[StartupRecipe] S. Korean Edtech Investment Shows Signs of Recovery in 2024

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Nov. 18~ Nov. 22]

Company	Inudustry	Amount	Round	Investors
baropet	Pet Healthcare	-	Seed	Blue Point Partners
Farmstaff	Smart farm	-	Grant	TIPS
Charmacist	Online pharmacy	-	Grant	TIPS
MindHub	Digital Healthcare	-	Grant	TIPS
Labinno	Golf Tech	-	Grant	TIPS
MetaInnoTech	IoT	-	Grant	TIPS
Biolink	Digital Healthcare	-	Grant	TIPS
4health	Digital Healthcare	-	Grant	TIPS
Seoul Beauty Global	Beauty platform	-	Grant	TIPS
ADSYSTEM	UAV	-	Grant	TIPS
JPenergy	Secondary battery	-	Grant	Scaleup TIPS
Microuni	Bio	-	Grant	Deeptech TIPS
Sunjinrcs	construction	-	Grant	TIPS
Moviation	Air mobility	-	Grant	TIPS
01Republic	SaaS	-	Grant	TIPS
Bookers	B2B E-book	-	Grant	TIPS
Sonolux Health Tech	Healthcare	-	Grant	TIPS
Vibe AI	B2B AI Solution	-	Grant	Pre TIPS
Meissa	Digital twin	10 billion	Series C	KAI, A Ventures, U on Investment, KDB Development Bank, G&Tec Venture Investment, Bithumb Investment, KDB Capital
thebareun	Food	-	Seed	CNT Tech
Keming	Fitness	-		GrIgo company
CnerG	Net Zero	13.2 billion	Pre-SeriesA Bridge	KB Investment, Hana Ventures, BNK Venture Investment, iM Investment Partners, SGC Partners, KR Ventures, Brite Energy Partners, Hanwha Investment & Securities, Samho Green Investment, Astone Ventures
Funzin	AI	13 billion		Korea Aerospace Industries
Muinlab	Cashierless Solution	-	Seed	Primer
Zeroone	ESG	-	Seed	Blue Point Partners
PLANTNER	Eco friendly Fertilizers	-	Seed	500 Global, Blue Point Partners
Visit	Live map	-	Seed	Gangwon CCEI
Athena	MLCB	-	Seed	Gangwon CCEI
Biobytes	Healthcare	-	Seed	Gangwon CCEI
Gamja island	Draft beer	-	Seed	Gangwon CCEI
Kookminbio	Bio	3.4 billion	Series B	New Paradigm Investment, Korea Alternative Investment Asset Management, K-Ground Ventures, IBK Industrial Bank
Guru company	Content	2 billion	Pre-Series A	K-Net Investment Partners
ANAFLASH	Data centric processor solution	-	Series A	Stone Bridge Ventures, L&S Venture Capital, Lotte Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures
BVMT	Beauty branding	2 billion	Pre-Series A	Albatross Investments, Smilegate Investments, SNS Investments, Comes Investments
Clush	Cloud software	-	Series A3	P&I Investment
Astron Security	Cloud security	700 million		IGLOO CORP.
GenEdit	Bio	47.3 billion	Series B	DSC Investment, Woori Venture Partners, Korea Investment Partners
Solmedix	Healthcare	1.5 billion	Series B	UTC Investment
Panmnesia	CXL Fabless	80 billion	Series A	Intervest, Korea Investment Partners, KB Investment, Woori Venture Partners, BSK Investment, , Envester, Murex Partners, Daesung Startup Investment, TS Investment, Daekyo Investment, G&Tec Venture Investment, SL Investment, Time Works Investment, Quantum Ventures Korea, Yuanta Investment
MID	Space	2 billion	Pre-Series A	DSC Investments, Schmidt
Itphy	Digital Healthcare	300 million	Seed	Korea Investment Accelerator
Webaresoft	API Solution	-		Cnttech-DB
MEPSGEN	BIO	20.7 billion	Series C	Yuanta Investment, KB Securities-Solidars Investment, E&Investment, Live Cell Investment, KDB Development Bank, SBI Investment, and DB Group Chairman Kim Nam-ho
QuTope	Bio	5 billion	Series A	Company K Partners, SJ Investment Partners, E&Venture Partners
Dentiple	Healthcare	-	Seed	Series Ventures
Team Rimited	ad Marketing	500 million	Seed	Seoul National University Technology Holdings, Hyundai Investment Partners
Post math	Edutech	2.7 billion	Series A	The Invention Lab, KODIT

#Major Funding

• Panmnesia, a fabless startup focused on Compute Express Link (CXL) technology, has raised KWR 80 billion, securing a valuation of KRW 340 billion. The company, known for its high-performance switch chips and semiconductor IP, collaborates with global tech giants like Meta and Microsoft to bring next-gen semiconductor solutions to market.
• Defense-focused AI startup FunZin has bagged KRW 13 billion to strengthen its capabilities in developing AI and software for next-gen aerial combat systems. The company launched its practical AI command solution, Kill-Web Matching (KWM), in 2023 and aims to shape the future of autonomous and unmanned battlefield operations.
• Meissa, a digital twin platform startup, has KRW 10 billion to expand its spatial data analytics solutions. Originally a construction tech startup, Mesa leverages drone and satellite-collected data to deliver actionable insights. With plans to go public by 2026, the company is positioning itself as a key player in the digital twin and geospatial analytics market.

#Trend Analysis

S. Korean Edtech Investment Shows Signs of Recovery in 2024

The South Korean edtech sector is showing encouraging signs of recovery in 2024, with investments reaching KRW 115 billion by mid-November according to startuprecipe data. This marks a significant improvement from the sector’s recent struggles, though it remains well below the peak funding levels seen during the pandemic.

The industry experienced its strongest performance in 2021, when investments soared to KRW 516.2 billion as COVID-19 accelerated digital adoption in education. However, the subsequent years saw a dramatic decline, with 2023 recording just KRW 83.1 billion in investments, representing a 67% reduction from 2022. While 2024 is expected to see more deals completed compared to the previous year, the scarcity of growth-stage investments and major funding rounds suggests a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels remains distant.

The investment landscape has evolved significantly since the pandemic-era boom, when adult education platforms and childcare services dominated funding rounds. Today, while these segments remain attractive, investors are increasingly drawn to B2B solutions for educational institutions and enterprises, as well as services addressing inefficiencies in the private education market. Notably, hobby-based class platforms, once popular among investors, have fallen from favor due to high marketing costs and persistent profitability challenges.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a critical factor in successful funding rounds, with startups integrating AI technology into their solutions attracting particular interest. Market observers note that these companies are effectively using AI to revolutionize traditional learning approaches and boost learning efficiency through digital solutions. The broader investment community’s enthusiasm for AI technology has made it a key consideration in funding decisions, especially for startups with international growth potential.

Despite the sharp post-pandemic investment decline, the long-term outlook for the edtech sector remains positive, supported by ongoing technological advancement in AI, increasing demand for lifelong learning, continued growth in online education, and projections of global education spending reaching $10 trillion by 2030. However, investors have become more discriminating, placing greater emphasis on profitability and sustainability metrics. Industry experts caution that startups without clear paths to profitability may struggle to secure funding in this more selective environment.