[StartupRecipe] Virtual Human Startups Are On The Rise

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Oct. 31 ~ Nov. 4 ]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 59.9 billion.

Company	Industry	Amount	Round	Investors
Space V	Prophtech	1 billion	Pre-Series A	Daekyo Investment, WeVentures
Aetech	Environment	3.1 billion	Series A	Vision Creator, GS Ventures, Sopoong Venture, Blue Corner
Treefarm	Plant shopping mall	500 million	Pre-Series A	New Paradigm Investment
Secuchar Global	Security	8.2 billion	Series A	BNK Capital, Coentry Investment
Hodoolabs	Edutech	13 billion	Series B	LGU+, Korea Development Bank, Intervest, SDB Investment, Capstone Partners, NPX Capital
Step Pay	Subscription SaaS	2.3 billion	Pre-Series A	Primer Sazze Partners, Info Bank
Mad Corporation	Marketing agency	-	M&A	MotivIntelligence
Disquiet	Maker Social network	-	Pre-Series A	KB Investment, We Ventures, D.Camp
idid	Social entertainment	5 billion	Series A	DS Asset Management, Shinhan Capital, Geon Investment, Korean hipop fund
Billyo	Space Management	200 million	Pre-Series A	CNTTech
Safehouse	Story Production	1 billion	Pre-Series A	S2L Partners, DA Value Investment
Jennerbio	Pettech	-		CNTTech
Mass Adoption	Blockchain	-	Seed	CNTTech
Healthyfriends	Healthcare	-	M&A	Redblue
Fiserv Korea	Payment	-	M&A	Korea Credit Data
POZAlabs	AI	-		CJ ENM
Aqara Korea	IoT	25.6 billion	Series A	SK D&D, KOC Partners, Saltux Ventures, Capstone Partners, Korea Design

Major Funding

• Aqara Korea has raised KRW 25.6 billion in investment. Valued at KRW 100 billion, it is a home IoT company with smart hubs, sensors, controllers, lighting, and door locks.  By supporting Matter, a global home IoT connection standard, the company has received high marks for its growth potential. 
• Hodoo Labs, an Edtech company, has received a KRW 13 billion investment. Its corporate value tripled in a single year to KRW 60 billion. Domestic and foreign businesses have grown by offering English-speaking content, Hodoo English, targeted at infants and elementary school students. The funds will be used to expand the Hodoo English service. 
• SecuChart Global has secured a KRW 8.2 billion investment. As a subsidiary of security solution company Everspin, it provides Fake Finder, a whitelist-based fake app detection solution, to top financial companies in Korea.
• IDID has obtained a KRW 5 billion investment. It runs Bound, a short-form social entertainment platform where you can produce various videos and music content on over 500 songs. The company will make investments in upgrading its service and growing domestic and overseas bases. 

#Trend Analysis

Virtual Human Startups Are On The Rise

Startups that create virtual humans are attracting investors thanks to the popularity of the metaverse. In particular, funds are flowing into early-stage startups. Virtual human startups have received large-scale investments since last year. As virtual influencers have gained popularity among the MZ generation and as more businesses employ them as marketing and advertising tools, interest in the companies that create them has increased.

A virtual human producer DeepBrain finished a funding round of KRW 50 billion last year. The company is valued at KRW 200 billion. Lion Rocket raised KRW 6.5 billion last year and launched VeryMe. This service allows you to create your own virtual face based on your actual face with AI technology. KLleon also secured KRW 4 billion last year. It provides KAMELO, a service that makes virtual humans fast and cheap with a single photo and voice.

Related startups have successfully secured funding one after another this year, following the success of previous year. The majority of them are early-stage startups recognized for their growth potential.

Vlast, the first in-house venture of MBC, raised KRW 2.4 billion. The company made virtual characters for television shows like “Meeting You.”

It created top-notch digital content for the metaverse employing IPX (Line Friends) character IPs, including the original characters from Line Friends.

Aria Studio is developing virtual human ARii. By applying AI artificial neural networks and real-time 3D modeling technologies, it presents more realistic visuals and emotional expressions compared to existing virtual humans. 

PLUME.D, who recently won the grand prize at the Chung Ju-Yung Startup Competition, provides Avatok, a software for virtual YouTubers. AI real-time motion tracks your entire body and mimics user expressions and motions, enabling you to implement 3D avatars at a low cost with a single webcam.

SCON operates Meechu, a service that facilitates the development of virtual YouTubers. The entire process for creating virtual characters, such as facial and motion tracking and 3D modeling, is supported by professional character writers, animators, and developers so that you can make video content with virtual characters using only computers and smartphones.

Company Name	Description	Investment Amount	Stage	Investor
Aria Studio	AI Virtual Human	Non-disclosure	Seed	Primer Sazze Partners, KB Investment
SCON	3D Virtual Character Production	Non-disclosure	Seed	The Invention Lab, Woomi Construction, Kukbo Design
PLUME.D	Facial Expression Recognition Software	Non-disclosure	Seed	FuturePlay
Vlast	Virtual Character	KRW 2.4 Billion	Seed	MBC, IPX