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[StartupRecipe] Korea’s Freelancing Economy Is Growing

#Weekly Funding Overview

[Sep. 12~ Sep. 16]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 44.2billion.

CompanyInudustryAmountRoundInvestors
AblejAI-GRANTTIPS
JEINSEnergy-GRANTTIPS
MakeWorks communicationCamping-Hankook Tire, Hectocon
BookIPsEdutech-GRANTTIPS
EZEDBrand accelerator-Seed
AberEcommerce B2B Solution-GRANTTIPS
AurumplanetInfo curation11 billionSeries BCJ Investment, IBK Industrial Bank, SL Investment, We Ventures, KB Investment
CoinliveCrypto Chatting1 billionPre-Series AIOST, Humuson
EDINTEdutech-GRANTTIPS
ApartmentaryInterior15 billionSeries CSamchully Asset Management Company, Nepstone holdings,
ClickaMLOps1.4 billionPre seedDeCamp, Dodam Ventures, Kimgisa lab,
Z CommerceEcommerce-SeedCNTTech
Bindsenior leisure-SeedFast Ventures
BottleGolf200 millionSeedPacemakers
KiwoosoCow management100 millionSeedCNTTech
TissenBioFarmCultured meat2.2 billionPre-Series AFuture Play, Stone Bridge Ventures, Mirae Holdings , Envisioning Partners
The&planetMedia art-Zerotoone Partners
Gosoo+Coliving-Pre-Series AIPObridge, Gongmyung partners
DaygenAgriculture-SeedCNTTech
SentbeFintech-Series Ctonebridge Ventures, TBT Partners, IBX Partners, Partners Investment, L&S Venture Capital, D3 Jubilee Partners, Rapid Ventures
LevitEcommerce13.3 billionSeries AMirae Asset Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Korea Investment Partners, GS Ventures, Klim Ventures

Major Funding

  • Interior design startup Apartmentary has raised an additional KRW 15 billion and completed its KRW 45 billion Series C investment. The funds will be invested in upgrading services by improving design and material quality and developing IT systems.
  • Levit, e-commerce for group shopping, has raised KRW 13.3 billion in funds. It has 2.5 million users, and its cumulative transaction amount exceeded 45 billion in one year after its launch.
  • Aurum Planet, which offers an information curation service, has secured a KRW 11 billion investment. It operates a web highlighter Liner. It plans to focus on improving usability and innovating recommendation technology so that users can automatically receive productive and high-quality content. 

#Trend Analysis

Korea’s Freelancing Economy Is Growing

Services related to short-term jobs for professional freelancers and gig workers are on the rise. While Kmong and Soomgo were the first generations that drove the growth of the freelance market, recently, there are services to help freelancers manage their salaries and contracts as well as to match professional freelancers in more specific areas. Such platforms have become a flexible recruitment option for startups that have difficulty securing talent due to the deepening employment recession and rising labor costs in recent years.

Right operates a platform, One Point, where you can hire digital marketing experts on an hourly basis. It allows you to hire as many professionals as you need when you need them. The company selects only the top 10% of experts through verification and matches them with clients. Temporary experts solve corporate problems for rapid growth in a short period of time.

SpaceY runs DIO, a platform for experienced workers seeking side jobs. DIO can hire professionals such as developers, marketers, and designers on an hourly basis. In an environment where remote work is on the rise, the team is developing a system in which experienced talents are rewarded by working in various companies, including startups.

EasyTask matches freelancers for desk jobs on an hourly basis. It matches office workers to perform simple but time-consuming tasks, such as market research, blog management, and document editing. The company increases its market share by creating a new market beyond the professional freelancer market.

As freelance matching increases, services that help them manage their salary are also increasing at the same time. In this way, workers and companies can lessen the burden of management issues that can arise from short-term employment. DayWork Plus, a gig worker matching platform, claims to be a digital employment agency and provides on-site manpower management, advance payment of labor costs, and labor management for offline construction technicians. Paywork also operates a SaaS platform that supports wage settlement for freelancers. It manages contracts and deposits of gig workers, freelancers, or short-term hires, and users can easily check settlement details.

According to data from Boston Consulting Group, the number of gig jobs over the next five years is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 35%. The gig economy is predicted to grow significantly as more MZ generations want for flexible employment arrangements and wish to supplement their incomes with side jobs. 

CompanyDescriptionAmountStage
PayWorkTask & Salary Management for FreelancersNon-DisclosureSeed
EasyTaskMatching Online Office AssistantNon-DisclosureSeed
RightMatching Marketing ExpertsNon-DisclosureSeed
DayWork PlusGig Work Matching PlatformNon-DisclosurePre-Series A
SpaceYSide Job Platform for Experienced WorkersNon-DisclosureSeed

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