Korean wave’s goin’ up, up, up

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Hello reader,

I’m a big K-pop fan, so I’ve been pretty plugged into the Korean wave and all the pop cultural phenomena that have emerged from it, from Psy’s 2012 hit song Gangnam Style to KPop Demon Hunters, a movie about a demon-slaying girl group that took over the internet earlier this year. (Soda Pop, one of the songs from the movie, is so catchy – it’s been months, and I’m still singing along to it.)

Indeed, the Korean wave is taking the world by storm. Whether it’s K-pop, K-dramas, or K-beauty, there seems to be no end to the list of K-things people are enjoying.

And from the looks of today’s funding data, K-tech might also be something to watch. Our top-funded startup of the week is a South Korean AI chipmaker that has just raked in US$250 million – a whopping US$190 million more than the firm in second place.

South Korea is home to multinational heavyweights like Samsung and LG, and its tech scene has had a number of successes, such as Naver and Coupang. It’ll be cool to see how its tech landscape develops further as the age of AI marches on.

You can find all other important investment deals that happened in the last few days in our weekly funding news wrap-up.

Let’s dive into the biggest deals that recently took place.

— Stefanie

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The biggest deals by market

Rebellions is a South Korean AI chip maker. It has raised US$250 million in series C money from Arm, BonAngels, HL D&I Halla, InterVest, Jusung Engineering, KDB Capital, Lion X Ventures, Medici Investment, POSCO Capital, Pegatron Venture Capital, Samsung Securities, Samsung Venture Investment, and Vision Equity Partners.

Kapiva Ayurveda is an India-based ecommerce platform that focuses on ayurvedic and herbal products. It has secured US$60 million in series D funding from 360 ONE, 3one4 Capital, Vertex Growth Fund, and Vertex Ventures SEA & India.

Grit Therapeutics is a Chinese biotechnology firm focused on the research of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. It has bagged US$53.5 million in a series C round from Junshi Biosciences, Loyal Valley Innovation Capital, and Shanghai Juntuo Biopharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd.

Commcrete is an Israeli firm that develops satellite communication devices for soldiers, first responders, and security agencies. It has raised US$21 million in series A money from Greenfield Partners and Redseed.

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Startups that are raising funds

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Behind the Glasswall

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