Korea-Startup-Index-2017_Korean.pdf - Born2Global

KOREA STARTUP INDEX2017

Korea Startup Index 2017 3

HIGHLIGHTS

Greetings,

I am honored and thrilled to be publishing the Korea Startup Index 2017, the fourth

publication in the series. Our innovative technology companies need far more opportunities

to enter the global market, and these opportunities can be created only when the members

of Korea’s startup ecosystem work together.

Since its founding in 2013, the Born2Global Centre has worked diligently to foster innovative

technology companies that can represent South Korea on the world stage and lead the global

startup ecosystem. Going forward, we aim to continue our efforts under this vision.

To help realize this goal, we have selected and compiled key information regarding startups in

this year’s Korea Startup Index, including the current state of the Korean startup ecosystem,

startup success stories, and crucial factors involved in entering the global market. In doing

so, we analyzed ICT companies and investment trends both in Korea and overseas and

examined the startup ecosystems and support policies of major countries around the world.

It is our hope that this publication will provide readers with useful and meaningful information

and serve as an important reference for efforts to improve the environment for startups in

Korea.

Lastly, I would like to applaud all those who have been quietly working hard behind the

scenes to contribute to the development of the Korean startup ecosystem.

Thank you, and we wish you all the best.

Jong-kap Kim

Chief Executive Director, K-ICT Born2Global Centre

Remarks on the Publication of the Korea Startup Index 2017

www.born2global.comwww.facebook.com/born2globalwww.linkedin.com/company/born2global

Introduction

▶ An Era in Need of Disruption 1Introduction

Foreword


Foreword

Foreword

An Era in Need of Disruption

In the last three to four years, the term “unicorn” has become common in the financial market. In the

business world, unicorns are unlisted venture-backed startups valued at over USD 1 billion. Originally

referring to an imaginary creature in Western mythology, a “unicorn” is an appropriate metaphor for the rarity

of unlisted ventures valued at over USD 1 billion.

Since the term was coined by Aileen Lee, a venture capital investor, in 2013, a staggering number of

unicorns have emerged across the global market, making them much less rare than the term “unicorn”

would suggest. According to TechCrunch, there were 223 unicorn startups as of the end of March 2017.

About 100 of them, or nearly half, are based in the United States, most notably: Uber, a ridesharing

company; Snapchat, a mobile messenger developer; Airbnb, a lodging sharing company; and WeWork, a

workspace sharing company. In China, there are over 50 unicorns, including the ridesharing company Didi

Chuxing and smart device manufacturer Xiaomi. Compared to these two countries, the list of unicorns

in South Korea is short to say the least, with only the e-commerce company Coupang and the mobile

business platform Yello Mobile.

These two companies achieved unicorn status in 2014, meaning that there have been no new Korean

unicorns in the last three years. Around the world, however, unicorns continue to emerge, especially in the

United States, China, and European countries. According to PwC, a global auditing service firm, five new

unicorns were created in the United States in the third quarter of 2017, representing a decrease from the 10

that were created in the second quarter of 2017, which puts the total number of unicorn startups created in

the United States in 2017 at 20. Worldwide, over 60 new unicorns have emerged since 2016.

Upon closer examination of unicorn startups, one common characteristic emerges: regardless of their

expertise, whether manufacturing, development, distribution, or content creation, they disrupted the existing

order and created a new market. Only those startups that challenge the existing industrial structure and market

order and try something new are able to become unicorns. Becoming a unicorn, however, does not necessarily

guarantee success. There are several unicorn startups that have vanished, giving rise to the term “unicorpse.”

However, the continuous emergence of unicorn startups has a huge implication for the industrial ecosystem,

as it means that more and more people are disrupting the market order on a regular basis by challenging

the old systems and striving to forge new industries. And some of them are succeeding. These successes

present new challenges and create an environment where shaking up the status quo and challenging the

existing order is natural. Pioneering a new path rather than settling for the status quo has now become the

norm. This means that successive emergence of incredibly successful startups, referred to as “unicorns,” is

reinvigorating society at large.

Considering these characteristics of unicorn startups, we can see why none have emerged in South Korea

for such a long time. Simply put, there have been relatively few attempts to shake up the market, change

traditional practices, oppose the existing order, or bring greater convenience and rationality to people’s lives.

As long as so few attempts are made to disrupt the existing order, there will be no chance of a new unicorn

emerging in South Korea.

Airbnb was able to become a unicorn because it found a new way to do business in the hospitality industry

Pioneering a new path

rather than settling for the

status quo has now become

the norm. This means that

successive emergence

of incredibly successful

startups, referred to as

“unicorns,” is reinvigorating

society at large.

10 Foreword

and offered customers more convenience. At the time, hotels and motel franchises were struggling to meet

the demand for affordable accommodations that give customers opportunities to experience and enjoy

various aspects of the local culture. Based on a novel idea, Airbnb managed to transform people around the

world into suppliers capable of giving travelers access to local experiences. Despite the many challenges

it faced, Airbnb contributed to the growth of the hospitality industry by shifting the focus of travel toward

culture. Paradoxically, disrupting the market ended up improving it.

