Korean startups
Common Values Trump High-Tech, The Case Of Korean Startup ‘Lineable’
2014년 11월 06일

“Protect our children together,” calls Lineable, a new wristband that helps track missing children. The device was developed by a Korean startup, yet the slogan has resounded with parents across the globe. What is Lineable? Lineable is a wristband loaded with beacon technology that enables parents to both prevent losing their children, and if they become lost, to find them easily. But that’s not all. Due to the core technology, the more…

Check Out These Two Korean Gaming Startups That Got Funded Today
2014년 11월 05일

Gaming in Korea has enjoyed around 15 years of great success. Among Korea’s top performing gaming ‘startups’ of the last 15 to 20 years are several that have achieve well over billion dollar valuations. These include NCSoft ($1.2Bn), Nexon ($3.7Bn), Com2US ($1.3Bn), and Devsisters ($755M) which just went public this month. Smilegate, another domestic star, is still private and its estimated valuation is creeping towards $4Bn. Where other areas of software innovation…

Korean Security Startup ‘Lockin Company’ Promises High End Mobile Security For Startups
2014년 10월 29일

Lockin Company is a Korean ‘mobile application security company’ that has targeted smaller app developers who struggle to afford the more expensive app security services from larger providers. They have recently launched their cloud-based SaaS security service. How it works: App developers upload their package data with their application’s source code to Lockin’s cloud servers. the security layer is then added by Lockin’s technology and sent back to the developers, before being released…

Mobile Game ‘Cookie Run’ from Devsisters Delivers Pay Day to Investors In ‘Secret IPO’
2014년 10월 28일

Devsisters, the darling of Korean gaming over the last two years has listed its stock publically in what has been one of the most down played IPOs I am aware of. In fact, so down played that I wasn’t aware of it until today. At the time of the IPO the company valuation was $627 million, ranking the it 32nd most valuable company in Korea. The IPO happened on October 6th. Devsisters…

This Korean Startup Is Capitalizing On K-Pop Fever, Attracts 1 Million Users in 7 months
2014년 10월 27일

In many countries KPop and other Korean cultural content, such as dramas and movies are all the rage. While much of this content is available on YouTube and services like DramFever and Viki, there is also a plethora of online music services tapping in to the popularity of KPop music. Beat Packing Company is a new startup in the space that aims to bring KPop to the world through their online music…

Seoul’s Third Startup Grind A Huge Success, Next Up Alvin Foo (Ex-Head of Mobile for Google China)
2014년 10월 24일

“It’s all about hiring the right person!” stated Jake  Park, CEO of Value Creators & Company, VCNC, for short. VCNC is a Korean mobile application and internet services company that develops “Between,” a mobile social-networking application for couples. Between was created to enable couples to share their special moments with each other and remember them forever. It’s Thursday night in Gangnam and time to network with fellow entrepreneurs from Seoul’s startup community,…

Meet Yello Mobile, Aiming To Be Asia’s Top Mobile Platform Company [Part 2]
2014년 10월 24일

Only three years after the first acquisition Yello Mobile has raised $78M, is nurturing an alliance of 35 startups, is profitable to the tune of $1.5M per month and plans to IPO next year. This is surely one of the most exciting startup stories in Asia this year. Here is part two of a two part article about their founding story, growth, and ambitious plans for the future. Click here for part…

Korean Adaptive Learning Platform KnowRe Secures $6.8 Million From Softbank
2014년 10월 23일

KnowRe, a Korean education technology company with a cloud-based adaptive learning program for secondary mathematics has just secured $6.8 million in a funding round led by Softbank Ventures. KTB Network Co., LTD, Partners Investment, SparkLabs Global Ventures and a number of other investors joined the round. KnowRe launched in March 2014 after a year-long beta period in which the company hosted a successful pilot program involving dozens of middle and high schools in…

Softbank Ventures Has Invested To Connect Korean Foodies To The Restaurants They Crave
2014년 10월 23일

MangoPlate announced today a series A funding round from Softbank Ventures Korea. As described on their Google Play download page, “MangoPlate is your go-to app for discovering the best restaurants in South Korea. Available in English and Korean, MangoPlate will help you resolve your daily problem of where to eat by connecting you with trustworthy people as well as the best restaurants in South Korea.” Ryan Lee, Executive Director at Softbank Ventures Korea…

Yello Mobile – Perhaps Asia’s most Exciting Startup Story This Year [Part. 1]
2014년 10월 23일

Only three years after the first acquisition Yello Mobile has raised $78M, is nurturing an alliance of 35 startups, is profitable to the tune of $1.5M per month and plans to IPO next year. This is surely one of the most exciting startup stories in Asia this year. Here is part one of a two part article about their founding story, growth, and ambitious plans for the future. Part 2 coming tomorrow….

