[StartupRecipe] Average Series A funding ticket size decreases

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[May. 1 ~ May. 5 ]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 1 billion.

Company	Industry	Amount	Round	Investors
Belabel	Materials	-	Seed	Series Ventures
Mybrain	Medical device	200 million	Seed	AI Angel-CNT Tech angel partnership 2
Xpanner	Contech	6 billion	Series A	Korea Investment Partners, KB Investment
RAFIQ Cosmetics	Beauty	-	Series A bridge	MYSC
RD Solution	Battery recycling	4.5 billion		Kolon Industry
GNG Cell	Pettech	-	Grant	TIPS
Maeumsueop	Meditation	-	M&A	Atommerce
Delivus	Delivery	4.6 billion	Series A	Hana Ventures, Bass Investment, Kimgisa lab
Studiolab	AI	-	Pre-Series A	Spring Camp
Gotojoy	Hotel Reservation	1.5 billion	Series A3	The Invention Lab
Seeann solution	Medical device	-		CGBIO
Ccarrot solutions	Edutech	5 billion		IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, TS Investment
Allt	MRO	-		KODIT
Scatterlab	AI	15 billion		SKT
Tidepool	Fishery data solution	-	Seed	Bon Angels Venture Partners, CNTTECH, 1Billion Partners
G2E	Healthcare	8.5 billion	Series B	Kolon Investment, Sema Investments, Daily Partners, Huons, Sori SB

Major Funding

• AI-based data analytics firm Ziovision has secured KRW 1 billion in funding to complete its Series A round worth KRW 2 billion. The startup, founded at Kangwon National University, specializes in AI-driven video summarization tool ‘ZioSummary’.
• Flodi, the HR management solution operated by Deepside, has secured seed funding. The startup provides an HR survey SaaS solution that helps improve employee satisfaction surveys and organizational culture. With the new investment, the company plans to expand its functions and capabilities.
• StudyWork, the app service that offers a visionary AI-based cam study environment, has secured seed investment. The app enables students to engage in study challenges, with AI determining study videos, measuring study time, and providing a reward system for motivation. With the new funding, StudyWork plans to expand its features and enhance the user experience.

#Trend Analysis

A Series A round is a critical phase in the funding of a startup, as it marks the stage where the company seeks to raise money to expand beyond the seed stage. Typically, at this point, companies have a solid business model and a certain level of customer retention. However, the need for additional funding is necessary to build infrastructure, acquire talent, and generate sufficient revenue to grow the company further and achieve a more significant impact in the market.

The current investment market climate has put significant pressure on startups seeking Series A funding, as the amount of funding and number of investments have decreased. This decline can be traced back to the second quarter of last year when the drop in investment began to take hold. The shift in investment flows is notable, with the mean and median Series A investment amounts decreasing.

Comparing the average investment between Q4 last year and Q1 this year reveals a 29% drop, with a 40% drop seen when comparing Q1 to Q4. This decline is significant and has reduced the maximum Series A investment amount from KRW 100 billion per company last year to KRW 14 billion this year.

Despite the decrease in investment, the median amount has remained relatively steady, indicating that some startups are still able to attract significant funding. However, the overall distribution of funding amounts has shifted towards smaller investments. As investors have become more conservative, startups with similar business models are now more likely to raise less money than in the past.

To address these challenges, startups need to proactively respond to changes in the market environment and develop sustainable business strategies such as cutting costs and reducing staff. In doing so, they can secure funding to continue their operations and achieve their growth objectives.