South Korean blockchain startup Iconloop raises $8.3m in series A funding

South Korean blockchain company Iconloop has raised US$8.3 million in a series A funding round led by Korea Technology Finance Corporation, its first venture capital investment since its formation in 2016.

TS Investment, along with five other investors, also participated in the round.

Photo credit: Serhii Yaremenko

Iconloop will use the new funds for the launch of its blockchain-based digital identity authentication service, my-ID, in the first half of 2020. It also looks to expand my-ID Alliance, which currently has 27 organizations and companies from various industries, to other sectors such as fintech, ecommerce, sharing economy, and health care.

According to one official from Korea Technology Finance Corporation, blockchain is evolving into practical applications such as decentralized ID services, which is in line with the global trend of giving users more personal data sovereignty.

“Iconloop will continue relentless efforts to provide blockchain technologies and platforms that can be implemented into the entire industry and help the general public embrace blockchain technologies […],” Jonghyup Kim, CEO of Iconloop, said.

Iconloop, which specializes in the implementation and design of blockchain tech, developed and open-sourced “Loopchain,” its proprietary blockchain engine. It also launched Chain ID, which is a blockchain joint certification service with 26 domestic securities companies, Kyobo Life’s Smart Insurance Claim Service, and Seoul Standard Blockchain Platform.

This year, the company launched DPASS, a blockchain-based self-sovereign identity authentication service.

The startup raised US$42 million in six hours during its initial coin offering in 2017, according to a statement.