The South Korean startup ecosystem has grown over the past decade as main tech corporations and enterprise capital from the West has sought to make inroads within the nation. No shock there: South Korea has lengthy been one among Asia’s strongest economies. Startups right here have loved good entry to funding, benefiting from Big Tech corporations like Google, Meta, Qualcomm and Samsung establishing operations domestically, in addition to from devoted enterprise arms. It additionally helps that the Korean authorities has spurred funding by establishing innovation hubs, incubators and accelerators.
Today, South Korea ranks ninth on the listing of nations with the very best variety of unicorns, per Statista, and its capital metropolis, Seoul, is taken into account one of many high locations to construct a tech startup.
But like elsewhere on this planet, startups right here haven’t been proof against financial turmoil — tech corporations have been chopping prices and laying folks off to benefit from a diminished funding setting, startup valuations have dipped, and growth-stage funding has proved exhausting to come back by. Asian startups basically have struggled to lift capital because the market turned in early 2022, and in 2023, enterprise capital investments in South Korea dipped to round 5.4 trillion KRW ($4 billion) from 6.8 trillion KRW ($5.1 billion) a 12 months earlier, in response to Statista.
It appears that 2024 will show to be a pivotal 12 months for a lot of startups within the nation, particularly as some massive names intend to go public both domestically or within the U.S. Here’s a listing of the highest startups to look out for:
Yanolja
- Founder: Su-jin Lee
- Total funding raised: $1.95 billion
- Key buyers: ComfortableBank Vision Fund, GIC, Booking, SkyLake Investment
- Revenue in 2023: $578 million (766.7 billion KRW)
A journey reserving platform based in 2005 by Su-jin Lee, Yanolja is greatest recognized for revisiting and pivoting the idea behind love lodges in Korea — turning them from locations recognized greatest for amorous assignations (rented for as little as one hour) into engaging short-term rental choices for hip younger folks and vacationers. Today, it has operations in additional than 200 nations.
The startup joined the unicorn membership in June 2019 with a $180 million Series D spherical led by Singapore’s sovereign fund, GIC and Booking. And in 2021, ComfortableBank Vision Fund II invested about $1.7 billion in a Series E that valued the startup between $7 billion and $9 billion.
Earlier this 12 months, Yanolja arrange a subsidiary in Manhattan, Yanolja US, to hurry up its transfer towards a Nasdaq itemizing. Last December, the corporate employed Alexandre Ibrahim, who had a stint on the New York Stock Exchange, as its new chief monetary officer. Yanolja is reportedly getting ready to lift $400 million in its preliminary public providing within the U.S., which may worth the corporate between $7 billion and $9 billion.
However, Singaporean e-commerce platform Qoo10’s liquidity disaster has emerged as an vital variable in Yanolja’s itemizing on the Nasdaq. Yanolja bought Interpark Commerce to Qoo10 in April 2023 and was promised to be paid $127.8 million in installments by 2026, however Yanolja has not but acquired the remaining quantity.
Viva Republica (Toss)
- Founder: Seung-gun Lee
- Total funding raised: $1.34 billion
- Key buyers: Alkeon Capital, Altos Ventures, Aspex Management, Bond Capital, Goodwater Capital, GIC, Greyhound Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Korea Development Bank, PayPal, Qualcomm Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia China
- Revenue in 2023: $994.1 million (1.37 trillion KRW)
Seung-gun Lee, a former dentist, based Viva Republica in 2015, the corporate behind the finance tremendous app Toss, as a result of he was fed up with the complexity of South Korea’s on-line fee techniques. Lee was apparently not the one one bored with leaping by way of hoops to make funds, and his app rapidly took off. Three years later, Viva Republica hit unicorn standing after elevating $80 million. The firm was final valued at about $7 billion (9.1 billion KRW) in December 2022 after a $405 million Series G spherical. Today, Toss has greater than 19 million month-to-month lively customers.
Earlier this 12 months, Viva Republica employed advisers to go public subsequent 12 months in South Korea. It posted income of $994.1 million (1.37 trillion KRW) in 2023, and the corporate mentioned it’s prone to attain profitability this 12 months.
