[StartupRecipe] Self-driving Startups Have Raked in Funds

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Aug. 22~ Aug. 26]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 379.5 billion.

Company	Industry	Amount	Round	Investors
Jumpit	Coliving	-		IPOBridge
Cellico	Healthcare	-	Pre-Series A	Yuanta Investment
Wholesumbrands	Brand aggregator	20 billion	Venture debt	Withus Partners
Viva Republica		250 billion	Series G	Good Water Capital, Harvest growth Capital, Pebbles
Nyaongs	Pettech	1 billion		New Paradigm Investment, Wishcompany, Angel investors
Tesollo	Robot Solution	-	Seed	The Invention Lab, Woomi, Kukbo Design
Robo frien		-	Seed	The Invention Lab, Woomi, Kukbo Design
Robo frien	UWB Solution	-	Seed	The Invention Lab, Woomi, Kukbo Design
Rightroue	Eco friendly	-	Seed	The Invention Lab, Woomi, Kukbo Design
Paywork	Payment management	-	Seed	The Invention Lab, Woomi, Kukbo Design
SCON	3D Virtual	-	Seed	The Invention Lab, Woomi, Kukbo Design
Kreaon	Travel content	-	Seed	Korea Venture Investment
Soundplatform	Sound solution	-	Pre-Series A	Kingsley Ventures, Lotte Ventures
Plume.d	AI Motion	-	Seed	Future Play
Homeliaison	Homestyling	-		Apartmentary
Tridge	Agriculture Data	50 billion	Series D	DS Asset Management
Togetherart	Art tech	-	Pre-Series A	Tony Investment, Republic, V1 Private Equity
Spiderlab	Book sharing	1 billion		Smartstudy Ventures
Bos semiconductors	Mobility semiconductor	-		Hyndai Motors Zeroone
Growthfit	Marketing Solution	-	GRANT	TIPS
Talentree	HR	-	GRANT	TIPS
Studio Galilei	Smart mobility	-	Pre-Series A	MYSC, The wealth Investment, Hankooktire, Cnttech
Gigavis	Fabless	40 billion	Pre-IPO	Pebbles Asset Management, Time Folio Asset Management, Stick Ventures
BlueSignum	Mental healthcare	-	GRANT	TIPS
Sigorjabzong	Pettech	-	GRANT	TIPS
Spoit	Sport video	-	Seed	Incheon CCEI
Blank Corporation	Media commerce	2 billion		Kream
Threeducks	Entertainment	-	M&A	My Music taste
Sugopeople	Recycling	-		KC Green holdings
Socar	Mobility	-	IPO	KOSDAQ
Cultureart4u	art content	1 billion	Pre-Series A	Cryptonm KST-Shinhan Capital
Lineup	Sports game	-	Seed	Fast Ventures
Weflo	Mobility	-	Seed	Kakao Ventures, Lotte Ventures, Bass Investment
Kiwi studio	Kids Content	300 million	bridge	Sopoong Ventures, Huno, Glorang
Webtoon today	Webtoon production	2.1 billion	Pre-Series A	Capstone Partners, Laguna Investment, Crit Ventures, DCAMP, Bass Investment
Seoul Robotics	Mobility	5 billion		Future Play, Samsung Securities
Select Star	AI	9 billion	Series A2	Kakao Ventures, Company K Partners, CJ Investment, Nau IB

Major Funding

• Agricultural data startup Tridge has raised KRW 50 billion in investment. It was valued at KRW 3.6 trillion, which made it the first unicorn in the industry. It promotes global businesses as a trading platform for agricultural products. It plans to upgrade its product and establish overseas branches.
• Brand aggregator Wholesum Brands has obtained a KRW 20 billion loan. The company will acquire more brands and expand its consulting business with the funds.
• The AI learning data platform Select Star has completed its series A funding round after receiving an additional KRW 9 billion investment. It collects and processes learning data for AI through crowdsourcing. It will promote global brand expansion with its local corporation in the U.S.

#Trend Analysis

Self-driving Startups Have Raked in Funds

As the mobility industry diversifies into other services, the number of related startups is growing, and investors are paying attention to the mobility market. In particular, most funds are flowing into startups with self-driving technology. Last month, Hyundai Motor spent KRW 427.6 billion to acquire 42dot, a self-driving startup that the group had invested in several times.

According to data from Startup Recipe, as of August, 18 autonomous driving startups have received KRW 409.8 billion in funding. It has already surpassed last year’s total investment in the vehicle/mobility sector, including self-driving startup companies, which was KRW 287.6 billion, in just eight months. Even in the shrinking investment market, several companies have raked in more than KRW 10 billion in the Series A stage due to the high growth potential in the autonomous driving sector. Self-driving companies are recognized for their technological prowess both at home and abroad, drawing investment from global VCs. They also have their headquarters or branches abroad and make global partnerships to target overseas markets.

StradVision has raised KRW 107.6 billion and secured the most funds this year. Its competitiveness has been recognized as major global mobility companies made strategic investments. Investors are also betting their money on autonomous robot startups that specialize in last-mile delivery. Bear Robotics, which develops self-driving serving robots, has raised KRW 100 billion, the largest amount ever invested in serving robots. Both Stradvision and Bear Robotics are headquartered in the U.S. and are now focusing on their overseas expansion.

Various companies succeeded in securing investment in the first half of the year, including startups with simulation and LiDAR technology as well as autonomous driving technologies for vessels and drones. Investors will continue to pay attention to autonomous driving technology since it is a crucial axis defining the era of future automobiles and is also being promoted at the national level.

Company	Investment	Round
StradVision	KRW 107.6 Billion	Series C	Aptiv, ZF, LSS PE, Kclavis, TimePolio Investment, nvester
Bear Robotics	KRW 100 Billion	Series B	IMM Private Equity, Cleveland Avenue, KT, Smilegate Investment, DSC InvestmentIMM Private Equity, Cleveland Avenue, KT, Smilegate Investment, DSC Investment
Autocrypt	KRW 32.5 Billion	Series B	Korea Asset Investment & Securities, Ermus Investment, BSK Investment, Shinhan Venture Investment, JB Asset Management, Stick Ventures, Pathfinder H, Hyundai Technology Investment
MORAI	KRW 25 Billion	Series B	NaverD2SF, Hyundai Group zeroone, Kakao Ventures, Atinum Investment, Korea Investment Partners, KB Investment, Korea Develpoment Bank
Neubility	KRW 23 Billion	Series A	IMM Investment, Shinsegae Signite Partners, Lotte Ventures, Samsung Wellstory, DS & Partners, KB Investment, Portitodot, SKT-Infinite Fund, Capstone Partners, Future Play, Shinhan Capital
ThorDrive	KRW 20 Billion	Series A	KIWOOM SECURITIES, Emford Equity Partners, POSCO CAPITAL
Spring Cloud	KRW 18 Billion	Series A	InfoBank Corp, Mando, Korea Develpoment Bank, Woodreambio, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund
Mars Auto	KRW 15 Billion	Series A	GFT Ventures, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Central
Vueron Technology	KRW 10 Billion	Pre-Series A	Daesung Venture Capital, HGI, Korea Development Bank, Timefolio Asset Management, InterValue Partners
Clobot	KRW 9.5 Billion	Series B	Premier Partners, Shinhan Venture Investment, L&S Venture Capital, Hyundai Group zeroone, Honest Ventures
Seoul Robotics	KRW 5 Billion	–	Future Play, Samsung Securities