[StartupRecipe] January Sees an Increase in Startup Funding

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Jan.29 ~ Feb. 2]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 250 Billion.

Company	Industry	Amount	Round	Investors
Vinvssen	Marine mobility	15 billion	Series C	Shinhan Venture Investment, Seoul Investment Partners, Ubiquos Investment, IBK Industrial Bank, Kodit, Schmidt-DSC Investment, Korea Alternative Investment Asset Management
TTM	Refurbish platform	-	Seed	The Invention Lab, Groundup Ventures
Anchor Node	AI gaming Solution	-	Seed	Futureplay
Burnfit	Workout planner	-	Pre-Series A	Strong Ventures, VNTG
Local&Life	Farmtech	100 million	Seed	Blue Point Partners
Everyplanet	Farmtech	100 million	Seed	Blue Point Partners
CareforU	Pettech	100 million	Seed	Blue Point Partners
Piocel	Materials	100 million	Seed	Blue Point Partners
HIVIS	Group workout SaaS	100 million	Seed	Blue Point Partners
Bubbleshare	B2B Marketing	-	Seed	Mashup Angels
Poscore	Materials	1 billion	Seed	Korea Investment Accelerator, Schmidt, HYU Holdings
Rebellions	AI Chipmaker	165 billion	Series B	KT, Shinhan Venture Investment, Pavilion, Korea Development Bank, KB Securities, KB Investment, SV Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, IMM Investment, KT Investment, Seoul National University Technology Holdings, Oasis PE, Gyeongnam Venture Investment, SDB Investment, NOH & PARTNERS
Team elysium	Healthcare	-	Pre-Series A	Strong Ventures, Evergreen Investment Partners, Digital Healthcare Partners, JiranPartners
LionRocket	Gen AI	-		CJ Investment
Coxwave	AI image editing	4.5 billion	Seed	KB Investment, Danal, Seoul National University Technology Holdings
42Maru	Gen AI	-	Series B	Hana Securities, Industrial Bank of Korea
Hudson AI	AI Dubbing	3.3 billion	Pre-Series A	A Ventures, Shinhan Venture Investment, Smilegate Investment
Dukkubisesang	Proptech	8 billion	Series C	Samchully Asset Management Company
Gomi Payments	Fintech	-	Seed
woolin	Convenience store fulfillment	-	M&A	Wefun
Connecteve	Healthcare	4 billion	Pre-Series A	DSC Investments, Stone Bridge Ventures, Schmidt, Reventures
Celloid	Bio	2.4 billion	Pre-Series A	Future Play, POSTECH Holdings
ROVIGOS	Fulfillment	-	Seed	MYSC, The Wells Investment, Kosmes
Genius	Beauty brand Marketing	30 billion	Series A	SG Private Equity
FiNovus Lab	Fintech	1.8 billion	Series A	Kakao Pay, Wisdom Asset Management, Strong Ventures

#Major Funding

• AI Chipmaker Rebellions attracted 165 billion won in investment and accumulated investment of 280 billion won, making it the largest semiconductor startup in Korea. Valued at 880 billion won, the investment will accelerate the development of the next-generation AI semiconductor REBEL, which is being jointly developed with Samsung Electronics.
• Vinssen, an eco-friendly marine mobility company, received 15 billion won in investment. Founded in 2017, Vinssen focuses on developing marine fuel cell systems and eco-friendly small ships based on electric and hydrogen hybrids. The investment will be used for product development and market expansion.

#Trend Analysis

January Sees an Increase in Startup Funding

In January 2024, the prevailing upward trajectory in startup investments observed at the conclusion of the previous year persisted, marking a significant progression. The total startup funding for January reached KRW 615.1 billion, surpassing the December figure by more than KRW 100.0 billion. This noteworthy increase represents a substantial surge of 131% compared to the corresponding month in the preceding year. Despite the challenges faced during the initial month of the previous year, which witnessed a decline in investments, January 2024 exhibited a positive outlook.

The landscape of major investments was characterized by robust activity, encompassing over 100 deals. Notably, the top three recipients of funding garnered substantial attention. Leading the pack was the AI chip manufacturer, Rebellion, securing KRW 165 billion, followed by the travel platform, MyRealTrip, which raised KRW 75.6 billion to fortify its superapp strategy. Autonomous driving software company, Stradvision, secured KRW 45 billion.

These entities attracted interest from both domestic and international venture capitalists, as well as global conglomerates, recognizing their promising growth potential. Examining investment trends by sector, AI-based startups emerged as dominant players in the competition.

While AI semiconductor companies commanded significant attention, AI ventures spanning mobility, advertising, marketing, security, robotics, and content also attracted substantial investments. B2B services retained popularity, contrasting with the comparatively subdued performance of B2C platforms. Noteworthy investments were observed in digital healthcare, edutech, and autonomous driving solutions. The month witnessed a notable increase in the number of companies securing funding exceeding KRW 10 billion won, nearly doubling to 20. Growth funding at Series B and beyond stages accounted for almost 20% of the total investment, with a noteworthy uptick in investments falling within the KRW 50 billion to KRW 100 billion range, a category rarely observed.

Company	Description	Amount (won)	Round
Rebellions	AI Chipmaker	165B	SeriesB
My realtrip	Travel Platform	75.6B	SeriesF
Stradvision	Self-driving Software	42B	–
Geni-us	Beuaty brand marketing	30B	SeriesA
Mainline	IDP Technology	27B	PreIPO
Upstage	Gen AI	25B	SeriesB
Daanbiotpx	Bio	23B	SeriesA
Mobilint	AI	20B	SeriesB
Elice Group	Edutech	20B	SeriesC
ANIAI	Robotic Kitchen	15.7B	PreSeriesA