The number of Korean startup unicorns continues to rise every single year. But what makes a startup a unicorn in the first place? To qualify as a unicorn, a privately owned startup has to have a valuation of over $1 billion. Therefore, they can not be listed on a stock exchange or have merged with another company. This is why you will not see Coupang on this list, as they went public in 2021 on the New York Stock Market. In addition, startups on this list will be removed once they go public.
These startup unicorns listed below show that Korea is growing as one of the leading tech hubs in the world. Korea is now 8th place among the countries with the most startup unicorns at 22. The United States comes in at #1 with 865, then China at 224.
Korea’s Rise in the Startup Unicorn Ranking
Korea’s rise in the startup unicorns rankings is due to the solid mobile infrastructure, venture boom, and government support in Korea. Many new Korean VC firms are looking to find the next Korean unicorn, and the Korean government hopes to push the number of unicorns to 30 by the end of 2023. Soon you will see some of the founders of these unicorn startups in Korea becoming one of the top wealthiest people in South Korea.
Here is the complete list of Korean Startup Unicorns
Yanolja
Korean Startup Unicorns – Korean travel startup unicorn Yanolja turns seedy hotels in Korea into top-end short-term rental options for young people and travelers. It originally started as an advertising platform for “love” hotels before adding its app-based booking service. In addition, Yanolja helped love hotels upgrade its image with its Yanolja renovation services. Furthermore, it has over 9,000 hotel clients in Korea and has expanded overseas to countries like Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The aim is to reach 500,000 hotel clients by 2025. They have also developed a range of software services to help hotels automate their check-in processes and other services.
Yanolja is ranked #1 because SoftBank Group invested an astonishing $1.7 billion from their $30 billion Vision Fund 2. They were the sole investor in the latest round of funding by Yanolja. This investment is the largest by a venture fund in a travel startup since the pandemic began. Despite the pandemic, Yanolja was able to generate $14 million in operating profit on $168 million in revenue.
“The hotel is one of the items, but we are pursuing to realize a total package for the users. Yanolja is providing restaurant and activity, leisure tickets, transportation, and other,” said CEO of Yanolja, Jong Yoon Kim.
Founded: 2005
Valuation: $9 Billion
Investors: Softbank, SBI Investment Korea, Partners Investment, GIC
Funding Raised: $1.94 Billion
Dunamu
Dunamu is the operator of South Korea’s top cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit. Upbit was an average daily transaction volume of $15 billion. Dunamu also manages a trading platform for over-the-counter stocks and provides information on stock markets. They posted sales of over $150 million in 2020 with an operating profit of $70 million. It is expected that Dunamu will follow the path of Coupang and go public in the US stock markets.
Founded: 2017
Valuation: $8.5 Billion
Investors: Atinum Investment Co., DSC Investment, Altos Ventures, Hana Financial Investment Co., and Saehan Venture Capital.
Funding Raised: $70 Million
Viva Republica (Toss)
Korean Fintech Unicorn Viva Republica is the maker of the mobile payment solution app Toss. They launched as a simple Korean P2P money transfer service. However, it has now become a platform that provides a wide range of financial services through its app. Therefore, users can not only transfer money but also see their bank and credit card transactions. In addition, it offers various investment services, loan/insurance plans, and the ability to manage its credit score. Furthermore, Toss has over 13 million active users and has already processed over $45 billion in transactions. Their latest funding round saw them raise over $390 million, led by the Korea Development Bank and Alkeon Capital Management.
“Our mission is to provide the best possible financial service experience to users, and we will continue to do our best for Toss to become the only service needed for user’s safe and easy day-to-day financial lives,” said CEO of Viva Republica, SG Lee.
60% Take in Mobility Company VCNC
Viva Republic acquired a 60% majority stake in the mobility company behind the ride-hailing app Tada, VCNC. The acquisition aims to expand its financial services business. The deal will allow riders of Tada and drivers of Tada a more comprehensive range of choices in the ride-hailing service market. VCNC has been a fully-owned subsidiary of Socar since 2018.
