[StartupRecipe] Korean Fintech Funding Crashes 82%, but Long-term Growth Prospects Remain Bullish

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Nov. 4~ Nov. 8]

Company	Inudustry	Amount	Round	Investors
Leo space	Space	-	Grant	Deeptech TIPS
Roboi	Robotics solution	-	Grant	TIPS
Solbio	Eco-friendly fertilizers	-	Grant	TIPS
Fromel	Dental	-	Grant	TIPS
MicrobiotiX	Bio	-	Grant	Scaleup TIPS
Another Real	Synthetic Data	-	Grant	TIPS
KStyle Hub	K-Beuaty	-	Grant	TIPS
WondersLab	AI Assistant	-	Grant	TIPS
Nadoomodoo	AI Software builder	-	Grant	TIPS
Twell	Pet healthcare	-	Grant	TIPS
Orbiclebio	Carbon-negative organic fertilizers	-	Grant	TIPS
nmodelin	Influencer content	-	Grant	TIPS
Leafyze	AI Sewing Automation Solution	-	Seed	Bass Ventures, Blue Point Partners
Astar	AI Content marketing	-	Seed	CNT Tech
Ideas	AI Chip	-	Seed	KOREAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION
VIA KOREA	Event coupon	-	M&A	Aswemake
Y Comma	Fashion outlet platform	-	Seed Bridge	Schmidt
EUROTECH	Healthcare	1.3 billion		BNK Venture Investment, K-Ground Ventures
Elixir	AI Data analytics	-	Seed	CNT Tech
Soombit AI	Gen AI Healthcare	-	Seed	Altos Ventures
LightBridge	Hydrogen	1.5 billion		Anda Asia Ventures
Metafactory Corporation	XR Content	-	Seed	Korea Investment Accelerator
The onion	Food	-	Pre-Series A	New Paradigm Investment
AIMS	Insure tech	-	Pre-Series A	Shinhan Venture Investment, Smilegate Investment, Woori Financial Capital, Seoul National University Technology Holdings
KIHYA	liquor platform	1.5 billion	Series A	Strong Ventures, Seoul National University Technology Holdings, Infobank
ME TOWN	Fashion tech	-	Seed	CNTtech
Bearable	Edutech	-	Seed	CNTtech
NewEye	AI TAX	-	Seed	Korea Investment Accelerator
Netstream	Game	-		KVIC
Brave Company	Creator IP	4 billion	Series A	K-Net Investment Partners, Korea Investment Partners, Crossroads Partners, Maple Investment Partners
Surromind	AI Software	5 billion	Series A	Stick Ventures, GU Equity

#Major Funding

• Soombit AI has raised 5 billion KRW in seed funding from Altos Ventures. Founded by a team previously engaged in chest X-ray interpretation AI development at Kakao Brain, Soombit AI is now focused on creating AIRead-CXR, an AI-driven draft report generation tool for radiologists.
• Surromind secured 5 billion KRW in funding. Established in 2015 by a team from Seoul National University’s computer science lab, Surromind develops AI software for research, manufacturing, and management tasks. Recently, it has launched generative AI-powered applications that enhance document and data search, analysis, and automated report generation for businesses.
• Brave Company, a wellness brand and marketplace driven by creator IP, raised 4 billion KRW in Series A funding. Achieving 2000% growth and 30 billion KRW in cumulative sales in just three years, Brave Company plans to use the funds to expand its brand categories and accelerate global market entry.

#Trend Analysis

Korean Fintech Funding Crashes 82%, but Long-term Growth Prospects Remain Bullish

The once-booming Korean fintech sector has witnessed a dramatic downturn in venture capital investment, marking a significant shift in the country’s startup funding landscape. According to data from Startup Recipe, fintech investments have nosedived to KRW171.5 billion as of October 2024, representing a staggering 82% year-over-year decline.

The sector, which previously dominated investment rankings through 2021, has been notably impacted by the absence of mega-rounds. Toss (Viva Republica), historically the sector’s fundraising powerhouse, has remained quiet on the investment front this year. The largest round in 2023 topped out at KRW 50 billion, with no companies securing deals exceeding the KRW 100 billion threshold.

Korea Credit Data emerged as this year’s top fundraiser, securing KRW 50 billion to fuel its expansion into digital banking. The company, which started with SME sales management solutions, has built an impressive customer base of 1.6 million businesses and is now eyeing a fourth internet-only banking license.

Other notable deals include:

• Paywatch: Raised KRW 20 billion for its earned wage access platform, focusing on global expansion
• Payhere: Secured KRW15 billion for its merchant-focused POS solution
• December Company: Bucked the trend in the cooling robo-advisory space with a KRW 17 billion raise
• Orangesquare: Landed KRW 10 billion for its foreign payment and exchange services, with plans for KOSDAQ listing

The funding pattern reveals a clear pivot toward B2B SaaS solutions, particularly those targeting SMEs, while consumer-focused fintech platforms have seen waning investor interest. Traditional hot sectors like real estate tokenization, fractional art investment platforms, and AI-powered wealth management have cooled significantly, though kids’ fintech services are emerging as a nascent opportunity.

Despite the current downturn, the long-term outlook remains bullish. BCG’s 2024 Global Fintech Report projects industry revenues to hit $1.5 trillion by 2030, driven by increasing digital finance adoption, expansion into emerging markets, AI integration, and digital asset market growth.

For the Korean market specifically, government support and growing corporate interest in open innovation programs could provide a silver lining. Industry experts suggest that once global economic headwinds subside, companies with proven revenue models could see renewed investor interest, potentially catalyzing a new wave of IPOs and M&A activity.