[StartupRecipe] K-Startups Shut Down In a Recession

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

#Weekly Funding Overview

[Sep. 26 ~ Sep. 30]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 112.7billion.

Company	Inudustry	Amount	Round	Investors
Aibizon	Accounting Platform	-	Pre-Series A	Yonsei Technology Holdings, Harang Invest, Newzen Solution
Awake Corporation	Creator Market	1 billion		KODIT
7Pcitures	Community Platform	1.4 billion	Pre-Series A	Strong Ventures, Capstone Partners, D.Camp, Primer
Okpos	POS	-		Kakao pay
Haezoom	Energy	11 billion		Nautic Investment, NH Investment & Securities, GS Energy,
ConnexioH	Fintech	-		Smilegate Investment
Uniqconn	Fabless	-	GRANT	TIPS
Pureblack	live streaming platform	-	M&A	Onuii
Tictoc Croc	Kids care	16 billion	Series B	LG Uplus, Kyobo Securities, KB Securities, Woomi, Industrial Bank of Korea, NH Hedge Asset Management
EZS Tr	Blockchain	-		Block odyssey
Deep Insight	3d sensing	800 million		Hyundai Group zeroone
wonderweeks	Kids platform	-	GRANT	TIPS
Tublet	Online tutoring	-	GRANT	TIPS
Fleetune	Mobility	-	Seed	Bigbang Angels
Comento	Edutech	-		YBM
a4x	Blockchain	12.9 billion	Seed	SK Corporation, DSC Investment, Schmidt, KB Investment, Spring Camp
Cleanbedding	Bed subscription	-	Grant	TIPS
Addable	Healthcare	-	GRANT	TIPS
Brandless	Commerce	-	GRANT	TIPS
RN1	Workout curation	-	GRANT	TIPS
Amaze VR	VR	24.3 billion	Series B	Mirae Asset Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, CJ Investment, Smilegate Investment, GS Futures, LG Technology Ventures, CJ ENM, Krafton, Maekyung media
Strum Korea	Collaboration tool	-	GRANT	TIPS
Ai.m	Fashion	-	Seed	Mashup Angels
Aination	AI	3 billion	Series A	Ryukyung PSG, 4BY4
Xation	Ecommerce	5 billion		Hana Ventures, KB Securities
Yoban	RMR FOOD	-	M&A	Kitchenx
Rotonda	Blockchain	-		Casper labs, Hashkey Capital, Red Rock Capital, Willoughby Capital
Powerplayer	Cosmetic	-		KOVA
Imagineers	3D	-	GRANT	TIPS
Onmydev	AI	-	GRANT	TIPS
Superb AI	AI	2.4 billion	Seed	Duke University, Murex Partners, KT Investment, Pegasus Tech Ventures
Startrip	K Content	-	M&A	My Realtrip
VI KOREA	BOX Making	-	GRANT	TIPS
Medithings	Healthcare	-	Seed	Spark lab
Tablemanger	Reservation platform	2 billion	KT
Banf	Tire safe system	4.5 billion	Series A	Blue Point Partners, We Ventures, L&S Venture Capital, Daedeok Venture partners, Gentium Partners, Mason Investment Partners
Seoul Robotics	Mobility	30.8 billion	Series B	KB Investment, Future Play, KB Securities, KDB Development Bank, nohnpartners

Major Funding

• Seoul Robotics, a startup company using 3D LiDAR, has raised KRW 30.8 billion. It has the technology to analyze the video from the LiDAR mounted on the vehicle. The money will be used for research and development of autonomous driving-related solutions.
• AmazeVR has raised KRW 45.7 billion in its Series B fundraising round. It develops virtual reality technology and provides artists with a VR concert production environment. It will promote the full-scale expansion of the VR concert platform with the funds.
• Tictoccroc has completed its KRW 16 billion investment round, bringing the total to KRW 29 billion. It connects teachers with young children from one-year-old infants to elementary school students. It will use the funds to improve its personalized services and create original content.
•  Energy IT company Haezoom has secured a KRW 11 billion investment. It operates more than 7,000 power plants and offers power generation forecasting services, power consultancy, RE consulting, etc. The company will hire more talent and expand its business area in the next-generation energy market.

#Trend Analysis

As the economic downturn has been prolonged, investment in startups is also decreasing. The amount and number of investments in startups have been declining every month this year, according to investment data from Startup Recipe. More than KRW 2 trillion came in during July of last year, while this year’s July saw the least amount of money raised—barely KRW 700 billion.

As it becomes more challenging to attract additional investment, some startups fail to resolve the financial crisis. 

Onul-siktak, which runs the same-day seafood delivery service Onul-hoi, sent out the first signal. Last month, the business ceased operations and told every employee to leave. Since its establishment in 2016, it has accumulated investments totaling more than KRW 20 billion.

But owing to financial issues, it was unable to make payments to its partners and was unable to attract new funding, which led to the eventual dismissal of all of its employees. Although it has recently resumed service, regular operation seems to take longer.

The delivery platform Vroong’s operator, Mesh Korea, is on the verge of stopping operations due to a default. Although it was developing into one of the four major delivery agency platforms in the country, a crisis was discovered when the CEO’s forgery of his academic credentials came to light, and the main shareholder sold all of its stock. Since then, the company has had trouble raising money because its current investors didn’t make additional investments. Liquidity dried up as it failed to attract investment for more than a year. It also requested a payment delay since it couldn’t pay rent for its headquarters office, which costs more than KRW 100 million per month. It was reported that the company underwent restructuring due to financial difficulties. It decided to withdraw early morning delivery in the red, stop the food supplies business, and accept voluntary resignations.

Taling, a talent-sharing platform, also notified its employees of suggested resignations, except for essential personnel. Taling has raised a total of KRW 18.7 billion in investment, with 13 million visitors throughout time. However, as it became difficult to draw additional investment, C-level left, and the team moved from Gangnam-gu to the shared office space in Seongsu-dong. 

In addition, Umsun, a platform with 820,000 users that provides a directory of food items with ingredient information, stopped its service. UserHabit, a big data-based mobile user analysis company, went out of business.

Considering that the economy won’t rebound quickly, startups are likewise working to strengthen their organizational structures. Startups that have invested a lot of money in marketing or employee benefits are altering their tactics. Riiid, which received KRW 200 billion from Softbank, decided to restructure even with stable liquidity. The company made steps to improve its constitution in advance in order to be ready for the prolonged worsening of the economic situation.

Considering that the economy won’t rebound quickly, startups are likewise working to strengthen their organizational structures. Startups that have invested a lot of money in marketing or employee benefits are altering their tactics. Riiid, which received KRW 200 billion from Softbank, decided to restructure even with stable liquidity. The company made steps to improve its constitution in advance in order to be ready for the prolonged worsening of the economic situation.