New K STAR visa promises faster route to permanent residency for STEM graduates
South Korea has launched a new K STAR visa track that fast tracks long term residency for outstanding international STEM talent graduating from designated universities and expands eligibility beyond a small group of science institutes to a broader set of...
Hyundai ZER01NE DAY 2025 showcases 20 creator and startup projects
Hyundai Motor Group’s creative platform ZER01NE hosted ZER01NE DAY 2025 from September 17 to 21 at Hyundai Seongsu in Seoul under the theme ZER01NE 0RB1T, which spotlighted how creators, startups, and in-house innovators moved along distinct orbits while interacting across...
LG held SUPERSTART DAY 2025 to showcase its backed deep tech startups
LG hosted its eighth annual open innovation festival, Superstart Day 2025, from September 17 to 18 at the LG Sciencepark in Magok, Seoul. The event, held under the theme Jump Beyond: Innovation Beyond Dimensions, served as a platform for LG...
Mineis Raises KRW 16.8 billion Series B to Expand Fashion Resale Platform
Mineis, operator of fashion recommerce platform Charan, has raised KRW 16.8 billion in Series B funding from BonAngels Venture Partners, Hashed, SBVA, and Altos Ventures. Charan operates in the fashion resale market by handling the complete selling process for users....
MarqVision Closes $48M Series B Round
MarqVision, the AI-powered managed service platform for brand control, today announced its Series B funding round of $48 million, bringing its total funding to date to $90M. The round was led by Peak XV Partners, formerly known as Sequoia Capital India &...
Korea Selects 20 Profit-Growth 'Baby Unicorn' Startups for 2025
South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on September 14 that 20 companies have been selected for the Baby Unicorn Nurturing Program’s profit-growth track in 2025. The program targets companies that have grown through sales revenue rather than external...
Seoul Unicorn Challenge Held at Try Everything 2025, Highlighting 7 Top Tech Startups
At the Try Everything 2025, a global startup festival held at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) on September 11th and 12th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) hosted the 2025 Seoul Unicorn Challenge, featuring promising startups and the largest-ever lineup of...
Delivery Platform Vroong Raises KRW 40 Billion
Vroong, the delivery platform, recently secured an additional KRW 10 billion investment led by Shinhan Investment Corp, marking a total of KRW 40 billion raised externally this year. This latest funding will be used to accelerate technological upgrades and enhance...
2025 K-Startup Grand Challenge Showcases Global Innovation in Jeju
The 2025 K-Startup Grand Challenge (KSGC), South Korea’s premier startup acceleration program, hosted its highly anticipated showcase event on September 3-4 at the Jeju International Convention Center. This year, the event brought together 40 finalist startups, chosen from an impressive...
Gravity Labs Secures KRW 18billion Series A Funding to Accelerate Global Healthcare Platform
Global digital healthcare startup Gravity Labs has secured KRW 18 billion in Series A funding, marking a significant milestone in the Korean health-tech ecosystem. The company, which operates the popular health rewards app MoneyWalk, reached this achievement just one year...
South Korea Names 15 Soonicorns for 2025
Fifteen South Korean startups were officially selected as the 2025 Pre-Unicorns, each eligible for up to KRW 20 billion in special guarantees to accelerate global scaling. The program recorded a 5.3:1 competition ratio among 79 applicants, and the cohort shows...
Smart Food Networks Secures KRW 15 billion
Smart Food Networks has secured a KRW 15 billion Series C round to speed the digital transformation of Korea’s foodservice industry, emphasizing scaled operations and product development across its restaurant-tech stack. The company noted that the round included follow-on commitments...
VtoV Completes KRW 17.2 million in Series B Funding
VtoV has secured a total of KRW 17.2 billion in Series B funding to accelerate the growth of its metropolitan urban logistics delivery service To-Day. Follow-on investors include Smilegate Investment and Woomi Global, while new financial investors comprise T Investment,...
FriendliAI,Secures $20 M to Advance AI Inference Platform
FriendliAI, a company specializing in artificial intelligence AI inference platforms, announced it has successfully completed a seed extension funding round, raising $20 million. The investment round was led by Capstone Partners, with KB Securities participating as a follow-on investor. New...
HR Tech Firm Remember Acquired by Global Investor EQT
Remember & Company, a South Korean business and career platform, has been acquired by the global investment firm EQT. The deal values the company at approximately KRW 500 billion. EQT will become the new majority shareholder by purchasing the stake...
K-Entertainment tech Bigc secures KRW 18 billion Series A investment
Bigc an entertainment technology company, raised KRW 18 billion in its Series A round led by Stonebridge Ventures and BonAngels Venture Partners, with participation from Nextrans, Nau IB, Hana Ventures, IBK, and Aloys Ventures, bringing its cumulative funding to KRW...