Scroll to top
© 2020, Startuprecipe theme by Rssow

[StartupRecipe] Diversification of Senior-Friendly Startups

#Weekly Funding Overview

[Dec. 12 ~ Dec. 16]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 207.7 billion.

CompanyInudustryAmountRoundInvestors
Bespin GlobalGloud140 billione& enterprise
Scalar dataElectronic car charging3 billionGS Energy
Kiwi studioKids platform-GRANTTIPS
MathpressoEducation21 billionSeries CGoodwater Capital, Softbank Ventures, Mirae Asset Ventures, YBM, Signight Partners
AltdifTea brand-Pre-Series AStrong Ventures, Smilegate Investment
Vibeon CorpEducation1.2 billionPre-Series AKT Investment, Saltlux
JejuminiTravel-GRANTTIPS
MetaboneNFT500 millionSeedAngels
‎ioCropsSmart farm3.6 billionSeries ACKD Venture Capital, DSC Investment, Quad Ventures
PlugoEcommerce12 billionSeries AAltos Ventures, Bon Angels Partners, Mahanusa Capital, Prodigy Investment, Access Ventures, Pearl Abyss Capital
postypeContent10 billionSeries BSui Generis Partners, Atinum Investment, Shinhan Venture Investment, We Ventures, KB Investment, Playmake Ventures
NeederJob Matching7 billionSeries BThe Wells Investment, Conna Investment, Hana Ventures, CJ Investment, Wanted Lab, Korea Investment Partners, BNK Venture Investment, K Bridge Ventures
VerticahFintech2.6 billionSeedCrit Ventures, Ignite Innovation, KB Investment, Western Technology
noseworkPettech-Pre-Series ANew Paradigm Investment
STYLE CReward Commerce4 billionSeries A bridgeKorea Asset Investment & Securities, Union Investment Partners, We Ventures
Porefood tech2 billionLindman Asia Investment
EPIKARMobiltiy-Series AKorea Develpoment Bank
PowerplayerBeuaty Commerce800 millionSeedDaekyung Technology Holdings, Wadiz Partners, Korea Venture Business Association
Havahweb3-Han River Ventures, MAMA Ventures

Major Funding

  • Bespin Global, a cloud management service, has received a KRW 140 billion investment from e& Enterprise, the largest IT company in the UAE. The two companies will establish a joint venture with a base in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan. They also have agreed on an additional investment of KRW 200 billion.
  • Mathpresso, an AI learning platform Qanda operator, has secured an additional investment of KRW 21 billion and completed a KRW 77 billion Series C investment. The company has raised KRW 143 billion in total. If you take a picture of a math problem that you are having trouble with, AI will read it, solve it, and provide you with an explanation. Its service has come to prominence in Vietnam and other global markets.
  • E-commerce platform Plugo has raised KRW 12 billion in funding. It is headquartered in Singapore and was established by the CEO of Codebrick. The company provides an all-in-one e-commerce solution. It recently released a closed beta service and will launch an official version early next year.

#Trend Analysis

Diversification of Senior-Friendly Startups

Senior-friendly businesses are more diversified in their trends. As more individuals choose to retire early, there are more active seniors who are capable of economic activities, and as COVID-19 has sparked a digital transformation across all industries, senior-friendly industries are becoming more diverse. Healthcare platforms that prioritize the wellbeing of seniors have so far gained a lot of traction. Recently, various internet-based startups have appeared, including ones that support older adults with high purchasing power in their leisure and shopping activities as well as employment services for the elderly.

The healthcare sector, and specifically those that transform offline, analog health management to digital, is the one that draws the greatest investment. Investors have focused their attention in particular on a platform that digitizes the nursing business based on caregiver brokerage and covers all healthcare services. Major caregiver platforms including Caredoc, Carenation, and Korea Senior Lab all received significant funding last year. Caring has secured the most funds this year, raising KRW 30 billion. It is a senior tech company improving the inefficiency in the nursing industry through digital transformation. It seeks to offer an integrated service that combines housing, nursing, and care so that the elderly can live out their final years in good health.

There are few but prominent services that cater to the interests, leisure, and shopping needs of active seniors. Losh Korea runs Siiso, a lifestyle platform for people in their 50s and 60s.  It is a leisure curation platform that broadens the cultural lives of seniors beyond local community centers.  Bind assists middle-aged consumers in purchasing sporting goods with its senior-friendly platform Athler. It is a vertical platform dedicated to leisure and sports, targeting active seniors in their 50s and 60s who still love engaging in leisure activities after retirement. With three first categories—golf, mountain climbing, and fishing—it intends to make mobile shopping simple for middle-aged consumers.

Greyscale operates the e-commerce platform for seniors, Greymall. 

In order to address the disparity in information among the elderly, there is an online mall for welfare medical equipment. Seniors with long-term care insurance can get customized welfare equipment with government aid. It minimizes the distribution stage and assists pricing search, curation, and even purchase. Some services are to create job opportunities for senior citizens. One of them is NaeYiLuLi, which employs senior delivery personnel to manage Ongoing, an integrated regular delivery solution. It fixes the logistical inefficiency of regular deliveries and gives elderly people stable jobs.

Company NameCompany DescriptionInvestment AmountInvestment StageInvestors
NaeYiLuLiRegular Delivery Service by SeniorsNon-disclosureSubsidyTIPS
BindLeisure Platform for SeniorsNon-disclosureSeedFast Ventures
CaringCare Service for SeniorsKRW 30 BillionSeries ALB Investment, SV Investment, DSC Investment, Korea Omega Investment Corporation, KB Investment, AJU IB INVESTMENT, NH Venture Investment, Kyobo Securities, ARK lmpact Asset Management, Hyundai Investment Partners, Quantum Ventures Korea, HGI, JB Investment, Main Street Investment, Bass Investment
GreyscaleE-Commerce for SeniorsNon-disclosurePre-Series ANew Paradigm Investment
RowanDigital Therapeutics for SeniorsKRW 6 BillionSeries ADt& Investment, NAU IB Capital, Industrial Bank of Korea, KD Investment
Human IT SolutionHealthcare for SeniorsKRW 1 BillionSeries AKorea Development Bank
Losh KoreaLifestyle Platform for SeniorsNon-disclosureSeedCNTTECH, The Invention Lab, Hana Financial Group
Live-LivelyPersonalized Healthcare for SeniorsNon-disclosureSeedD.CAMP, FIND US, TheVentures
Senior-friendly Startups That Raised Funding in 2022

sign up for Startup Recipe newsletter

관련글

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

sign up for Startup Recipe newsletter