Startup Recipe, a leading South Korean startup media and a partner of East-West Digital News, has just released its 2020 Startup Investment Report. The report contains key facts, numbers and trends on this country’s startup investment and ecosystem, as well as information from the concerned startups and investment companies.
The South Korean startup ecosystem was unprecedentedly revitalized by such events as Coupang’s listing on NYSE, the acquisition of Woowa Brothers by Delivery Hero, and Match Group’s acquisition of HyperConnect. As a result, the value of many Korean unlisted startups has continued to rise, and more unicorn companies are expected to emerge. There is a considerable influx of talent into the startup ecosystem while startup software developers’ salaries are on the rise.
Due to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, investment activity noticeably decreased in the first half of the year, but recovered in the second half to such an extent that the overall 2020 investment volume exceeded that 2019. In total, with 816 deals reported, the amount of investment raised in 2020 reached KRW 4.118 trillion (approximately $3.6 billion) — nearly five times as much as in Russia, but less than half the size of the German or French markets.
Viva Republica, which runs the financial platform Toss, attracted the largest investment amount (KRW 206 billion, or around $180 million), followed by Kurly, which runs the fresh delivery service Market Kully (KRW 200 billion) and English education platform ST Unitas (KRW 150 billion).
Meanwhile, many startups canceled their IPO plans due to the pandemic.
Consumer tech, bio/healthcare, and software attracted more investment. While travel and coworking spaces did not perform well, industries such as delivery, OTT, and interior design showed brisk growth.
Startups developing SDG-related projects did not go unnoticed. In this emerging sector, early investment went to startups developing meat substitutes, in particular.
Startup Recipe — which is headed by a woman — noted that the amount of investment raised by female-founded companies accounted for only 8% of the total investment.
According to government data, there are 13 unicorn companies in Korea. Among them, one (car sharing company Socar) and has officialized its unicorn status in 2020.
The non-Korean VC that invested the most in Korean startups is California-based Altos Ventures, investing 12 times total in 2020.
- Click here to download your free copy of the Korea startup investment report 2020!
