[StartupRecipe] Government selected 7 next Korean unicorns

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[June. 28~ July. 4 ]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 169.65 billion.

Company	Inudustry	Amount	Round	Investors
Codebrick	Ecommerce solution	13.2 billion	Series B	Altos Ventures, BonAngels Venture Partners, Pearl Abyss Capital, Prodigy Investment, SBI Investment Korea, The Wells Investment, Guardian Fund
Futurekitchen	Kitchen robot	3 billion	SEE	Hashed, Nongsim, Stonebridge Ventures
QuantifiedESG	ESG research	-	Seed	Nextdream angelclub
Mathpresso	Education	56 billion	Series C	Yellowdog,GGV Capital, Goodwater Capital, Korea Development Bank, Softbank Ventures, Legend Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Smilegate Investment
Punta Company	ECOMMECE	-	Seed	Yoonmin Foundation
GROUNDK	B2B logistics	1 billion		K Bridge Investment, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund
Stayfolio	Accomodation	5 billion	Series A	TBT, QUAD Investment Management
Thingsflow	Interactive content	-	M&A	Krafton
TRU TECHNOLOGIES	Finance software	3.5 billion	Series A	Stonebridge Ventures, Shinhan Capital, KB Investment, Kiwoom Investment , Hana Financial Investment, Korea growth investment, Hanwha Investment & Securities
How to Yak	supplement subscription	-	Seed	Stonebridge Ventures, Shinhan Capital, KB Investment, Kiwoom Investment , Hana Financial Investment, Korea growth investment, Hanwha Investment & Securities
PLEATSMAMA	Eco friendly fashion	-		Hyosungtnc
Hound13	Game	20 billion		Garena
Todaysquare	ad tech	-	Seed	Sopoong Ventures
Wavebridge	Fintech	7 billion	Series A	Aju IB Investment, Union Investment Partners, Hashed
Tictoc Croc	Children care	6 billion	Series A	Korea Development Bank, Kyobo Life Insurance, WOOMI CONSTRUCTION
The white communication	AI communication solution	27.9 billion	Series B	Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, SK Securities , Wisdomain, HYK Partners
FNS Holdings	fashion	4.15 billion	Series A	OpenWater Investment, SangSang Ventures, KOREA ASSET INVESTMENT SECURITIES, Winvest Venture Capital, iPLUS Center
Roadwin	Consignment	4.3 billion	Series B	Widwin Investment, Aventures, RICH Asset Management
Kitten planet	Dental care	5 billion	Series A	Enlight Ventures, CGMS
Publy	Media/Content	13.5 billion	Series B	DSC Investment, Intervest, Capstone Partners, Premier Partners, Mirae Asset Venture Investment
Cheongse	Cleaning	-	Pre-Series A	KAIST Venture Investment Holdings, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund
Mrcamel	Luxury Fashion	1 billion	Pre-Series A	KB Investment, Fast Ventures

Major Funding

• Mathpresso, which runs Qanda, an AI-based math problem-solving app, raised KRW 56 billion. If you take a picture of a math problem and upload it on their platform, Qanda provides a solution automatically. 9.8 million people from 50 countries use it every month. With this round of investment, the company plans to introduce non-face-to-face education solutions and launch community services.
• Publy, a career-related content subscription service, has finalized KRW 13.5 billion in investment. As of June, the number of paid membership increased by 300% compared to the same period last year. Visitors are growing by more than 100,000 per month. The funds will be used to build total learning solutions, strengthen networking services, and attract talent.
• Indonesia e-commerce solution TokoTalk operator Codebrick raised an investment of KRW 13.2 billion. TokoTalk is a mobile-specific e-commerce solution that provides search, purchase, payment, delivery, etc., one-stop on social media platforms. The cumulative number of sellers has surpassed 500,000 in just three years since the launch of the service.
• Digital dental care startup Kitten Planet raised KRW 5 billion in investment. The company operates Brush Monster, a mobile app for brushing teeth using AR and game elements. There are two hundred thousand users domestically and abroad. Through the investment, the company plans to develop digital products that improve oral health for all ages.

#Trend Analysis

Government selected 7 next Korean unicorns

Since 2019, the Korean government has been carrying out the ‘K-Unicorn project’ to raise unicorns worth 1 trillion KRW through step-by-step support projects such as ‘baby unicorn’ and ‘preliminary unicorn’ special guarantees. The government announced 20 prospective unicorn companies with high growth potential. The companies selected as a preliminary unicorns can grow steadily with special guarantees of up to KRW 10 billion. After being selected as a preliminary unicorn, South Korea’s Zillow Zigbang became a unicorn. Riiid succeeded in closing KRW 200 billion in investment from SoftBank Vision Fund, while Jeju Brewery was listed on KOSDAQ, and Kakao acquired women fashion platform CROQUIS(ZIGZAG)

The average investment raised by the 20 companies selected is approximately KRW 22.2 billion. Some of the companies selected are the following:

Law & company= A legal tech startup that runs LawTalk, a legal service advertising platform. It has the highest market share in the industry with 4,000 subscribed lawyers and maintains top brand awareness among domestic regal tech startups. Although the revenue was not disclosed, the company is highly regarded for its growth potential as it is making significant sales results through advertising/marketing and is planning to expand its business throughout Legal Tech.

Musicow=A music copyright trading platform established in 2016, which developed and operated its own music copyright purchase and sale system similar to a stock exchange. It has recently gained attention from the MZ generation, which invests in alternative assets such as art and real estate. The company has been recognized for its growth as it can expand to various cultural IPs such as webtoons, web novels, dramas, and movies.

Twinny=An industrial robot manufacturer that develops and manufactures self-driving robots. The company developed algorithms for calculating the location and trajectory of trucks that are key to autonomous or cluster driving, and is also known for products “Nargo” and “Followgo.”, proving the company’s commercial quality. Twinny can replace the lack of workforce in the 3D field, such as the logistics industry, and expand into various areas.

Socialbean=The company operates a platform Hott that advertises and sells products through influencer reviews. The seller earns revenue from product sales, and influencers earn income by promoting the product. Influences can also plan and manufacture PB products directly, and it also has scalability by analyzing customers’ purchases trends and directly operate crowdfunding campaigns on the platform.

Fitpet= Pet tech startup that provides services that span the entire life cycle of pets. The pet mobile health examination kit (Ahead) is its main product. It provides search services for Fitpet mall and animal hospitals that recommend and sell products based on data obtained through the kit that meets customer needs. The company is pushing for a model that can expand into various services.

Team Fresh= A cold-chain logistics company that connects consumers to fresh food producers with short shelf life. The advantage is that the shipper does not have to pay for shipping costs for multiple boxes because various items received from the supplier are placed in a separate distribution center, and integrated packaging is processed when ordering. Sales in 2020 amounted to KRW 33.7 billion.