Founded: 2011
Valuation: $6.9 Billion
Investors: Korea Development Bank, Alkeon Capital Management, Bessemer Venture Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield, Byers, Altos Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Paypal, GIC, Sequoia China, Ribbit Capital
Funding Raised: $740 Million
Yello Mobile
Korean IT startup unicorn Yello Mobile started as a marketing company in Korea. Yello Mobile soon became an integrated data platform company that provided B2C services and B2B solutions. They focused early on by collecting promising startups in the IT space. From the start, Yello Mobile has been aggressive in its mergers and acquisitions. Furthermore, their core business sectors include healthcare, advertising, smart city, and media commerce. The startup soon became a tech giant with over 90 venture firms in early 2016. Soon Yello Mobile became a significant shareholder in Dayli Financial Group, which runs companies in Fintech technology, AI, and cryptocurrency (Coinone). In addition, some of the other notable subsidiaries include Carelabs, an O2O healthcare platform company, and Future Stream Networks, an integrated digital marketing company.
“Based on our solid cooperation with various stakeholders, we will leap forward as a leading company in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution,” said CEO of Yello Mobile Lee Sang-hyuk.
Founded: 2012
Valuation:$4 Billion
Investors: Formation 8, Macquarie, SBI Group
Funding Raised: $187 Million
Danggeun Market (Karrot Market)
Korean unicorn startup Danggeun Market, known as Karrot Market, is the publisher of South Korea’s hyperlocal community app Karrot. Customers at Danggeun Market can access everything from fresh local produce, furniture, essential services such as education, cleaning, etc., and even used cars in their local community. Its unique feature only shows listings from sellers located within a 10-mile radius. They raised $162 million for their series D round, putting their total funding at $205 million. They plan to launch a payment service called Karrot Pay and expand offline to online services for South Korean SMEs that use its platform. The startup already developed in the UK back in late 2019. To date, the Karrot app has over 21 million users.
“Danggeun Market plans to focus on accelerating further overseas market expansion for the next two years. We will diversify our business, aiming to be a super app,” said the co-founder of Danggeun Market, Gary Kim.
Founded: 2015
Valuation: $2.7 Billion
Investors: DST Global, Aspex Management, Reverent Partners, Goodwater Capital, Altos Ventures, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Kakao Ventures, Strong Ventures, and Capstone Partners.
Funding Raised: $205 Million
Market Kurley
Korean unicorn startup Market Kurley operates South Korea’s online fresh grocery and gourmet food delivery service. They raised $200 million from their latest round of funding led by Millennium Management, CJ logistics, DST Global, Sequoia Capital, and Aspex Management. However, their operating loss was $100 million in 2020, which was more significant than their operating loss in 2019, which was $91 million. This does not mean Market Kurley can not go public, as we saw with Coupang, which had much more significant operating losses. In 2021 they exceeded 9 million customers on their platform. In addition, they raised an additional $210 million in a pre-IPO from a Hong Kong-based private equity firm ahead of their IPO planned for 2023.
Founded: 2014
Valuation: $2.4 Billion
Investors: Millennium Management, CJ Logistics, DST Global, Sequoia Capital China, and Aspex Management
Funding Raised: $732 Million
WeMakePrice
WeMakePrice is an e-commerce platform that is a rival to Coupang. They focus on creating a collaborative environment between the consumer and the online platform. They do this by creating a more social and customized shopping experience for the consumer. Therefore, WeMakePrice has shut down unprofitable units and focused more on selling goods sourced directly from wholesalers. Last year, they reported $48 million in operating loss which is 29% lower than in 2019. However, sales were down 17% to $344 million.
New CEO in 2021
WeMakePrice named its former vice president as its new CEO. Ha Song joined WeMakePrice back in 2015. He has been in charge of marketing and business strategies to logistics.