Kurly
- Founder: Sophie Kim
- Total funding raised: $761 million
- Key buyers: Anchor Equity Partners, Aspex Management, CJ Logistics, DST Global, Hillhouse, Hugh Ventures, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Sequoia Capital China, SK Networks, Translink Capital
- Revenue in 2023: $1.5 billion (2.07 trillion KRW)
Kurly has harbored goals of an Stock Launch for years, however it might lastly be capable of resume its itemizing plan.
Riding excessive on pandemic-driven tailwinds, the grocery supply service initially deliberate to listing within the U.S. in 2021. But then it shelved these plans in favor of an Stock Launch in Seoul in 2023. Those plans ended up getting shelved, too, after the Stock Launch window didn’t reopen totally in 2023.
The firm final 12 months began diversifying its choices, promoting every part from high-end cosmetics to non-public care merchandise and dietary supplements because it sought to bolster its income and gross merchandise quantity forward of its Stock Launch.
But an Stock Launch could also be on the playing cards quickly: Kurly recorded its first worthwhile month in December 2023, marking a major milestone since its institution in 2015. The firm has lengthy expressed its intention to pursue an inventory after turning into EBITDA-positive.
Kurly was final valued at round $3.3 billion when it raised a $210 million pre-Stock Launch spherical in December 2021, however stories counsel the corporate’s price ticket has since shrunk to $669 million.
Dunamu
- Founder: Hyoung Kim and Chi-hyeong Song
- Total funding raised: $522 million
- Key buyers: Anchor Equity Partners, Altos Ventures Management, Hana Financial Group, Hanwha, Stonebridge Capital, Woori Technology Investment
- Revenue in 2023: $751 million (1.02 trillion KRW)
Dunamu, the operator of Seoul-based cryptocurrency trade Upbit, began as a inventory buying and selling service in 2012 and launched a crypto trade in 2017. And in 2021, it grew to become the primary firm to amass a digital asset service supplier (VASP) license in South Korea.
Currently South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency trade operator, Dunamu briefly loved a juicy valuation of about $17 billion in 2022, when the crypto trade was nonetheless driving excessive. But because the hype round crypto light in 2023 following the collapse of Luna and FTX, the corporate’s worth equally plummeted to $2.2 billion.
Dunamu noticed an uptick in revenue within the earlier 12 months, stemming from the restoration of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This resulted in a web revenue of roughly $594 million in 2023, reflecting a 515.4% improve from the earlier 12 months. Nevertheless, the corporate has encountered obstacles in diversifying its income sources and managing losses inside its subsidiaries. Dunamu is reportedly aiming to go public on the Nasdaq.
Musinsa
- Founder: Man-ho Cho
- Total funding raised: $330 million (~ 430 billion KRW)
- Key buyers: IMM Investment, KKR, Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management
- Revenue in 2023: $662.5 million (883 billion KRW)
Along with its Kakao’s trend platform Zigzag, Korean retail large Shinsegae’s W Concept, and Naver-backed Brandi, Seoul-based trend market Musinsa is likely one of the greatest and hottest trend marketplaces in South Korea. It provides greater than 8,000 native and overseas trend manufacturers spanning various classes, together with informal, sports activities and luxurious to 13 million customers.
The startup claims its annual GMV crossed $2.35 billion (3 trillion KRW) in 2022 and that its income hit $662.5 million in 2022.
The firm is reportedly in talks with funding banks to run its preliminary public providing in South Korea in 2025. Founded in 2012 by CEO Man-ho Cho, the Korean trend platform raised a $190 million Series C spherical led by KKR that valued it at roughly $2.76 billion in July 2023.
Danggeun Market
- Co-Founders: Gary Kim, Paul Kim
- Total funding raised: $205 million
- Key buyers: Altos Ventures, Aspex Management, Capstone Partners, DST Global, Goodwater Capital, Kakao Ventures, Reverent Partners, SBVA and Strong Ventures
- Revenue in 2023: $96.3 million
Founded in 2015 by Gary Kim and Paul Kim, Danggeun Market runs Karrot, the hyperlocal market app for owned items. The platform has operations in South Korea, Canada, the U.Okay., the U.S. and Japan, and raised $162 million in a Series D spherical at a valuation of $2.7 billion in 2021.
