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#Weekly Funding Overview
[June. 2~ June. 6]#FUNDING
| Company | Inudustry | Amount | Round | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bichedam | Bio | 1 billion | Pre Series A | KIBO |
| Smallmachines | AI Cell/Blood Analyzer | - | Series A Bridge | Widwin Investment |
| Bomchan | Stone Distribution Commerce | - | Pre Series A | New Paradigm Investment |
| Hankook Nanoot | Nano Tech | 1.75 billion | Seed Bridge | Magna Investments, J&S |
| BEAMWORKS | Medical AI | 15 billion | Pre IPO | Daily Partners, Pathfinder H, Kolon Investment, KN Investment Partners, KB Securities-Woori Venture Partners, Shinhan Investment-Mint Venture Partners, UTC Investment, Korea Investment Partners, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea |
| Medibuilder | Management Service Organization | 14 billion | Series C | Korea Development Bank, LB Investment, LSK Investment |
| As We Make | Food tech | 10 billion | Series C | LB Investment, Partners Investment, Wonik Investment Partners, Aventures |
| S-Innovations | Robot Software | - | Seed | Enlight Ventures, Quantum Ventures Korea, Honeypot Ventures, KIBO |
| Joahbro | Fitness Community | - | Seed | Series Ventuers |
| Dogmate | Pet Sitter | - | M&A | Connecting the Dots |
| Petbom | Pet Care | - | Pre-Series A Bridge | The Invention Lab |
| Pawdlers | Pet Salon CRM | - | Pre-Series A Bridge | The Invention Lab |
| FuriosaAI | AI Chip | 20 billion | Series C Bridge | Keistone Partners |
| Asil | Real Estate Big Data Platform | - | M&A | Naver Pay |
#TREND ANALYSIS
Korea’s Startup Market Sees Deeper Freeze Than Five Years Ago
South Korea’s startup investment market has experienced a sharper contraction through May 2025 than during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a recent analysis of monthly investment data by Startup Recipe.
Cumulative investment through May 2025 stands at a mere KRW 271.1 billion, representing a staggering decline of over 50 percent compared to the same period in 2020. While the number of funding deals has seen a slight uptick relative to 2020, the average deal size has shrunk dramatically.
The Korean startup financing market enjoyed a peak in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, both deal volume and total investment soared two- to three-fold, propelled by accelerated digital transformation and the expansion of non-contact services. Deal numbers continued to peak in 2022, though the value of large-scale investments began to wane, and the overall growth rate of funding slowed.
The tide began to turn in 2023. A confluence of domestic and international headwinds, including global interest-rate hikes, economic slowdown, and tighter liquidity, triggered a steep drop in investor sentiment. This downturn persisted into 2024, where government support measures offered a temporary boost to deal counts but failed to significantly increase the total capital deployed. Early 2025 has offered no relief, with May – traditionally a strong month for fundraising – recording the second-lowest monthly investment total of the year to date.
The tide began to turn in 2023. A confluence of domestic and international headwinds, including global interest-rate hikes, economic slowdown, and tighter liquidity, triggered a steep drop in investor sentiment. This downturn persisted into 2024, where government support measures offered a temporary boost to deal counts but failed to significantly increase the total capital deployed. Early 2025 has offered no relief, with May – traditionally a strong month for fundraising – recording the second-lowest monthly investment total of the year to date.
A 2024 venture-capital survey by Startup Recipe indicates that industry participants anticipate a challenging 2025, with limited prospects for material improvement. Many stakeholders are now pinning their hopes on the incoming administration for policy interventions aimed at expanding the domestic startup investment market toward the KRW 40 trillion range. Proposed measures include the establishment of mandatory venture-investment legal funds.
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