The first unicorn startup that emerged in South Korea’s mobile industry after 2010 is the mobile messenger

developer Kakao. Kakao was able to become a unicorn because it shook up a mobile communication market

that had long been reliant on text messages. Telecommunication firms had firmly adopted text-messaging

services, which charged customers several Korean won per text, and customers continued using the

services despite the inconveniences involved because there were no better alternatives. Kakao sought to

challenge this status quo by offering customers a new way to communicate. This was not the first attempt

of this kind, but Kakao managed to do it better than anyone else, leading it to become a “decacorn,” a

company valued at over USD 10 billion.

We should be concerned about the relative lack of unicorns in South Korea over the past several years. The

fact that there have been so few companies willing to take aim at the existing order means that the market

is losing its vitality. The industries that were leading innovation in the country around 2010, including the

mobile industry, have now entered the maturation period, giving many causes for concern.

There are various reasons behind the lack of new unicorns in South Korea, including regulation issues and Korea’

s unique conglomerate-centered industrial structure. However, striving to try something new regardless of the

circumstances, seeking to make the impossible possible, and looking for a new, game-changing idea are what

entrepreneurship is about. And there is no denying that entrepreneurship is what gives life to unicorns.

Fortunately, while preparing this report on the startup ecosystems and environments around the globe in

2017, we found reasons to be hopeful. Although investment weakened and caution became the prevalent

attitude among startups in the global market, the investment atmosphere in South Korea was markedly

different. Funding for startups continued its steady rise, and a greater number of firms started and invested

in new businesses. There is still concern surrounding the tech bubble, but the interest in and enthusiasm

surrounding startups and investment continue to run high.

Another common characteristic shared by successful unicorns is that they all targeted the global market.

Not all of them started out with plans to promptly advance into the global market; they just happened to

create products and services that met the needs and demands of people around the world. That is how they

became unicorns, and their accomplishments have been inspiring numerous young people to create new

startups. To maintain this enthusiasm for startups in South Korea and enable startups to achieve their goals

and overhaul existing markets and the industrial order, we need more global startups and overseas success

stories to serve as a source of inspiration. We believe that the Korea Startup Index 2017 can serve as one

such source of motivation, helping usher in a new era of startups.

Although investment

weakened and caution

became the prevalent attitude

among startups in the global

market, the investment

atmosphere in South Korea

was markedly different.

Funding for startups

continued its steady rise, and

a greater number of firms

started and invested in new

businesses.

Born2GlobalAnnualReport


Born2Global Annual Report

▶ Born2Global Annual Report 2

Born2GlobalAnnual Report


Born2Global Annual ReportSTATISTICS

8,073cases ofconsultingservices

Providedsupport for

2,271companies

Offered legalcounseling for

the establishment of

58 overseassubsidiaries

Supportedthe attraction of

KRW237.99 billion

in investment

394overseas businesscontracts andpartnerships

554overseaspatent

applications

2013.9-2017.12

Born2GlobalAnnual Report

16 Born2Global Annual Report Korea Startup Index 2017 17

Born2Global Annual ReportMajor Accomplishments and Activities of Members in 2017

Attracted KRW 2 billion in investment from POSCO Capital and Mirae Asset Venture

Investment

Attracted investment from Balancers and Meddiction Corp.

Attracted KRW 1.5 billion in investment from 500 Startups, K-Run Ventures, and others

Attracted KRW 3 billion in investment from Japan’s Miroku Jyoho Service (MJS)

Attracted investment from BonAngels

Attracted joint investment of KRW 4 billion from Kakao Investment and Kakao Brain

Attracted KRW 2 billion in investment from Stonebridge Capital

Attracted additional investment from DSC Investment, ES Investor, and Daesung Venture

Capital

Attracted KRW 150 million in investment from KB Investment

Attracted seed investment from the Accredited Investors Angel Club (A.I. Angel Club) and an

American angel investor

Attracted KRW 24 billion from Naver, for a cumulative total investment of KRW 75.5 billion

Attracted investment from Japan’s KDDI Corporation

Attracted KRW 1 billion in investment from KEB Hana Bank

Secured funding support of KRW 1.5 billion over three years from the Korea Credit Guarantee

Fund (KODIT)

Attracted investment from D2 Startup Factory

Attracted KRW 2.3 billion in investment from Altos Ventures

Attracted KRW 4.5 billion in Series B investment

Attracted KRW 1.5 billion in investment from Korea Investment Partners

Succeeded in attracting USD 11 million in Series C investment

Attracted KRW 2.5 billion from Stonebridge Capital and Colopl Next

Secured funding support of KRW 1.5 billion over three years from the Korea Credit Guarantee

Fund (KODIT)

Succeeded in attracting KRW 6 billion in investment, the largest investment ever made in a

Korean healthcare startup, realizing a cumulative total of KRW 16.2 billion

Attracted KRW 2 billion in Series A investment

Succeeded in attracting Series B investment from Stonebridge Capital and HB Investment

Attracted USD 16 million in Series A investment from Shasta Ventures in the United States

Attracted KRW 1.5 billion from Korea Investment Partners

BuzzArt

Knowledge-seek Co.