“We plan to strengthen our industry-leading curation service and invest in technology advancement in order to become a competitive platform strictly from the user’s perspective,” said Ha Song, CEO at WeMakePrice.
Founded: 2010
Valuation: $2.33 Billion
Investors: IMM Investment, NXC
Funding Raised: $85 Million
MUSINSA
Korean startup unicorns – Online fashion platform Musinsa has become a massive success for the young generation in Korea. Therefore, 45% of their users are aged between 18 and 24. What separates Musinsa from other online fashion platforms is that they do not handle traditional or top-name brands as critical brands. Instead, famous brands are provided through collaboration or special event promotion. In addition, Musinsa has its own magazine (MUSINSA Magazine), allowing them to create new information and content regarding fashion. Their magazine and their online platform create a perfect synergy. They can quickly create and post their latest content for viral solid marketing campaigns. Their latest round of funding raised $115 million from Sequoia Capital and IMM Investment.
Founded: 2001
Valuation: $2.2 Billion
Investors: Sequoia Capital, LB Investment, IMM Investment
Funding Raised: $270 Million
L&P Cosmetic
Korean Startup Unicorns – Korean beauty startup unicorn L&P Cosmetic is the owner of the top-selling sheet mask brand Mediheal. Mediheal became famous after getting BTS as its primary model. L&P Cosmetic has used celebrities like BTS, Hyun Bin, and other K-pop stars to promote their products. They have been successful in carving out a niche for higher-end masks. In addition, they have also had great success in the Chinese market. In total, they have sold close to 1 billion masks to date. Furthermore, all their products are produced in Korea. They will focus on breaking into the Southeast Asian, US, and European markets.
“I think the facial mask is part of progress in Korean cosmetics, from the BB cream several years ago to the air cushion makeup and now the facial mask,” said CEO of L&P Cosmetic, Kwon Oh-sub.
Founded: 1969
Valuation: $1.78 Billion
Investors: CDIB Capital
Funding Raised: N/A
GPClub
K-beauty startup unicorns – GPClub is the maker of creams, lipsticks, and other beauty products. Their products are a huge hit in China. They have sold over 1 billion skincare masks, mainly in China. It is the top seller in China. This was because of the boycott of Korean products in China in 2016. Therefore, GPClub was able to promote its medium-sized brand via social media influencers on Weibo and TikTok (Bytedance). This helped GPClub grab a significant market share from the big-brand Korean beauty brands. GPClub’s profits rose over 30x during this time.
Founded: 2003
Valuation: $1.32 Billion
Investors: Goldman Sachs
Funding Raised: N/A
SendBird
Korean Unicorn Startup SendBird provides chat, video, and other interactive services to companies. Today, their customers collectively channel over 150 million users through SendBird’s API to chat with each other over text and video. In addition, SendBird already provides services around moderation and text search. In the future, they plan to add payments and logistics features.
They closed $100 million for their latest round of funding.
Founded: 2013
Valuation: $1.05 Billion
Investors: Steadfast Financial, SoftBank, ICONIQ Capital, Tiger Global Management, and Meritech Captial.
Funding Raised: $120 Million
Aprogen
Korean Startup Unicorns – Aprogen became the first Korean biotech startup unicorn in Korea. They hold proprietary technologies in antibody engineering and recombinant protein engineering. It developed a biosimilar but has also been developing new biologics. In addition, it has technologies to create antibody-based new drug candidates, including those for macular degeneration, erectile dysfunction, and immunotherapies. A professor at KAIST founded the company.
Founded: 2000
Valuation: $1.04 Billion
Investors: Linderman Asia Investment, Nichi-lko Pharmaceutical
Funding Raised: $167 Million
Zigbang
Korean unicorn startup Zigbang is a prop-tech startup that offers a new way to facilitate real estate transactions. The startup offers 3D and VR technology to its consumers for an immersive tour experience from the comfort of their homes. They were also the first to introduce the first mobile model house and a 3D apartment complex tour. With Zigbang, any floor plan can be converted into a 3D virtual tour to detect how sunlight will hit the apartment at a particular time. They will also implement a chatbot that will facilitate sales price consultations, the location of listings, and transactions. Zigbang has over 10 million monthly users on the Zigbang app. They raised $350 million in funding to date.
