[StartupRecipe]Who is going IPO?

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#Weekly Funding Overview

[Aug. 7 ~ Aug. 11]

The total funds raised by Korean startups of this week is KRW 72.6 billion.

Company	Industry	Amount	Round	Investors
Select Star	AI	4 billion	Series A	Korea Development Bank
Fure	Bio foodtech	-	Grant	TIPS
Chesedridge	Employee benefits	-		D.CAMP, Mole Project
Petpharm	Pettech	3.2 billion	Series A	Korea Investment Partners, Laguna Investment, Eugene Asset Management, New Paradigm Investment, KODIT
Gamepro	e-sports coaching platform	-	Seed	Namum Angels
Runbear	B2B SaaS	-	Pre-seed	Kakao Ventures, Bass Investment
Robos	Robotics	-	Grant	TIPS
Goodshop	Distribution Solution	-	Seed	CNTTech, DB Capital
RSN	AI bigdata	10 billion		KB Investment, Stone Bridge Ventures
Studio yamyam	Media	-	Seed	Zerotoone Partners
Balance Hero	Fintech	30 billion		Hanyang Securities, Tony Investment, Envester, Ajou IB Investment, Open Water Investment, Harang Technology Investment
AB180	Martech	12 billion	Series B	Storm Ventures, KB Investment, SL Investment, Kolon Investment
Partridge Systems	Mobility	500 million	Pre-Series A	AFW Partners
Amor travel	Travel	-	Seed	The Ventures
Kokkanlogis	Freight transportation	-		FORCS
GTL	Space	3 billion	Series A	SJ Investment Partners, Open Water Investment, Shinhan Capital, ETRI Holdings
Mediasphere	Content business	-		Kakaobrain
Securelink	Security	-	Seed	CNTTech, DB Capital
Stevens	Coliving	-	M&A	Dongnae
Gongcar	Car sharing	-	Grant	TIPS
Biobook	VC Matching	-	Grant	TIPS

Major Funding

• Fintech company BalanceHero attracts KRW 30 billion investment. Founded in 2016, the company launched the TrueBalance app, providing a specialized prepaid mobile recharge service in India, which later expanded into bill payments, e-commerce, and insurance services. In 2019, they started offering small loans targeted at low-credit consumers. By the end of 2021, they successfully achieved profitability.
• Martech company AB180 secures KRW 12 billion in investment funds. Established in 2015, the company supports maximizing marketing performance through data-driven decision-making. Their core product analysis tool, AirBridge, along with marketing automation solutions, are developed in-house and offered. The investment capital will be used to enhance their data machine learning-based technology, and to facilitate overseas expansion and securing global clients.
• AI-based big data company RSN attracts KRW 10 billion investment. Possessing expertise in analyzing unstructured big data in spoken language, the company has completed projects for 500 domestic and international major corporations including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor, L’Oréal, and Coca-Cola. With a five-year average revenue growth of 20% and achieving a 20% net profit, they continue to demonstrate substantial growth.

#Trend Analysis

Who is going IPO?

In the past week, the fabless startup known as Padoo successfully completed its initial public offering (IPO). Anticipation had been high for the year’s inaugural unicorn startup listing, yet the outcome fell short of these expectations. On the first trading day, the opening price experienced a notable decline of 18% in comparison to the initial offering price. This early performance casts a shadow over the prospects for the latter half of the year. Nevertheless, the pursuit of public listing remains underway for startups demonstrating significant growth potential.

While a subset of unicorn enterprises has opted to retract their listing plans, opting for a watchful stance amidst market dynamics, a growing contingent of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies has initiated the IPO listing process. Simultaneously, there are instances of companies re-entering the fray after recalibrating their valuations downward from previously inflated levels. Furthermore, a considerable number of startups that recently divulged investment-related developments are diligently preparing for their own IPOs. This trend is particularly pronounced within sectors that have risen to prominence as the new frontrunners in shaping the future, notably encompassing domains such as future mobility, space exploration, and advanced battery technologies.

Recently the government unveiled a comprehensive strategy aimed at refining the technology-focused special listing framework. This strategy encompasses a relaxation of listing prerequisites and the introduction of an innovative mechanism tailored for pioneering deep tech enterprises. In light of these measures, the anticipation is that there will be a surge in the volume of deep tech companies seeking public listing opportunities.

Here’s a list of companies that have recently selected a listing agent and are targeting an IPO (or SPAC listing) in the next year or two.

Company	Industry
Birdview	Beauty
APR	Beauty
Oasis	Ecommerce
Jobis & Villains	Fintech
Kurly	Ecommerce
IGAWORKS	Data
Millie	E-book
Shiftup	Game
Dotmill	Media
Naraspace	Space
DrimAES	Mobility
Contec	Space
Innospace	Space
SOSLAB	Mobility
Intake	Foodtech
Blockodyssy	Blockchain
Mintech	Battery
Perigeespace	Space