Five Jack

Hankook NFC

Contents First

Luxrobo

Odd Concepts

Riiid!

Factory

Sodacrew

Mesh Korea

4D Replay

MINDs Lab

SecuLetter

Deepixel

Ventures

ZOYI Corporation

Edenlux

MyMusicTaste

Odd Concepts

Mglish

Ybrain

MOIN, Inc.

Uberple

SendBird

Innopresso

anked second place in the Startup Pitching Competition

Ranked third place in the Startup Pitching Competition

Ranked first place in the Korean Startup IR Competition at the 2017 Korea-China Startup

Cooperation Forum

Named an “Outstanding Startup” at the 4YFN Awards, hosted by Spain’s MWC

Won the Gold Winner Award at ISPO Award 2017, held in Munich, Germany

Won the National Consumer-Driven Brand Award in 2017

Neofect

Innomdle Lab

Jocoos

PiQuant

Salted Venture

Petbox

Selected for the 48th NAACP Image Awards for its smart wearable diet belt

Won the Prime Minister’s Award at the 24th Korea Multimedia Technology Awards

Won in the “Music Creation & Education” category at Midem

Won the Hey Startups! Global Demoday, hosted by Seoul Metropolitan Government

Was runner-up in the Hey Startups! Global Demoday, hosted by Seoul Metropolitan

Government

Won in the “Caregiver Quality of Life” category at the AARP Innovation Champion Awards,

held in the United States

Won the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award at Korea Consumer Goods Showcase

2017

Won the Grand Prize at the 3rd Future Growth Engine Challenge Demo Day

Won the Venture of the Year Award at the MK Biohealth Startup Festival

Won the Grand Prize at Maekyung Fintech Awards 2017

Won the Seyfert Global Award at the Seyfert FinTech Awards

Won the Seyfert Grand Prize at the Seyfert FinTech Awards

Won the preliminary round of the Create@Alibaba Cloud Startup Contest in Korea

Was a finalist in the preliminary round of the Create@Alibaba Cloud Startup Contest in Korea

Received a special mention in the preliminary round of the Create@Alibaba Cloud Startup

Contest in Korea

Received a special mention in the preliminary round of the Create@Alibaba Cloud Startup

Contest in Korea

Won in the “General Software” category at the July-August New Software Product Awards

Won the “President of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute Grand Prize” at

Challenge! K-Startup 2017

Selected as one of the Top 4 Grants4Apps Accelerators

Won the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award at the 17th Korea Digital Management

Innovation Awards

Won at Slush Singapore Pitching Competition 2017

Entered the finals of TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield 2017

Listed as one of the 2017 Red Herring Asia Top 100 startups

Selected as the “Best and Most Innovative SME” at ITU Telecom World 2017

Won the Innovative VR Company of the Year Award at VR Awards 2017

Ranked fourth in the final round of the Create@Alibaba Cloud Startup Contest

Won in the “Best New Product” category at the 2017 Korea Electronic Show (KES) Awards

Won at the 7th Young Entrepreneurs Competition

Received an honorable mention at the K-Global Startup Competition

Winner in the “Wearable” category at the 2017 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution) Awards

Winner in the “Healthcare” category at the 3rd Korea Good Company Awards

Won the Grand Prize in the “Executive Leadership” category at the 2017 Good Software

Company to Work For Awards

Won the Global Demoday at Seoul Startup Expo

Won the Korea Demoday Grand Prize at Seoul Startup Expo

Won the Korea Demoday Excellence Award at the Seoul Startup Expo

Named an Innovation Honoree at the CES 2018 Innovation Awards

Named an Innovation Honoree at the CES 2018 Innovation Awards

DoubleH

KNOWCK

COOLJAMM Company

Luxrobo

Bagel Labs

Neofect

WELT

Dr. Pik

Lunit Inc.

Hankook NFC

Sodacrew

Mesh Korea

Lunit Inc.

Visual Camp

MINDs Lab

Bagel Labs

InfiniFlux

Luxrobo

Sky Labs

Mesh Korea

BLH Aqua Technology

Looxid Labs

Mesh Korea

MINDs Lab

G’Audio Lab

Lunit Inc.

Sonictier

Collabee Inc.

Archidraw

DoubleH

Ybrain

Younglimwon Soft Lab

PiQuant

STORE Camera

Eyedea, Inc.

Investment Attracted

Awards



Signed an MOU with Eediom, Inc. on technology cooperation for the development

of robo-advisors

Signed a contract with ZPlay to release Monster Super League in China

Signed an MOU with Korea’s iMBC and Japan’s TFC

Formed a data partnership with the Canadian financial group Thomson Reuters

Established a delivery service integration partnership with AngelSoft

Formed a strategic partnership with Vista, a cinema ticket solution company

Jointly promoted financial transaction service project with DB Inc.

