[StartupRecipe] Why Healthcare Startups Are a Hot Funding Sector

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Feb. 26 ~ Mar. 1]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of the week is KRW 90.5 Billion.

Company	Industry	Amount	Round	Investors
ellexi	AI Solution	-	Seed	Aimbridge
APR	Beauty tech	-	IPO	KOSPI
Omelet	Optimization solution	-	Seed	Kakao Ventures
Inoable able	Secondary battery	-		BUSAN UNITED HOLDINGS
Easytem	Beauty/healthcare	17.5 billion		Kiwoom Investment, IMM Investment, Company K Partners, WeVentures, Laguna Investment
AM Management	AI Quant System	-	Pre-Series A	Ulsan CCEI
ZIOVISION		1.5 billion		Anda Asia Ventures
Lansik	Blood Sugar Solution	1.2 billion	Pre-Series A	Bon Angels Venture Partners, Capstone Partners, Infobank, D-Camp
The real group	Luxury fashion meta engine	2 billion		Horizon Investments, Strong Ventures
Lpartners	Managment Solution	-	Seed	Newkids Investment
Dello	Edutech	-	Seed	Newkids Investment
WARO	Food	-	Seed	Newkids Investment
Elmedia	Entertainment content	-	M&A	VKX Innovation
Siksin	Foodtech	-	Pre IPO	Korea Investment & Securities, NH Investment & Securities, CJ Freshway
ARA	Robotics	6 billion		Korea Investment & Securities, BNK Investment & Securities, New Main Capital
Openasset	Fintech	2.3 billion	Seed	Hana Ventures, Korea Investment Partners, Mashup Ventures
BERTIS	Bio	20 billion	Pre IPO	KDB Development Bank, Winvest Venture Investment, Premier Partners, BNH Investment, DreamCIS
Caring	Senior care	40 billion	Series B	SV Investment, Korea Development Bank, IMM Investment, Eugene Asset Management, LB Investment, Hyundai Investment Partners, Quantum Ventures Korea, Ark Impact Asset Management

#Major Funding

• Senior care service startup Caring has attracted KRW 40 billion in investment, bringing the total cumulative investment to 75 billion won. Established in 2019, the company provides senior care services including long-term care business, commerce, senior housing, and caregiver training institutes.
• Beauty/healthcare company Easytem has secured KRW 17.5 billion in investment. The investment will be allocated towards the development of the professional beauty device ‘Cellizer’, increasing research capacity, expanding new business infrastructure, and preparing for listing.

#Trend Analysis

Last year, the bio/healthcare sector emerged as one of the country’s top performers, attracting over KRW 1 trillion in investment due to the surge of digital healthcare startups. This year, AI-powered medical devices and healthcare solutions continue to capture investor interest.

Easytem has established itself as a major player in the global market for medical thermometers and has achieved further success as an ODM for APR’s MediCube. It recently secured KRW 17.5 billion in funding to expand its development of professional beauty device cellularizers and expand globally, including a collaboration with L’Oréal.

NVentric, founded by former employees from leading medical device companies like Johnson & Johnson and Abbott, secured KRW 14 billion in funding to develop medical devices for treating vascular diseases like stroke. They aim to launch their own branded products.

Dyne medical, a developer of disposable endoscopes, also secured KRW 10 billion in funding to ramp up mass production and expand globally. Similarly, Dencomm received KRW 10 billion for its solution that utilizes voice data from medical staff and patients to support personalized treatment decisions.

Early-stage healthcare solutions are also attracting significant funding. Connecteve, a developer of medical software and surgical robots, raised KRW 4 billion in pre-series A funding. The company is building high-quality AI technology for musculoskeletal reading assistant software, leveraging 100,000 data points labeled by specialists at a university hospital.

Actnova secured KRW 3.3 billion to develop AI trained on human measurements for non-clinical animal behavior monitoring within the drug discovery process. Rensik received KRW 1.2 billion for Glucofit, a solution that provides real-time blood glucose data through continuous glucose monitor sensors and an app. Kaihealth, an AI fertility solution developer founded by an obstetrician-gynecologist, also secured early-stage funding. They plan to develop a solution to improve pregnancy rates by selecting the best embryos, obtain European medical device certification, and expand their global reach. Lastly, Teamelysium is developing solutions to diagnose, treat, and manage musculoskeletal disorders, contributing to the digital transformation of clinical practice.

Investors are drawn to several key characteristics in early-stage companies, such as the potential for global expansion and innovative technology. Kim Chi-won, a managing director at Kakao Ventures, which focuses on investing in early-stage digital healthcare startups, echoes these sentiments. He emphasizes the potential for global expansion and unique technological advantages as key investment considerations.

The healthcare sector is expected to remain a magnet for investors this year, having received the second-highest amount of funding after the software sector in the previous year.