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Hello reader,
A few weeks ago, my best friend introduced me to the comedy routines of Benjamin Kheng and Hirzi Zulkiflie. Their YouTube videos had me grinning for the better part of an hour – especially this sketch, which plays on common K-drama tropes. I’m not someone who watches K-dramas (unless you count Squid Game), but it was so well done that even I could appreciate their comedic chops.
In today’s story, we take a look at the up-and-coming startups from the country that brought us our beloved K-dramas. With everything from social networking firms to edtech platforms, Korea’s tech landscape seems to have a bright future.
Today we look at,
- The rising stars in Korea’s startup scene
- A US$25 million boost for a Vietnamese blockchain-gaming hub
- Other newsy highlights such as Byju’s 10th acquisition this year and Animoca Brands’ revenue in bookings this year.
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Promising K-startups
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Money makes the world go round and a lot of it is being poured into Korean startups. Today’s listicle highlights 50 Korean startups on the rise, and additional details like what they do and, crucially, how much they’ve raised to date. Let’s dive into it.
- “What are your superpowers again?”: “I’m rich,” replies Bruce Wayne in Justice League. Naver Z, with US$163.6 million in funding thus far, might not claim that as a superpower yet, but the capital does make it the startup with the most disclosed funding on our list. The firm operates Zepeto, a platform that allows users to create 3D avatars. It flew into the top spot after securing US$150 million in its latest series B round.
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Teach a man to fish: Seems to be the idea for six of these edtech startups. For instance, Mathpresso uses AI to help users find answers to math problems simply by taking a photo of those questions with their smartphones. Onuii, on the other hand, focuses on online tutoring services that help connect students to recognized teachers.
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Big on retail: Another popular vertical in the country is retail. Five of the startups on our list – Kukka, BLQ, PartsGo, Visual, and Brandi – are part of the retail industry and have raised a combined US$106.6 million in disclosed funding so far.
Read more: 50 rising startups in Korea
Startup spotlight
Victory in Vietnam
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