Supplied big data database management system (DBMS) to Macrogen

Formed a partnership with ND Soft for the personalized article recommendation

function

Signed an exclusive domestic distribution contract with Cudo Communication and UniPoint

Signed an ICT solution supply contract with Malaysia

Signed a strategic MOU with DIOCIAN

Signed an MOU with Japan’s Taiyo and i-Service

Formed a campaign partnership with Pepsi

Signed a kiosk-related MOU with Topfield

Provided Seoul City with a mobile payment service based on optical character

recognition technology

Mounted its solution on Trendalyze’s platform

Signed a contract with KFC to supply the delivery service “VROONG”

Signed an MOU with GIO Coaching regarding an AI career/occupation consulting

service

Signed a contract to become an official Korean partner of China’s Ctrip Gourmet List

Collaborated with THiRA-UTECH on the development of a smart factory solution

Entered the Russian fintech market with a simple mobile payment service

Popularized insurtech industry with INBYU

Signed a financial consulting MOU with Hana Financial Investment

Signed a business-academia cooperation MOU with Seoul Occupational Training

College regarding 3D printing

Signed an MOU regarding a pilot project for a virtual reality shopping mall

Formed a business partnership with CJ ONE and launched the lockscreen service

“Wonder Lock”

Signed a strategic partnership agreement with Now N Tech regarding the

development of eco-friendly energy

Dominated the small kiosk market with Topfield

Cooperated with Penta Security on smart factory security

Engaged in strategic cooperation with CJ Olive Networks for cloud service

Formed a strategic partnership with 11st

Worked with LG Uplus to expand the “IoT Smart Garbage Collection Management

System” to local governments nationwide

Signed a contract with Klook to supply food and tourism products

Expanded same-day delivery service with Plating

Signed a business cooperation contract with BMT to create smart factories based on

power data analysis technology

Signed a business contract with TiTANplatform to provide highly secure IoT

Jointly developed an AI job consultant chatbot service with Smart Social

Cooperated with Yuhan Kimberly to apply IoT service to baby products

Became an official partner of Billboard Korea; grants the Best K-Pop Award every

month

Signed a contract to integrate delivery service with OKPOS

Cooperated with TiTANplatform to ensure stereo audio content protection

Signed a business contract with NICE Information Service regarding AI-big data

convergence

Formed a partnership with Gony Bros to apply stereo sound to UHD web drama

series

Signed a contract with KB Financial Group to provide OmniCheck service

Signed an MOU with Vietnam’s SACO and DIGITALWORLD

Signed an agreement with the United States-based BISim regarding the

development of a virtual military training system

Signed an MOU with two companies, one of which was Ozone United, regarding

expansion into the Middle Eastern market

Signed an MOU with World Vision on the “Vision Store” campaign

BSMIT

SMARTSTUDY

SAI

Uberple

Mesh Korea

i-Aurora

Paycock

InfiniFlux

Dable

InfiniFlux

KNOWCK

COOLJAMM Company

Kiwontech

Seerslab

i-Aurora

Paycock

InfiniFlux

Mesh Korea

Dreamsquare

Red Table

InfiniFlux

Paycock

Hankook NFC

EUCAST

A Team Ventures

NextAeon

Buzzvil

Geo-Line

i-Aurora

Ulala LAB

ASD Korea

Buzzvil

Ecube Labs

Red Table

Mesh Korea

Ulala LAB

Norma Inc.

MINDs Lab

Monit

Taggle

Mesh Korea

Sonictier

Uberple

Sonictier

FlyHigh

Kiwontech

Innosimulation

Kiwontech

Mesh Korea

Contracts Signed

Named a Best of Innovations Honoree at the CES 2018 Innovation Awards

Won the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award at the 5th Beloved Korean Enterprise

Government Awards

Named one of the 2017 Red Herring Global Top 100 startups

Won the SKT Telecom Award at the 17th Mobile Technology Awards

Was runner-up at TechCrunch Shanghai 2017

Won the Grand Prize in the “Family App of the Year” category, as selected by Google Play

Won the Minister of Science and ICT Award at the ICT Funding Project Performance

Presentation

Ranked among Top 7 Intelligence APIs at AWS Marketplace

Won the 2nd Lee Minhwa Healthcare Startup Award

Named in the Top 10 startups at Startupbootcamp Energy Australia

Won the Minister of Science and ICT Award at the 1st 4IR Awards

Winner in the “Intelligence and Information” category at the 2017 Korea ICT Awards

Won the “President of the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development

Award” at the 2017 TIPS Awards

Won the Grand Prize in the “Security Solution” category at the 3rd 2017 Korea Enterprise

Awards

Won the Grand Prize in the “ICT Innovation Overseas Expansion” category at the 2017 Korea

ICT Awards

Won the Minister of Employment and Labor Award for Merit at 2017 Job Creation Awards

Neofect

TwoEyes Tech, Inc.

Looxid Labs

Mesh Korea

MOIN, Inc.

Norma Inc.

SMARTSTUDY

Mesh Korea

Twinword

WELT

Strix

Riiid!