Meet These Korean Startups Pursuing Opportunity In China
2014년 10월 22일

During my time working with Korean startups there has been an almost universal fear of the dangers of entry to the Chinese market. But as Korean founders become more globally minded, and more confident in themselves, fear is being replaced with confidence and success stories are beginning to emerge. In addition, Chinese-Korean relations have never been better, and I expect that in the years to come great opportunities for cross-border opportunity will…

After Resounding Success in Beta, The World’s Top Couple App ‘Between’ Launches On PC
2014년 10월 20일

VCNC, the developers behind couples app Between today announced the release of their PC version. The world’s leading mobile couples’ app was previously only available on iOS and Android. The addition of the PC version will enable couples to continue their conversations on their desktop or laptop computers. “As the leading platform for couples, we can not ignore the 8 hours that couples spend daily on desktop computers. The development of Between’s PC version…

Softbank Ventures Korea Hold Their Second Annual Forum In Seoul
2014년 10월 18일

On October 16, SoftBank Ventures Korea held their second annual forum which presents their portfolio companies and vision to invited guests and the press. Our friends at Buzzvil, also a portfolio company of Softbank, were there to record the action. SoftBank Ventures Korea, a subsidiary of Softbank Corp. in Japan, is one of the most established early stage investment companies in Korea and their annual Forum showcased their portfolio companies for press and…

SoftBank Makes Good On Promise To Increase Its Entertainment Focus, Acquires Korean Drama Fever
2014년 10월 15일

SoftBank has just announced that they will acquire Korean TV streaming service, DramaFever, for an undisclosed amount. DramaFever is a five-year-old Korean startup that streams global TV shows and movies online. The company was founded by brothers Hyun and Suk Park which also raised series A funding from SoftBank in 2013. DramaFever has raised a total of over $12 million altogether, since founding. This is the second major acquisition of a Korean online TV distribution…

OnnuriDMC Develops Tech To Track Mobile Users In Real Time, Mobile Advertisers Rejoice
2014년 10월 08일

Sparklabs fourth batch recently kicked off and I had the chance to speak with one of their most promising startups, OnnuriDMC. OnnuriDMC operates a mobile advertising platform, CrossTarget, that the founders believe has solved a major issue for mobile advertisers; being able to track users in the mobile app environment in real time. Background In the PC environment advertisers are able to easily track user behavior through cookies, but this is generally…

Korean Bitcoin Startup Devign Lab Secures Investment From K-Cube Ventures
2014년 10월 07일

K Cube Ventures, an early stage investment firm in Seoul, announced today that they have invested about $200K in Bitcoin startup ‘Devign Lab’. Devign Lab has developed a bitcoin market called Coinone. Devign Lab claims to be the first web based home trading system (HTS) in South Korea and aims to provide up to date bidding/contract information for users. Their one click payment system ‘Coinpay’ provides payment services with a 0% transaction fee. Their mobile application is currently in…

A Look At beGLBOAL Startups: Kairos Watches And Team Blind
2014년 10월 07일

beGLOBAL was the annual event held in Silicon Valley, hosted by beSUCCESS. In the following piece we take a look at two of the teams that were selected to pitch to investors at the event. Kairos Watches claims to have built the world’s first mechanical watch and has secured well over $1M in pre-sales. Team Blind has developed a secret messaging system to allow employees to communicated in the work setting anonymously….

Seven News Items From Korean Tech This Week
2014년 10월 06일

1. Korea comes in 2nd place for the fastest internet speeds, 1st in other metrics According to a recent report by Akamai Technologies, South Korea’ average peak connection speed was 72.1 Mbps, lagging behind Hong Kong with 73.9 Mbps. Despite this result Korea remains top in the world for a number of other internet speed metrics including, highest average connection speed (24.6 Mbps). Hong Kong is the runner-up in this metric, at 8.9…

New Global Strategies Required For Korea To Realize Opportunities In ICT
2014년 10월 01일

For as much as the last fifteen years Korea has been emerging as one of the front-runners in global tech innovation, but has failed time and time again to capitalize fully on the opportunities. Smartphones, 4G mobile internet, MP3 players, social networks, and mobile payments are just a few examples. Nowadays, the U.S. and China, not Korea, are spearheading the growth of these markets and Korea is at a dangerous position, likely…

Seoul-based Hello Nature, An Online Grocery Retailer, Raises $1.4M
2014년 09월 29일

Hello Nature (Byung Yul Park, CEO), an online grocery retail startup, has announced a US$1.4 million investment from Softbank Ventures and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. Organic foods are popular among Koreans, and according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the organic food market is expected to reach near four billion dollars by 2014. Unlike other online grocery retailers in Korea, Hello Nature offers compact package delivery services called “nature-friendly…