTH	Food delivery	2.5 billion	Pre-Series A	NAU IB Capital, BAROGO
Fliption	Virtual Human	-	Seed	Primer Sazze Partners, Content Technologies, Angel investor
Pluto project	US Stock	4.6 billion	Seed	Future Play, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Angel investor
Nextchapter	Brand aggregator	20 billion	Series A	BRV Capital Management, Klim Ventures
Smart score	Golf	180 billion		VIG Partners
KPOPMAP	Kcontent	-	Pre-Series A	New Paradigm Investment
Onlive Productions	Education	-	Seed	Dohe International
Predictiv care	Healthcare	-		Naver D2SF
Gazilab	Wellness	-	Seed	Naver D2SF
Quotalab	Equity Management	14 billion	Series A2	Hana Securities, Viva Republica, Access Ventures, Elefund, Draper Associates,
Able labs	BIO	3 billion	Pre-Series A	Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Future play
VegaX	Blockchain	6 billion	Series A	Danal Fintech
Fassto	Logistics	15 billion	Series C	Yuanta Investment
Trenbe	Luxury Fashion	35 billion	Series D	IMM Investment, Atinum Investment
Break & Company	Trading card platform	5 billion	Pre-Series A	ZVC, KB Investment, Strong Ventures, Signite Partners
Orwell Health	Mental healthcare	2.6 billion	Pre-Series A	Spring Camp, KB Investment, Tail, We Ventures, Dodam Ventures,
Joowongroup	Logistics	-	M&A	Boosters
Yaholab	Kids care	-	Seed	Korea accelerator, The Inventionlab
gymt	Fitness	-	M&A	The post wave
Proxi healthcare	Smart Toothbrush	8.2 billion	Series A	Future Play, Timewise investment
QLI	Prophtech	-	Seed	Bon Angels Venture Partners
Greenbase	Reusable Battery	-	Seed	Jeju CCEI
Cigro	Ecommerce solution	-	Seed	Schmidt, Spring Camp, Tap Angel Partners, Synergy IB, Angel investors
Jejumini	Travel content	-	Seed	Jeju CCEI
Triplelabs	Jewelry	1.1 billion	Pre-Series A	Strong Ventures, Bass Investment
Pplink	Online Communication	-	GRANT	TIPS
Bejewel	Jewelry	8 billion	Series B	Rakuten Ventures, CJ On Style, Softbank Ventures
Ldcarbon	Eco friendly	18.5 billion	Series A
Sharetreats	Mobile gift	20 billion	Series B	BH Investment, Partners Investment
Brandy	Fashion	29 billion		Korea Development Bank, Atinum Investment, Big Basson Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Breeze Investment
Cloud stone	Delivery	-	GRANT	TIPS
Jnnerbio	Pettech	-	GRANT	TIPS
Seeann solution	Healthcare	-	GRANT	TIPS
QuantifiedESG	ESG research	-	GRANT	TIPS

Major Funding

• Golf platform Smartscore has raised KRW 180 billion from private equity funds. Its corporate value is estimated at KRW 900 billion, on the verge of reaching unicorn status.
• Luxury platform Trenbe has secured an investment of KRW 35 billion. It offers the lowest-priced luxury goods. After five years of operation, its transaction amount surpassed KRW 800 billion.
•  ShareTreats, a mobile gift delivery business in Southeast Asia, has received a KRW 20 billion investment. Its transaction amount reached KRW 100 billion in total. It entered into agreements with companies like Shopee and Lazada.
• Equity management platform Quotabook has received KRW 14 billion in funds. 3,000 companies, including unicorn startups, use Quotabook to manage their shareholder lists and stock options.

#Trend Analysis

Funding in Top Fashion Startups

One of the markets that has benefited from COVID-19 is the fashion industry. According to the data from Startup Recipe, as of August this year, KRW 297.6 billion has been poured into fashion startups. Various models are emerging in the market by combining technologies such as AI and big data. We looked at the services that have caught investors’ interest.

Last year, major domestic luxury platforms succeeded in securing large-scale investment. However, due to a number of circumstances, such as the deteriorating investment environment, the controversy over counterfeit luxury products, and overzealous marketing, competitive investment appears to have fallen this year. Still, expectations for a luxury platform remain. Trenbe raised KRW 35 billion in investment, while MustIt raised KRW 20 billion. Large corporations in particular have continued to show interest as they seek to create synergy with online fashion platforms. The soon-to-be unicorn fashion platform continues to draw investors’ interest. Investors are still interested in the soon-to-be unicorn fashion platform. Ably raised KRW 67 billion and was valued at KRW 900 billion. Brandi received KRW 29 billion in funds, raising hope for expansion.

Vertical platforms that target specific age groups are also growing rapidly. Startups that cater to particular ages and genders have recently emerged and are effectively attracting investment. Rapport Labs, a fashion app for women in their 40s and 50s, attracted a large investment of KRW 36 billion in February, after securing KRW 15 billion last year. Tailor Town, a fashion platform for men in their 30s to 50s, and Ludencity, a fashion curator for women in their 50s and 60s both received initial funding and are now expanding their services.

As the second-hand market expands, platforms for fashion and luxury second-hand items are also expanding quickly centered around Generation MZ. Craving Collector, which sells second-hand fashion items, and Fruits Family, where you can purchase vintage and designer products from home and abroad, both have been successful in attracting investment. Early-stage investors also paid attention to startups that trade used luxury items, like EndAnd Korea, Turnbag, and Pampam.

Large-scale funds are being invested in businesses that challenge the global market based on K-fashion. Dealicious, which offers digital transformation solutions for the Dongdaemun market, is one excellent example. Dealicious raised KRW 54 billion and announced its plans for global expansion, starting with Japan. Additionally, SwatchOn, a wholesale fabric platform with KRW 12 billion funding, has compiled a database of more than 200,000 fabrics and worked with numerous international brands. Gollala, another Dongdaemun wholesale platform, establishes online connections between domestic and international wholesale and retail merchants.

In addition, fashion solutions that combine metaverse and AR/VR are successful in garnering investment. Services that implement fashion products in virtual space include FNS Holdings, Z-emotion, and Oscar Futurera.

Company	Sector	Amount	Stage
Ably Corporation	E-commerce	KRW 67 Billion	Pre-Series C
Dealicious	K-fashion wholesale & retail	KRW 54 Billion	Series C
Rapport Labs	Fashion app for women in 40-50s	KRW 36 Billion	Series B
Trenbe	Luxury fashion	KRW 35 Billion	Series D
Brandi	Fashion	KRW 29 Billion
MustIt	Luxury goods platform	KRW 20 Billion
SwatchOn	Global fabric marketplace	KRW 12 Billion	Series B Bridge
FNS Holdings	StyleTech	KRW 10 Billion	Series B
Bejewel	Jewelry	KRW 8 Billion	Series B
Craving Collector	Second-hand fashion	KRW 5.5 Billion	Pre-Series A
Perfitt	AI-Tech startup	KRW 4 Billion	Series A
Gollala	Dongdaemun wholesale platform	KRW 3.3 Billion	Pre-Series A Bridge