MINDs Lab

Dable

Kiwontech

4DReplay

Mesh Korea


Born2Global Annual ReportTimeline

September 2013 - December 2017

201701

03

04

05

06

02January 6: Participated in CES 2017

February 9: Held meetup with tenant companies

February 13: Signed MOU with Nest and 8point Capital

February 15: Go-to-market Russia Road Show

February 22: Signed MOU with KB Financial Group

February 22: Signed MOU with Kwangwoon University

February 24: Recruited first group of members

February 27: Received delegation of Afghan e-government officials

March 6: Participated in MWC 2017

March 16: Received representatives of Hong Kong Cyberport

March 24: Published the 2016 Korea Startup Index

April 5: Held meetup with tenant companies

April 10: Received representatives of Bayer

April 12: Held first members’ kick-off

April 13: Held channel partner companies’ kick-off

April 19: Held second conference for startups

April 24: Go-to-market Europe Road Show

April 27: Held marketing seminar

May 11: Held meetup with Bayer

May 11: French Startup Ecosystem Seminar

May 11: Participated in Go-to-market Japan Road Show

May 16: Held seminar on laws

May 19: Go-to-market Europe Road Show

May 29: Participated in UK Mega Tech Mission

June 6: Demo Day in Russia

June 12: Recruited second group of members

Formed a partnership with KT GiGA Genie TV and launched English service for

Pinkfong

Signed an MOU with the United States-based CarForce regarding expansion into

the American market

Signed an MOU with China’s Haiping [KH1]Group, Russia’s Izodmed[KH2], and

Medtronic

Signed a content partnership contract with ASTRO Holdings All Asia Networks, the

largest media group in Malaysia

Signed an MOU with the New Product Research Center at Tsinghua University,

China, to provide eye-tracking technology

Signed a three-way MOU with Alibaba Cloud and Kevins to expand the cloud-based

smart factory market in China

Signed contracts with Kkday (Taiwan), Voyagin (Japan), and BeMyGuest (Singapore)

to supply Korean food and tourism products

SMARTSTUDY

BlueSignal Inc.

L-meca

SMARTSTUDY

Visual Camp

Ulala LAB

Red Table

Participated in MWC 2017 (March 6, 2017)

Participated in Demo Day in Russia (June 6, 2017)



October 17: Meetup with tenant companies

October 18: Offered a training session on the necessary national certificates and certificates for different industries

October 23: Received the president of the IDB

October 25: Domestic road show in cooperation with LG Uplus

October 29: Go-to-market Taiwan Road Show

November 1: Offered a training session on customer development for startups planning to enter the American market

November 8: Offered a training session on business strategies based on the acquisition of Chinese intellectual property

rights

November 15: Offered a practical training session for startups on legal matters

November 16: Participated in the SV (US) Demo Day

November 21: FinDay in cooperation with the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and Shinhan Bank

November 22: Offered a training session on accounting and tax management in the United States, with a focus on

crowdfunding

November 24: Meetup with Groupe Renault

November 28: Open seminar for employees of startups

November 28: Go-to-market Europe Road Show

November 29: Offered a training session on strategies for entering the ASEAN market and filing patent applications

November 30: Participated in SLUSH 2017

November 30: MOU with Huaxia Group, Shinhan Bank, and the Korea-China Culture Association

November 30: Open seminar for startups on labor issues

December 4: Product-Market Fit (PMF) program

December 8: Go-to-market Middle East Road Show

December 8: Go-to-market Japan Road Show

December 11: Beijing (China) Demo Day

December 13: PR Seminar

December 15: Meetup with startup founders in northern Europe

December 19: B2G Alumni Night

June 13: Hosted “Startups Meet Grownups” in cooperation with the Korean-German

Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Korea) and D.Camp

June 21: First domestic Demo Day

June 30: Attended MWCS 2017

July 4: B2G-KB Financial Group Roadshow in Korea

July 4: Meetup with tenant companies

July 5: Meetup with DreamIt Ventures

July 5: Patent seminar

July 12: Second Members’ kick-off

July 12: Received Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon at the B2G Centre

August 1: Received delegation of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

August 2: Received representatives of Shorooq Investment

August 3: Hosted the Start Tel Aviv Competition in cooperation with Yozma Group and the Embassy of Israel

August 21: Received representatives of the Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC)

August 30: Meetup with MIT Bootcamp

September 1: Go-to-market Europe Road Show

September 1: Participated in IFA 2017

September 13: Participated in GMV 2017

September 13: Offered a training session on strategies for securing intellectual property rights for startups planning to

enter the American market

September 14: Participated in Softwave 2017

September 21: Offered a training session on Chinese market trends and marketing strategies

September 27: Offered a training session on founding firms in China and drafting related contracts

September 28: K-Global Connect Pangyo Festival

September 28: Second domestic Demo Day

September 28: MOU signed with Groupe Renault.

October 12: Offered a training session on accounting and tax matters related to attracting overseas investment

06 10

08

09

12

10

0711

2017 2017

Representatives from the QBIC (Qatar Business Incubation Center) visited the B2G Centre on August 21, 2017

K-Global Connect Pangyo Festival on September 28, 2017

MOU signed with Groupe Renault on September 28, 2017

President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) visited the B2G Centre on October 23, 2017

B2G-LG UPlus domestic Road Show on October 25, 2017

Training session on customer development for startups planning to enter the American market on November 1, 2017

PR Seminar on December 13, 2017

B2G Alumni Night on December 19, 2017



June 21 - Business management strategy training for startups

June 28 - Corporate valuation training for startups

July 5 - MOU signed with Samjong KPMG

July 10 - Third recruitment of members

July 12 - Seminar on trends in China

July 12 - Meetup with tenant companies

July 19 - Patent training for startups

July 30 - Demo Day in Los Angeles, U.S.