The firm posted its first revenue in 2023 on the again of robust consumer development within the U.S. and Canada. The firm has since been anticipated to go public, however its CEO Gary Kim mentioned in May that the corporate would think about an Stock Launch after constructing a stronger monetary base.
Bucketplace (O!House)
- Founder: Seungjae Lee
- Total funding raised: $261 million
- Key buyers: BRV Capital Management, Capstone Partners Korea, Industrial Bank of Korea, KB Investment and KB Investment & Securities
- Revenue in 2023: $181 million
Founded in 2016, Bucketplace‘s dwelling adorning and inside app OHouse began off merely as a group of individuals sharing inside design content material. Today, the corporate is providing quite a lot of providers that embody virtually every part concerned within the residential house, starting from dwelling enchancment, dwelling repairs and upkeep to furnishings supply, transferring providers and even a rubbish can pickup service.
The firm final raised a $182 million Series D spherical at a valuation of $1.4 billion in 2022. It not too long ago turned down an funding from China-based e-commerce large Alibaba, in response to native media stories.
Bucketplace’s enterprise mannequin is much like Houzz, a California-based dwelling reworking software program platform that’s getting ready to go public as early as this 12 months.
Moloco
- Founder: Ikkjin Ahn, David Sehyuk Park
- Total funding raised: $200 million
- Key buyers: DAOL Ventures, Draper Athena, EDBI, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Mirae Asset, Samsung Ventures, Smilegate Investment, Tiger Global Management
- Revenue in 2023: $300 million
Moloco, an adtech startup that makes use of machine studying tech to construct cellular campaigns, serves cellular app builders in a variety of industries, like gaming, social networking, e-commerce, ride-sharing, meals supply and fintech, serving to them flip their first-party consumer information into advertising and marketing, monetization and consumer acquisition campaigns.
The firm was valued at greater than $2 billion after EDBI, a Singapore-based non-public fairness and enterprise capital arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, acquired shares within the firm from one other investor.
The firm had final raised $150 million in a Series C spherical led by Tiger Global Management at a valuation of $1.5 billion in 2021.
Moloco intends to pursue a public itemizing on the Nasdaq and is at present assessing the suitable timing for its preliminary public providing, CEO Ikkjin Ahn mentioned throughout a press convention in Seoul in December 2023.
ZigBang
- Founder: SungWoo Ahn
- Total funding raised: $248 million
- Key buyers: Altos Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, Korea Development Bank, Hana Financial Group, and IMM Investment
- Revenue in 2023: $97 million
ZigBang, a South Korean proptech startup, raised roughly $77 million (100 billion KRW) in Series E funding at a valuation of about $1.8 billion (2.5 trillion KRW) as its pre-Stock Launch funding from the Korea Development Bank, IMM Investment and Hana Securities in 2022. It acquired a sensible home-based business from Samsung SDS in January 2022 earlier than getting Series E funding to enter the good dwelling trade.
The Seoul-based actual property platform has been within the crimson for 3 years in a row, which is according to the state of the actual property market within the nation.
Korea Credit Data
- Founder: Kelvin Dong-ho Kim, Seong-ho Lee
- Total funding raised: $196 million
- Key buyers: D-Camp, Fiserv, GS Holdings, Hanwha Life, Kakao, KB Securities, Kclavis, KT Investment, LG Uplus, Morgan Stanley Tactical Value, QUAD, Pavilion Capital, Playmake Ventures, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance
- Revenue in 2023: $103 million
Founded in 2016, Korea Credit Data (KCD) is a Seoul-based fintech startup that gives an array of providers for two million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) retailers in Korea. KCD launched its flagship service, Cashnote, a bookkeeping app for SMEs, in 2017 to allow SME house owners to trace a complete overview of cashflow, together with revenues, bank card gross sales, expenditures, gross sales ledgers, and coverage info.
The startup raised $77 million (100 billion KRW) in funding at a valuation of roughly $1 billion (~1.3 trillion KRW) from funding funds managed by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value in August 2023. KCD is reportedly planning to go public in 2025.
