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[StartupRecipe] Korea adds 5 new unicorns in the first half of 2022; total now 23

#Weekly Funding Overview

[July.18~ July.22]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 403.55 billion.

CompanyInudustryAmountRoundInvestors
PluglinkElectronic car charging7 billionSeries AMC Partners, Schmidt-DSC Future Mobility Fund, Hana Ventures, Korea Plant Services
GeekbleContent5 billionSeries A bridgeHyundai Motor Zero One, Smilegate Investment, Cosine Investment, Daekyo Investment, CKD Venture Capital
XL8.AIVideo translating3.6 billionPre-Series A BridgeAtinum Investment, Future Play
we are friendsTravel-Kibo
Social Investing LabSocial Investment Platform-KB Securities
Fainders.aiAI Check out7.1 billionSeries ACompany K Partners, Crit Ventures, SDB Investment, Quantum Ventures, Klim Ventures
ZETMobility-M&AGbike
NautilusWebtoon3.45 billionSeries AKakao Ventures, Bon Angels Venture Partners, Future Play, Smilegate Investment
EdutemEducation-Pre-Series ANew Paradigm Investment
dlp.studioWeb novel-SeedMashup Angels
RecoreLogistics1.5 billionKorea Investment Accelerator, Asia F&I
Weraser-GRANTTIPS
AiofarmAgriculture-GRANTTIPS
MindingRoutine app-M&ADelightroom
Viva RepublicaFintech300 billionAltos Ventures, KDB Development Bank, Kwangju Bank, Daol Investment, Mirae Asset Securities, Goodwater Capital, Greyhound
redbrickMetaverse18 billionSeries BNH Investment & Securities, F&F Partners, AIon Asset Management, YG Investment
NetspaRecycling1.5 billionSeries A bridgeHGI, Daesung Venture Capital
Losh KoreaSenior Care-SeedCNTTech
FloaticLogistics3.4 billionPre-Series ABhigh Investment, Hyundai Motor Group Zero One, KDB Development Bank, IBK Industrial Bank, Naver D2SF
acrossbLogistics-Pre-Series AK2G, Otium Capital, KOSME
Bold9Fullfillment1 billionSeries AYongma logis
Merchant KoreaMobile Phone-M&AViva Republica
BebridgeEducation tool2.5 billionPre-Series AMagna Investment, Blue Point Partners, DT & Investment
MotionLabsfemtech-GRANTTIPS
Whynot mediaMedia/Content22 billionSeries CShinhan Capital, DS Asset Management, History Investment Management, Value System Asset Management, WIZYWIC STUDIO
TessaArttech2 billionSeries A2
KitchenxShared Kitchen3 billionSeries AInfinitum Partners
CryptotaxBlockchain-SeedHashed
SavvySmart toilet-SeedCNTTech
GlorangEducation12 billionSeries AKorea Investment Partners, Murex Partners, Parksha Capital, DSC Investment, Kolon Investment
Pumpkin companyPettech-CG
DaliBeverage delivery-Inscobee
Thecheat-KaKaopay
BepluslabHealthcare2 billionPre-Series AMediwell Holdings, HPO
HumanitsolutionHealthcare1 billionSeries AKorea Develpoment Bank

Major Funding

  • Toss operator Viva Republica has raised KRW 300 billion, with its enterprise value at KRW 8.5 trillion. It will secure an additional investment in August.
  • Content company Whynot Media has closed its funding round of KRW 22 billion. It recently purchased the drama production businesses OZ Arena and The Great Show in order to ensure production capabilities for both short-form and feature-length content and develop into a comprehensive content company.
  • KRW 12 billion has been invested in Glorang, the company that runs the talent-development platform for young children “Gguge”. It has the largest market share among non-face-to-face kids platforms, with 2,600 cumulative lessons and 1,000 qualified teachers. It will focus on popularizing the service with the funds.

#Trend Analysis

Korea adds 5 new unicorns in the first half of 2022; total now 23

Five Korean startups made it to the list of unicorns in the first half of this year, bringing the total number of unicorns in Korea up from 18 to 23.

The newly added unicorns are Megazone Cloud (cloud service), SHIFT UP(mobile game developer), IGAWorks (big data platform), GC Company (YeogiEottae, O2O service), and Oasis (Oasis Market, fresh food delivery). According to CB Insight, Korea ranked 10th with 15 unicorns, after the U.S. with 628, China with 174, and India with 68.

<new 5 startups>

Megazone Cloud= Megazone Cloud, which was spun off from Megazone in 2018, has grown into the largest cloud-specialized MSP in Korea by providing a total one-stop service for consulting, designing, developing, and running cloud services like Amazon.

GC Company= YeogiEottae, a travel and accommodation platform, started as a reservation service for hotels and resorts in 2014. It is in competition with Yanolja. Its corporate value has quadrupled after CVC Capital acquired it in 2019. Recently, it has started an overseas travel service and expanded its business to car rentals, party room rentals, and studio bookings.

Oasis= Oasis Market expanded its business by introducing its first online early morning delivery service in 2018. In 2020, it recorded KRW 238.6 billion in sales and KRW 9.7 billion in operating profit, securing the title of the only morning delivery company in surplus. The company is gearing up for an IPO this year with a strong profit margin. 

SHIFT UP= Shiftup is a game company founded by a famous game illustrator in 2013 and has been successful in Korea and Japan with Destiny Child. Its enterprise value reached KRW 1 trillion during the stake sale process, making it a unicorn. It is now developing a new mobile game “Nike” that will premiere this year.

IGAWorks= IGAWorks is a comprehensive data technology company established in 2006. It runs an advertising platform that gathers and examines data on mobile users, gives advertisers analytical information, and executes advertisements with the data. Last year, it recorded a net profit of KRW 5.3 billion and marked a turnaround. It moves forward with the IPO plan.

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