August 9 - Training on how to establish subsidiaries in China and the tax system for startups

August 10 - MOU signed with Bayer Korea

August 10 - Recruitment of trainees for the 6th B2G Academy

August 18 - Legal counseling for startups looking to expand into the U.S.

August 24 - Training on crowdfunding and online marketing

August 29 - Training on design intellectual property rights for startups

August 30 - Entrance ceremony for the 6th B2G Academy

September 4 - Fourth recruitment of member startups

September 21 - Go-to-market U.S. Road Show

October 10 - Go-to-market Southeast Asia Road Show

October 13 - Completion ceremony for the 6th B2G Academy

October 14 - Recruitment of trainees for the 7th B2G Academy

October 21 - Launch of visa/international labor consulting support program

October 25 - Training on the latest technology trends in the U.S. market

October 25 - Entrance ceremony for the 7th B2G Academy

October 26 - K-Global Connect Pangyo Festival

October 26 - Second domestic Demo Day

October 26 - Case study on U.S. market culture and marketing

October 27 - Training on startup marketing strategy based on case studies and analyses of competitors

February 3 - IT MEGA VISION (co-hosted)

February 4 - Seminar on the expansion of startups into the U.S.

February 16 - Publication of the Korean Startup Index 2015

March 8 - First recruitment of member startups

March 9 - Seminar with European investors

March 20 - MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (co-hosted)

March 22 - Opening ceremony for the Startup Campus

March 24 - Meetup with tenant companies

March 31 - Kick-off ceremony for KSEF (Korean Startup Ecosystem Forum)

April 4 - Seminar with Chinese experts

April 7 - Seminar with the Southeast Asian accelerator MaGIC

April 20 - Members’ kick-off

May 2 - Business strategy training for startups

May 3 - Meetup with tenant companies

May 4 - Strategy training for startups looking to expand into Europe (UK)

May 8 - Second recruitment of member startups

May 12 - MOU signed with the City of Chengdu

May 12 - Training on U.S. law and accounting for startups

May 16 - Training on Chinese law for startups

May 17 - Seminar with the U.S.-based accelerator DreamIT

May 18 - Meetup with tenant companies

May 25 - First domestic Demo Day

May 27 - MOU signed with Yozma Group

May 31 - Go-to-market Europe Road Show

June 1 - MOU signed with Idinvest

June 3 - Demo Day in Paris, France

June 14 - Launch of B2G-AMCHAM startup mentoring program, held by leading global companies in Korea

1차 국내 데모데이 2016.5.25.

입주사 Meetup 2016.5.18.

B2G-MIT Bootcamp 2016.3.24.

02

03

04

05

06

201606

07

09

10

08

2016

B2G-AMCHAM 주한 글로벌 리딩기업 스타트업 멘토링 프로그램 킥오프 2016.6.14.

LA 데모데이 2016.7.30.

태국 외교부 입주사 방문 2016.9.2.



January 21 - Seoul Road Show

January 28 - Busan Road Show

January 29 - Jeonbuk Road Show

January 30 - Seoul Road Show

February 3 - Demo Day in Los Angeles, U.S.

February 5 - First recruitment of member startups

February 4 - Demo Day in Orange County, U.S.

February 11 - B2G Business Link Day with Google

March 17 - First members’ kick-off

March 18 - “B2G with Google” service demonstration

March 18 - Launch of CP (Channel Partners)

March 23 - Info Day with Netherlands’ startup Bootcamp

March 25 - Demo Day in Brussels, Belgium

March 27 - Demo Day in Lille, France

March 31 - Recruitment of trainees for the 4th B2G Academy

April 1 - Change of corporate name to “K-ICT Born2Global Centre”

April 15 - Entrance ceremony for the 4th B2G Academy

April 17 - Launch of Investment Community

April 27 - Startup public relations seminar

April 28 - European ecosystem seminar with Techstars London

April 30 - Startup public relations seminar

May 7 - First domestic Demo Day

May 18 - Pitch training for startups

May 22 - B2G Day - Skill-up

May 22 - Pitch training for startups

June 1 - Second recruitment of member startups

June 5 - Completion ceremony for the 4th B2G Academy

January 15 - Daegu Road Show

January 20 - MOU signed with POSTECH’s Research and Business Development Foundation

October 28 - Athletic competition

November 1 - Training on manners in international business

November 2 - Training on data-based marketing and sales performance optimization

November 3 - Demo Day in Silicon Valley, the U.S.

