[StartupRecipe] Digital Avatar Solutions Continue the Metaverse Momentum

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Aug. 5~ Aug. 9]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of the week is KRW 967 Billion.

Company	Inudustry	Amount	Round	Investors
SILI ENERGY	Secondary battery	-	Seed	Korea Investment Accelerator
AVI	Deep learning computer vision	21 billion	Series C	LB Investment, MW & Company, JNM Partners
Smoretalk	Image Gen AI	-	Grant	TIPS
Singularity biotech	Biotech	-	Grant	TIPS
Airbility	AAM	-	Grant	Deeptech TIPS
Daton	AI	-	GR	Scaleup TIPS
You need character	Content IP	-	M&A	Bemypet
PICO Entech	Bio	1.2 billion		Dongkoo Bio
Amuse	Vegan beauty brand	71.3 billion	M&A	Shinsegae International
All Round Doctors	Digital Therapeutics	7 billion	Series A	Aon Investment, UTC Investment, Futureplay, Korea Investment Partners, KB Investment
Safetics	Robotics safety	2 billion	Series A	JB Investments, Honest Ventures
Card monster	Game	-	Pre-Series A	500 Global, Mashup Ventures
VIC GAME STUDIOS		37 billion		ncsoft
Belinker	Manufacturing O2O	-	Pre-Series A	Strong Ventures, GVA Asset Management
opndoctor	Proptech	-	Pre-Series A	BA Partners, DWPH
Velymonkesy	K-Beauty	12.5 billion	Series B	Laguna Investments, Quad Ventures, Company K Partners, Smilegate Investments
Beringlab	Legal tech	3 billion	Pre-Series A	SBVA, The MBA Fund
fika.d	AI video	-	Grant	TIPS
Lunacell	Bio	-	Seed	Osong Advanced Medical Industry Promotion Corporation
Nano silicon	Secondary battery	5 billion	Series A	Posco capital, T Investment
EJM Company	Proptech	-	Grant	TIPS
Plithus	Game	-	Grant	TIPS
Mediark	Digital healthcare	-	Grant	TIPS
Digital Nutrition	Sound therapy	-	Grant	TIPS
Bluelabs	ESG	-	Grant	Deeptech TIPS
REDGENE	Bio	-	Grant	TIPS
Norma	Quantum computing	-		Virtex Ventures
FarmyirehSe	Digital speed breeding platform	-	Grant	TIPS
Gendata	AI	-	Grant	TIPS
iTRUCK	Truck trading platform	8 billion		Stone Bridge Ventures, Korea & Company, Woori Venture Partners, Passfinder H, SBA
W.AI	AI Medical	-	Grant	TIPS
Jupiterlabs		-	Grant	TIPS
Newlook	Korean traditional Beverage	-	Grant	TIPS
Incerebro	Bio	-	Grant	TIPS
CUBIG	Security	-	Pre-Series A	Korea Development Bank
Daily pay	Fintech	-	Seed	Primer
sim2real	AI services	-	Grant	TIPS
Sym healthcare	Digital healthcare	-	Grant	TIPS
Deeplink	Web3	-		Golden Carrot Capital
Terrafi	Proptech	-	Grant	TIPS

#Major Funding

• AiV, an industrial deep learning computer vision solutions company, has secured 21 billion won in investment. Established in 2020, AiV provides end-to-end industrial deep learning computer vision solutions. This investment will help commercialize their MLOps platform and accelerate the adoption of AI technology in the manufacturing and logistics industries.
• Velymonkeys has raised 12.5 billion won in investment. Founded in 2019, the company initially started as the operator of the K-beauty commerce platform Macaron, which helps Korean beauty brands enter the Indian market. It offers a one-stop service covering entry, distribution, sales, and marketing in India.
• Vic Game Studio, a game developer, has secured 37 billion won in investment from NCSoft. Established in 2020, the company specializes in subculture genre games. With this equity investment, NCSoft has obtained the global publishing rights for Big Game Studio’s new subculture genre title, ‘Breakers: Unlock the World.’

#Trend Analysis

Digital Avatar Solutions Continue the Metaverse Momentum

While the metaverse craze triggered by COVID-19 has subsided, interest in digital avatar and influencer solutions remains steady. Avatars are being utilized across various digital platforms and services, and have especially established themselves as an effective means of self-expression in digital spaces as non-face-to-face communication became crucial after COVID-19. The potential for expansion into diverse industries such as entertainment, marketing, education, gaming, and healthcare, coupled with advancements in AI technology, further supports the growth potential in this field.

Additionally, the expanding popularity of social media is further promoting the growth of influencers using virtual avatars. TikTok, for instance, recently launched AI avatars for advertising purposes. Companies are increasingly adopting these technologies to develop new marketing strategies, innovate customer communication methods, and simultaneously benefit from reduced operational costs.

In Korea, investment news related to these solutions continues to emerge, primarily focusing on virtual avatar creation solutions. These solutions, which allow users to easily create and modify avatars reflecting their individual personalities, are being widely used in games, social media, and virtual world platforms.

While most of these companies have currently received support from accelerators or early-stage investors, the scale of investment is expected to grow in the future with market expansion and technological advancements such as AI.