50 Korean startups that raked in the most funds

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Hello reader,

I confess: Most of my general knowledge related to Korea, outside of tech news, largely has to do with Korean dramas and K-pop. After all, these are the industries with a huge global impact.

So even if I’m not a regular consumer of such media, there’s almost no way for me to avoid at least some peripheral knowledge when it comes to these two areas.

That said, the country’s thriving tech scene, while not as much a part of popular consciousness as its entertainment, is also putting in its fair share of work.

Over the years, many firms have closed multiple funding rounds to get the capital needed for their business to take flight. Which of them have been the most successful? We find that out in today’s story covering the 50 top-funded startups and tech companies in Korea.

Today we look at:

• 50 startups in Korea with the biggest wallets
• A Singapore-based food and agritech startup’s expansion into Indonesia and Malaysia
• Other newsy highlights such as Binance US’s first external fundraise and Flipkart’s updated IPO outlook.

Also, if you’re looking to invest some time into making the earth a better place, do fill out this CDP x Tech in Asia questionnaire survey and join our growing list of companies that are en route to going greener.

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Big Time Startups

Image credit: Timmy Loen

I wonder if one day, we’ll eventually add the “K-” prefix for Korean startups and start calling them “K-tech” or something similar. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the firms that have raised the most funds to date. It might not be the best way to compare businesses, but it provides a good starting point to assess the country’s leading tech startups.

• Pandemic-proof?: Somewhat surprisingly, the top company on our list is an accommodation booking platform, despite Covid-19 restrictions shutting down most thoughts of travel or overnight stays.
  Yanolja has raised US$1.8 billion in funds, with contributions from big names such as SoftBank Vision Fund and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. Perhaps this could be a sign that investors are seeing favorable winds in the hotel and accommodation industry as the pandemic eases up.

• The smell of fresh laundry: Amid a sea of technologies such as AI, agritech, and others, Laundrygo stands out as our only startup involved with the business of, well, laundry. The company, which has raised US$58.9 million, offers an online laundry and dry cleaning service. Its latest round, which was held in September 2021, saw it raise US$45 million in series C money.

Good life for Glife

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