November 3 - Training on the U.S. legal system and expansion of startups into the U.S. market

November 8 - Training on strategy for expanding into Silicon Valley and related case studies

November 9 - Training on product planning

November 10 - Training on contract writing based on case studies

November 15 - Training on sales meeting preparation and strategy

November 16 - Training on design and marketing strategy

November 16 - League of Accelerators 2016 (co-hosted)

November 17 - Training on how to conduct sales meetings

November 22 - Training on business development strategies and methods

November 23 - Training on mobile marketing strategy

November 24 - Training on investment attraction strategy

November 29 - Go-to-market Europe Road Show

November 29 - Training and practice sessions on business meeting preparation

November 30 - Training on search engine optimization and keyword research practices

December 1 - Completion ceremony for the 7th B2G Academy

December 1 - Mini domestic Demo Day

December 9 - Recruitment of tenant companies

December 15 - B2G Alumni Night

December 21 - MOU signed with Tsinghua University and Tsinghua Holdings

December 22 - Demo Day in Beijing, China

1011

12

01

2016

2015

01

02

03

04

05

06

2015

유럽 데모데이 2015.3.25.

B2G with Google 서비스 시연회 2015.3.18.

LA(미국) 데모데이 2015.2.3.



January 10 - MOU signed with Dankook University’s Research and Business Development Foundation

January 29 - MOU signed with Korea Software Global Research

February 6 - Recruitment of trainees for the 2nd B2G Academy

February 14 - MOU signed with the Busan-Ulsan Business Incubator Center

February 21 - First domestic Demo Day

February 28 - Startup growth strategy seminar with an M&A expert from Silicon Valley

March 4 - Entrance ceremony for the 2nd B2G Academy

March 6 - Training on business strategy establishment and business plan preparation for startups

March 7 - Danny’s Day

March 11 - Case studies of excellent business plans

March 13 - Training on the importance of teamwork through case studies

March 14 - MOU signed with the Korea Regional SW Industry Promotion Council

March 18 - Training on startup positioning strategy

March 19 - Second domestic Demo Day

March 20 - Training on startup value proposition

October 28 - Completion ceremony for the 5th B2G Academy

November 5 - Second domestic Demo Day

November 16 - Demo Day in Silicon Valley, U.S.

December 1 - PR training for startups

December 1 - Pitch training for startups

December 14 - Demo Day in Shanghai, China

December 14 - Recruitment of tenant companies, investment companies, and accelerators

December 17 - B2G Alumni Night

December 17 - B2G with Startup Sauna - Link Day

December 18 - Business fair with a delegation from Xi?ny?ng, China

December 19 - K-Global Start-up 300 certificate awards ceremony

June 8 - Pitch training for startups

June 22 - Demo Day in London, UK

June 25 - B2G with Cisco GCoE - Link Day

July 13 - Second members’ kick-off

July 21 - Pitch training for startups

July 23 - K-Global Connect Pangyo

July 31 - Recruitment of trainees for the 5th B2G Academy

August 20 - Demo Day in Beijing, China

August 25 - Pitch training

August 26 - Entrance ceremony for the 5th B2G Academy

August 26 - Entrepreneurship training

August 27 - Second domestic Demo Day

September 2 - Training and tips on how to prepare a business plan from an investment analyst

September 9 - Training on how to prepare and utilize Business Model Canvas

September 9 - Training on branding techniques and public relations strategies

September 10 - Pitch training for startups

September 15 - Demo Day in Tokyo, Japan

September 16 - Training on venture investment

September 23 - Training on UX strategy and big data analysis

October 6 - B2G Day in the U.S.

October 7 - Training on domestic and international laws important to startups

October 14 - Training on basic patent issues for startups

October 14 - Training on basic tax and accounting procedures for startups

October 14 - B2G with Indiegogo - Link Day

October 14 - Pitch training for startups

October 21 - Training on pitching strategy and practice

October 21 - Demo Day in New York, U.S.

06

07

08

09

10

20151011

12

01

02

03

2015

2014

동경(일본) 데모데이 2015.9.15.

K-Global Connect Pangyo 2015.7.23.

K-Global Startup 300 인증서 수여 2015.12.29.



September 3 - Opening of Global Startup Centre

October 16 - MOU signed with the Incheon IT Promotion Agency (IITPA)

October 28 - Entrance ceremony for the 1st B2G Academy

October 28 - Training on venture businesses and entrepreneurship

October 30 - Global IT mega-trend training

November 1 - Training on business model design and business feasibility analysis

November 4 - Training on team building for startups

November 6 - Success stories from startup founders

September 30 - Demo Day in Tokyo, Japan

October 7 - Seminar with Golden Gate Ventures

October 8 - Marketing Meetup

October 8 - Patent Meetup

October 8 - Recruitment of participants for the go-to-market local marketing support program

October 13 - Training on procedures for signing investment contracts and startup valuations

October 15 - Accounting Meetup

October 17 - Training on key provisions of investment contracts

October 22 - B2G Dialogue with Qualcomm Ventures

October 24 - Reception for the Korea-UK network

November 4 - Demo Day in Silicon Valley, U.S.

