The mass adoption of WIFI and the future mass adoption of 5G in South Korea is bringing in the era of connected devices. Especially for smart homes, as residents in South Korea now expect technology to be integrated into how they live at home. Almost everything can now be done through smartphones and Korea has the highest adoption of smartphones in the world. This has brought on many innovative smart home startups in Korea looking to create smart home solutions that bring value to homeowners.
The new generation of Koreans can’t remember a time without the internet. Smart tech has made Koreans’ lives much more convenient, and it hasn’t stopped at smartphones. These days, smart tech can be found in almost any household item. From smart pillows to smart locks, here are some of the best smart home startups in Korea you should keep an eye on.
One of the more popular Korean IoT startups Lumir is the maker of a candle-powered light-emitting diode lamp called Lumir C. They were a hit on Kickstarter back in 2016. Through Kickstarter, they were able to raise a little over $130,000 from 1,000 backers from over 50 countries. The Lumir C ($80) is a LED lamp powered by a candle, without any external power supply.
Soon Lumir was able to come out with Lumir K ($20) which was much cheaper and more efficient. Unlike Lumir C, Lumir K uses affordable cooking oil. Therefore, Lumir K would allow people in underdeveloped countries to have this device. It can be almost 100 times brighter than a traditional candle. It only consumes 5ml of oil per hour. They also have the Lumir S ($70) which is a glass table lamp powered by a USB or regular power source. Furthermore, check out their design bulbs Lumir B and Lumir 4E.
They received over $275,000 in seed money and were a part of KOICA’s startup acceleration program CTS. Furthermore, Lumir was the winner of the James Dyson Award and has also won many design awards for its innovation and sustainability. Furthermore, the Lumir series could improve the lives of tens of millions of people around the world who are living without electricity. Currently, Lumir is working with many organizations to bring light to countries like Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, and Brunei just to name a few.
“We are producing in both Korea and China, working with local partners. In the future, we would like to build the Lumir K product in Indonesia, as that will help reach the market easier and faster while creating more jobs in the area,” said CEO of Lumir, Park Je-hwan.
Brunt got over $1.3 million in seed funding from Naver and Kakao Ventures. Their plans for 2023 will be to raise consumer awareness and expand outside of Korea.
MAETEL is a Korean IoT startup that focuses on sleep technologies. Their first product is called ZEREMA. It is an AI-Smart pillow that provides two main functions. It stops snoring and the pillow height can be adjusted. The user simply sets the air cushion to the height of the user’s preference by using the ZEREMA app. This adjustable feature works automatically with the AI-powered snore-detecting technology. It reduces snoring by inflating the air cushions inside the pillow. When the AI detects snoring, the air cushion lifts the neck and re-opens the airway to stop the snoring.
Luple is one of the few Korean IoT startups that originated from the internal venture program, C-Lab by Samsung Electronics. They launched a Kickstarter in 2020 for their light therapy product. It got over $100,000 in funding and won the Innovation Award at CES 2021/2022 for Health & Wellness. Currently, Luple’s smart light therapy brand, Olly, is being exported to countries all over the world including the United States, Japan, Switzerland, and Germany. Moreover, Olly comes in two forms. There is Olly Day which contains morning sunlight that provides a concentrated awakening effect in daily life with melatonin control. The other is Olly Night for intensive sleep care. It helps activate the sleep hormone melatonin and provides a relaxing light to help create a stable rest and sleep environment.
Korean IoT startups – 10Minds is the creator of a smart pillow called The Motion Pillow. The Solution Box which comes with The Motion Pillow detects, records, and analyzes snoring patterns. Therefore, based on the data the airbag pillow inflates or deflates to create a sleeping posture for better breathing.
Users can also monitor their data on sleeping patterns and trends daily, weekly, and monthly. In addition, 10Minds also came out with an eye massager called Breo. It brings relief to eye fatigue, stress, puffiness, and other ailments that hurt eye performance. It comes with built-in music and can heat up to 107 degrees Fahrenheit. One treatment lasts just 15 minutes.
Their focus for 2022 will be to work on improving the smart bottle to count calories as well as caffeine and sugar intake.
Lenif is an IoT startup in Korea specializing in smart chairs. It is designed to give consumers not only proper rest but to correct their posture at the same time. It has an alarm built into the chair to alert the consumer when their posture is not at the optimal level. The solution is tailored to each individual by reflecting the user’s unique posture habits.
RAONARK is the creator of ARK a smart door lock for homes and industries. The team consists of the most experienced experts in the Korean smart door lock industry. Most homes in South Korea have smart locks instead of traditional locks and keys.
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