Founded: 2010
Valuation: $1 Billion
Investors: Stonebridge, Goldman Sachs, Altos Ventures, Yuanta Investment, DS Asset Management, and DSC Investment.
Funding Raised: $350 Million
SmartStudy
Korean Edtech/Entertainment startup SmartStudy is the creator of the global hit song “Baby Shark.” Baby Shark Dance video on Youtube is the most viewed video of all time at 9.8 billion views. The company is known for creating global hits through videos and songs. All their content is developed by the firm’s children’s brand unit Pinkfong. Pinkfong’s Youtube channel has over 52 million subscribers, and its videos are distributed in over 20 languages. SmartStudy has signed over 2,000 license contracts with about 500 major companies both in and outside the country. Revenue for the company has continued to rise since late 2019 due to increased demand for children’s content amid the pandemic. As more than 80 percent of the company’s annual revenues now come from the overseas market, investors expect the firm’s possible listing on U.S. stock markets, such as the Nasdaq.
Founded: 2010
Valuation: $1 Billion
Investors: Korea Development Bank, Pureun Partners, and Samsung
Funding Raised: $80 Million
TMON
TMON is short for Ticket Monster. It is a South Korean eCommerce platform that sells products at clearance prices in a short window.
Founded: 2010
Valuation: $1 Billion
Investors: KKR, Anchor Equity Partners Korea
Funding Raised: $800 Million
RIDI
RIDI is the first content platform to become a startup unicorn in Korea. The startup has a valuation of over $1 billion due to the potential growth of its global subscription-based webtoons service called Manta Comics. RIDI has over 3.5 million cumulative subscribers and over $1.7 million in daily transactions. Their gross revenue in 2021 exceeded $100 million.
Founded: 2008
Valuation: $1 Billion
Investors: GIC, KDB, NVESTOR, Atinum Investment
Funding Raised: $170 million
IGA Works
IGAworks is a Korean-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that provides comprehensive mobile data solutions, including data analysis, marketing automation, AI, and machine learning-based DMP (Data Management Platform), Trade Desk, and Market Intelligence. They are the only company in Korea offering a wide range of mobile data platforms.
Founded: 2006
Valuation: $1 Billion
Investors: Korea Investment Partners, KB Securities, Mirae Asset Daewoo, Altinum Investment, InterVest
Funding Raised: $50 million
Shift Up Corp.
Shift Up is a game design and development studio that offers a wide range of services, from game production to promotional video and music production. The company’s unique approach, which relies on original illustration and solid planning and programming skills, allows them to cross various fields and create an all-in-one solution for its clients.
Founded: 2013
Valuation: $1 Billion
Investors: Tencent, Smilegate Investment
Funding Raised: $170 million
Megazone Cloud
Megazone Cloud is a leading provider of AWS Cloud MSP services in Korea. Since 2012, when it was selected as the first official AWS partner in the country, the company has been at the forefront of the Korea Cloud Market. As the first and largest AWS Premier Consulting Partner in Korea, Megazone Cloud offers a wide range of consulting and implementation services, drawing on years of accumulated expertise. They also have a robust system to manage and respond to internal and external environments that may arise after deployment.
Founded: 2018
Valuation: $1 Billion
Investors: Salesforce Ventures, KT Investment, IMM Private Equity, MBK Partners
Funding Raised: $670 million
Oasis
Oasis Market is an online fresh food delivery platform founded in 2011 under Woori Networks. The company provides overnight delivery services in addition to traditional offline supermarket options, giving customers a convenient and fast way to access fresh food. The company operates its platform mainly in Seoul and its surrounding areas.
Founded: 2011
Valuation: $1 Billion
Investors: N/A
Funding Raised: $87 million
