seoul
Korean personalized Travel Guide Service, MyRealTrip, Raises $980k, Plans China Expansion
2014년 06월 19일

MyRealTrip, a Korean startup that provides overseas travelers with personalized guided tours in thier mother tongue has just announced their third round of funding. SmileGate Investment led the round, contributing 70% of the funding, with Capstone Partners joining. This Series A round has provided an injection of almost $1M to help the company build out their Android and iOS mobile apps and expand to include Chinese travelers visiting Korea, as well as…

Coupang, A Korean Next-Gen E-commerce Platform Raises $100M From Sequoia Capital, Reaches $1Bn Valuation
2014년 05월 29일

Coupang, a leader in next generation e-commerce based in Seoul Korea, has raised $100 million in financing led by Sequoia Capital, with participation by existing investors Greenoaks Capital Management, Rose Park’s Disruptive Innovation Fund and LaunchTime. This investment comes at a time when rumours about a possible IPO at some point in 2015 abound in the local Korean startup ecosystem, and follows in the same week that Korea’s other ‘mega-startup,’ Kakao Corp….

Korean Startup ESTmob Behind File-sharing App Send Anywhere Raises $1M From Rakuten Ventures
2014년 05월 20일

Originally Posted by TechInAsia ESTmob, the Seoul-based team behind file-sharing app Send Anywhere revealed today it has completed a US$1 million seed round led by Rakuten Ventures. ESTmob co-founder Suhyuk Kang said that they will use the funding to expand their user-base around the globe and ramp up the app’s feature set. Send Anywhere delivers a basic, somewhat mundane utility to device owners. After one downloads the app, a user selects a…

What You May Not Have Known About Korea, ‘Land of the Morning Calm’ & Now Startup Hub in NE Asia
2014년 04월 29일

Korea, once referred to as the ‘Land of the Morning Calm,’ is emerging as one of the key startup hubs in Asia. I have witnessed firsthand the exponential pace of change in this once conservative and shy nation over the last ten years, and I am encouraged by the hunger with which local founders are embracing the challenge and opportunity presented by entrepreneurship. As predictable and arduous corporate careers begin to lose…

Shakr Drives Down Prices in Automotive Advertising
2014년 04월 28일

Digital Video Ads Created in 20 Minutes, and for $50. This promise from Shakr Media, the Korean startup that is dedicated to re-imagining everything to video, is ready to rev up local auto dealer advertisements. The company, which has demonstrated a dedication to ‘going global’ by setting up offices in San Fransisco, today announced that it has added nearly a dozen video advertising styles for auto dealers to its drag-and-drop simple video creation solution….

Facts That Make The Korean Startup & Tech Environment One of The Most Interesting in Asia
2014년 04월 11일

This article gives a round-up of recent news from the Korean startup and tech environment. Please feel free to suggest updates and additional news. If you want to check out Korea for yourself, we suggest coming to Seoul, May 14-15, for beLAUNCH, Korea’s top tech and startup event. While the event is based in Korea we welcome startups from across the world and have secured a top line-up of global speakers who…

Wearables, Med-Tech & Devices, and Mobile Gaming Come to The Fore at Sparklabs Third DemoDay in Korea
2014년 04월 10일

SparkLabs, a startup accelerator in Korea, hosted its third Demo Day in Seoul yesterday.  While startups in earlier batches were all based in Korea, the most recent session welcomed companies from Chicago, San Francisco, Tokyo and Seoul and sought to disrupt a wider range of industries from mobile music to wearable tech to professional online photo distribution, than previous batches which predominantly focused on mobile and e-commerce. This sets a trend which…

What Made Silicon Valley’s DFJ Make a Follow-on Investment In A Bitcoin Startup From Seoul
2014년 04월 09일

Coinplug, one of Seoul’s foremost bitcoin startups has just announced that they have raised a second round of funding from Silicon Valley VCs, to the tune of $400k. This replicates a funding round that the company received just last November for the same amount. What is also impressive is that both rounds have come from Silicon Valley based Investors, a once rare occurrence for Korean startups. This story also follows news we…

Calling Asian Manufacturers in Internet of Things, Wearables, and Hardware Innovation: Showcase At beLAUNCH for FREE
2014년 03월 19일

Asian Manufacturers in Internet of Things, Wearables, and Hardware Innovation Showcase At beLAUNCH for FREE Apply here This year beLAUNCH is giving Asian hardware manufacturers a chance to showcase their most innovative products at beLAUNCH, May 14-15 in Seoul, for free. We are providing hardware manufacturers and those at the cutting edge of hardware, wearable tech, and the internet of Things (IOT) an opportunity to demonstrate their products in a special ‘Innovation…

Google Lends Its Name To Korean Mobile Start-ups To Avoid Costly ‘Kakao Tax’(UPDATE: Not True)
2014년 03월 04일

A Google spokesperson has reached out to TechInAsia who also posted this news, and pointed out that “it hasn’t done or offered any of the things described in this post.” References  were initially sourced from ZDnet Korea (http://www.zdnet.co.kr/news/news_view.asp?artice_id=20140219145110). They have since taken down the articles used as reference for this article. We apologize for the inaccuracy of this post. Korea has long been a brand-obsessed shopping nation. Now Google aims to assist up-and-coming app…

New Business Networking Event In Seoul, Real Connections for Real Business, No Booze Needed
2014년 02월 20일

Business Network Korea (BNK) is a flourishing business community in Seoul. Both Korean and foreign professionals who join their events operate under the simple philosophy of connecting for mutual business interest, with a particular focus on entrepreneurs and SMEs. Attendees have been finding high value through the events, which help young companies in Korea / Asia build a greater presence through collaboration. About BNK events: BNK events feature a “Speed Networking” session,…

BellaDati’s agile Analytics Take South Korea by Storm
2012년 12월 19일

Only six months after their Korean launch at beLAUNCH 2012, BellaDati have opened their first international office in Seoul after experiencing huge interest and engagement from numerous local businesses.  Just under six months after the initial visit, BellaDati has opened its first international office in Seoul and local businesses are already benefitting from its agile analytics solution. “We experience huge interest from companies across various industries,” said Martin Trgiňa, BellaDati CEO, who…