[StartupRecipe] Proptech Funding Shrank, Here Is Where the Money Went

Access to the latest Korean startup news and startup database for free

#Weekly Funding Overview

#FUNDING

#TREND ANALYSIS

Proptech Funding Shrank, Here Is Where the Money Went

Investor interest in companies that support the digital transformation of Korea’s real estate and construction industries has not disappeared, but the broader proptech market remains in a slowdown. Proptech companies raised 192.1 billion won in 2025, down 25.4% from 257.4 billion won a year earlier, according to the Korea PropTech Forum. The number of funded companies fell from 37 in 2024 to 27 in 2025. Amid the contraction, deals continue to appear in technologies that raise productivity and operating efficiency at industrial sites, including construction automation, spatial data, industrial AI, and robotics.

Startup Recipe’s tally for this segment stands at KRW 70.3 billion as of mid-October, KRW 100 billion or more below the same point last year. Construction automation and robotics accounted for KRW 39.8 billion of that total, or 56.6%. Capital is still reaching companies that address specific industry problems, such as automating construction sites, using spatial data, and streamlining residential operations.

The largest disclosed deal this year went to Xpanner, a construction automation company. Xpanner has raised more than 10 billion won in every funding round, and its latest Series B added 25.6 billion won, bringing cumulative funding to 52.6 billion won. Robocon, which develops rebar processing automation, raised 10 billion won in a Series C. Together, the two deals total 35.6 billion won, more than half of all disclosed funding in the segment. Construction automation and robotics, which target productivity at labor-intensive sites, are drawing capital at stages from early investment through growth financing.

In rental management and residential operations, Zari Company raised 14.5 billion won in a Series A, the second-largest round after Spanner’s. Even as investor enthusiasm for real estate platforms cools, companies that prove their competitiveness can still secure large rounds. Netform R&D, which provides building renovation solutions, raised 4 billion won at the pre-IPO stage. Proptech is moving beyond platforms for property search and transactions into asset management, including building maintenance and rental operations.

The pattern is consistent with the industry analysis the Korea PropTech Forum released in June, which named AI transformation as the sector’s next growth driver. The forum said that changing how real estate and construction work gets done, and cutting costs through technology, could become a central task for the industry. Solutions that shorten construction work hours, lower facility management costs, or automate rental management translate directly into customer cost savings. The business value of proptech companies may therefore rest less on transaction volumes or platform user counts, and more on the efficiency they deliver at actual industry sites.