[StartupRecipe] The Biggest month for VC funding and 3 New Korean unicorns born

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Aug. 9~ Aug. 13]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 137.25 billion.

Company	Industry	Amount	Round	Investors
Stickus	Pet	-	M&A	Hansolinitcube
Willog	Logistics solution	-	Series A	IGIS Investment Partners, Shinhan Capital, Aju IB Investment
42Dot	Mobility	25 billion		Lotte Rental
Bank Salad	Fintech	10 billion		Kia
Grampus	Game	2.5 billion		Com2us, One store
MZ Contents	Media/Content	4 billion	Series A	Vinch Invest, G2G Partners, SB Partners, DS Asset Management
SeaWith	Cultured meat	5.5 billion	Series A	HG Initiative, Daesung Venture Capital, Daily Partners, SL Investment, Bluepoint Partners, Englight Ventures
SY Solution	Cultured meat	-	Seed	CNT Tech
Valla	Beauty	-	Seed	Goodwarter Capital, Info Bank
Comento	Education	3.6 billion		Hashed, 500Startups, D3 jubilee Partners
Motion2AI	Warehouse Fleet Management	14 billion	Series A	MIR Ventures, Smilegate Investment, IMM, Intervest, Future Play, Shinhan Capital, Nest Company, Mirae Asset Capital, Amantany Partners
klleon	Media/Content	2 billion	Series A	Kakao Investment
Akuodigital	Document digitization	20 billion	Series B	Capstone Partners, HB Investment, SB Partners, Korea Investment Private Equity, Hana Financial Investment
Buysell Standards	Fintech	-	Seed	CNT Tech
Munto	Social community	2 billion	Pre-Series A	IMM Investment, Daekyo Investment, Bon Angels Partners
Neuromeka	Robotics	14 billion	Series D	DSC Investment, One Asset Investment, The wells Investment, Kolon Investment, ISU Venture Capital
21Gram	Pettech	4 billion	Series A	Korea Investment Partners, SBS
Bemyfriends	Fan commerce	2.5 billion	Seed	GS, Sparklab, Saehan Ventures Capital
HMC Networks	Silver care	-		Shinhan Investment
Firekim	Fire extinguisher	-		Enlight Ventures
Speclipse	AI Medical	9 billion		Signite Partners, BNH Investment, Shinhan Capital
Noute Company	Note brand	450 million	Seed	Schmidt, D.Camp
Hash Purple	KPOP	-	Seed	CNT Tech
Wekeep	Fullfillment	25 billion	Series B	Stonebridge Ventures, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Development Bank, Stic Ventures, CTK, Naver, KB Securities, TS Investment
Tripbtoz	Travel	3 billion		Giantstep
Neoable	Medical device	700 million	GRANT	TIPS
Newsystock	Roboadvisor	-	M&A	DGB Financial Group
Delivery Hero	Food delivery	800 billion	M&A	GS Retail, Affinity Equity Partners, Permira

Major Funding

• Mobility startup 42 Dot raised 25 billion won in investment from Lotte Rental. 42 Dot is a tech company researching self-driving level 4 technology and plans to carry out future mobility platform business through cooperation with Lotte Rental.
• Smart logistics company WeKeep raised 25 billion won in investment. The company provides fulfillment services for small and medium e-commerce companies, with integrated solutions such as fintech, IT solutions, and distribution to traditional 3PL logistics industries. With this investment, the company plans to expand its fulfillment center in Korea and enter global markets like China and the U.S.
• Akuo Digital is a service that finalized 20 billion won in investment. The company turns multiple documents into electronic files using artificial intelligence. With this investment, the company will enter foreign markets such as Japan and plans to be listed on the Japanese Mothers in the future.
• Robot manufacturer Neuromeca is finalized 14 billion won in investment. It plans to expand its business aggressively through this investment. The company is expected to grow with automation service platforms in various manufacturing processes based on cooperative, delta, and self-driving robots.
• Delivery Hero, which operates the delivery app Yogiyo, has been acquired by private equity funds and GS Retail for 800 billion won. With a 100% stake in Delivery Hero, GS Retail acquired 300 billion won worth of shares, and private equity funds will execute the rest.

#Trend Analysis

[Monthly Funding] Record investments continue in the third quarter following the first half of the year. In July, the total amount of investments made recorded the highest amount ever, worth more than 2 trillion won thanks to investment raised by Yanolja. More than 1 trillion won in investment has been made for three consecutive months since May. The amount of investment has increased every month, with the total investment reaching 2.128.7 trillion won and 121 deals this July.

The company that attracted the most investment in July is Yanolja, a travel platform. Yanolja, which raised 2 trillion won (1.7 billion dollars) worth of investment from Softbank Vision Fund 2, has become a company that has gone beyond a unicorn and close to a deca-con, as its value has been recognized as 9 to 10 trillion won. Yanolja became the second Korean startup after Coupang that Softbank invested a large amount of money.

As investment continues to flock to growth-stage startups, 30 companies have attracted more than 10 billion won in investment. Startups that attract large investments of more than 10 billion won within a short time since its establishment are on the rise, and startups that attract significant investments before the seed stage or product launch are also emerging.

Venture capital firms affiliated with financial institutions were the most active investors in July following June. While KB Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Shinhan Venture Investment, and Shinhan Capital are actively investing, Naver D2SF, which focuses on finding early tech startups, also reported investment deals frequently.

Two startups have become unicorns. Market Kurly’s operator, Kurly, became a unicorn valued at 2.5 trillion won by raising an investment of 200 billion won. Virtual currency exchange UpBit’s operator Dunamu and real estate platform Jikbang also became a unicorn. Kurly announced plans to be listed on the local stock market simultaneously as becoming a unicorn. Contrary to the U.S. stock market prospect, the company plans to go public as early as next year.

Notable exits came from the pet sector. PetFriends, the No. 1 pet shopping mall, has been acquired by IMM PE and GS Retail simultaneously for 150 billion won. PetFriends is the Korean version of Chewy, and GS Retail has made three investments in the company before this acquisition.

Fifteen female startups succeeded in securing investment in July, the most significant number this year. With Kurly at the forefront, investments were made in various fields such as e-commerce, child care, fintech, and new media, especially in the cosmetics and beauty sectors.