November 5 - Patent strategy seminar for startups

November 6 - Completion ceremony for the 3rd B2G Academy

November 12 - B2G Dialogue with Songhyun Investment

November 17 - MOU signed with London & Partners

November 20 - B2G Global Investors Forum in Seoul

December 11 - “See ICT Venture, Create the Future” festival

December 22 - Conference for startups

March 25 - Training on how to establish a company and related laws

March 27 - Training on practical accounting for startups

March 28 - MOU signed with the Korea University Council of Research & Industry Cooperation

April 1 - Case study on intellectual property rights disputes

April 3 - Training on corporate fundraising and management

April 4 - MOU signed with Kyungbok University

April 8 - Training on manners in international business

April 10 - Training on presentation technology and pitching strategy

April 15 - Training on digital marketing strategy

April 17 - Training on technical improvement and cooperation with partners

April 18 - Global startup consulting road show

April 23 - Third domestic Demo Day

April 24 - Completion ceremony for the 2nd B2G Academy

April 29 - MOU signed with OpenTrade

May 28 - MOU signed with Hanshin University’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation

May 30 - Seminar on the startup community

June 30 - Training on B2G investment

July 1 - B2G Business Link Day with Orange Labs

July 14 - Demo Day in Singapore

July 16 - B2G Dialogue with Magellan Technology Investment

July 18 - MOU signed with Mirae Holdings and Korea Science & Technology Holdings

August 6 - B2G Dialogue with Mega Investment

August 21 - B2G Business Link Day with KT

August 21 - Recruitment of trainees for the 3rd B2G Academy

August 22 - B2G Dialogue with East Gate Partners

September 18 - Entrance ceremony for the 3rd B2G Academy

September 23 - B2G Business Link Day with Content N싱가포르 데모데이 2014.7.14.

03

04

05

0607

08

09

20140910

11

12

0910

11

2014

2013B2G Global Investors Forum In Seoul 2014.11.20.



November 8 - Training on intellectual property rights

November 11 - Training on making elevator pitches

November 13 - Training on SWOT analysis

November 15 - Training on profit and risk analysis

November 18 - Training on startup ecosystems in Korea, Japan, and China

November 20 - Training on legal reviews in connection with MOUs, IOIs, and INDAs

November 22 - Training on basic accounting involved in establishing a company

November 25 - Training on presentation strategy

November 26 - MOU signed with the Busan Economic Promotion Agency

November 27 - Training on global technology trends

November 29 - Training on corporate fund raising and management

December 2 - Training on sales and negotiation techniques

December 4 - Presentation workshop

December 5 - MOU signed with Inha University’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation

December 6 - Training on B2B and B2C marketing

December 6 - MOU signed with Hannam University’s Startup Support Team

December 9 - Training on startup promotion and marketing strategies

December 11 - Training on building sales channels using private and public sector resources

December 13 - Case studies on venture capital investment

December 16 - Networking with domestic venture capital and angel investors

December 18 - MOU signed with the Korean Business Incubation Association (KOBIA)

December 19 - Completion ceremony for the 1st B2G Academy

11

12

2013

Born2Global Centre | A one-stop platform for entering the global market

The Born2Global Centre provides a one-stop platform through which innovative technology firms can find

the help they need to successfully enter the global market. From professional consulting services that have

helped discover more than 100 outstanding companies annually to global business support and rental space for

companies, the Born2Global Centre provides a broad range of support and services.

Support Program

Eligibility B2G Members *100 B2G member companies

Support for entering the target overseas market and expanding customer base

PMF(Product Market Fit) Program

Internal consulting (legal matters, patents, accounting, and marketing)/

External consulting(Consulting partners and experts in Korea and overseas)

Go-To-Market Consulting

Customized business meetings and investor relations

Go-To-Market Road Show

Invite Global Experts to hold one-on-one mentoring sessions, seminars and meetups

Go-To-Market Practice

Provision of support for startups entering global markets

Go-To-Market Global Demo Day

Provision of space at Pangyo Startup Campus (if needed)

Provision of space for the development and growth of startups

B2G Services

B2G internal consulting(legal matters, patents, accounting, and marketing)

Go-To-Market Consulting

Demand-linked business meetings and investor relations

Go-To-Market Road Show

Invite Global Experts to hold one-on-one mentoring sessions, seminars and meetups

Go-To-Market Practice

Non-members *Innovative technology companies


Born2Global Annual ReportMembership Services | Programs Offered

Concerning various areas in which innovative technology firms often encounter difficulties, such as legal matters,

patents, accounting, marketing, PR, and visual content creation, the Born2Global Centre’s consultants first provide

consulting services, and then its Channel Partners (CP) provide follow-up consulting.

Programs Offered

Visual contentexperts

Attorneys Patent attorneys

Visa experts

PR experts

HR experts

Accountants

Marketing experts

Go-To-Market Consulting Service | One-on-one consulting services tailored to startups entering the global market |

Legal consulting

Patent consulting

Accounting consulting

•Founding of local firms overseas (United States, China, Japan, etc.)•Legal consultation on the operation of firms overseas (corporate governance)

Support for overseas patent applications (including the international phase of the PCT) to obtain patent rights in the overseas countries in which startups are planning to enter

• Due diligence and audits, special purpose audits, design of internal accounting systems, corporate diagnoses, and other accounting-related counseling

•�Settlement of local financial statements in overseas markets and other accounting-related counseling

Review of and legal counseling on various contracts related to overseas business activities

Review of infringements of patent rights, design rights, and trademark rights, responses to infringement notices; support for intellectual property lawsuits, etc.

•�Review of international taxes related to overseas investment and other tax-related counseling

•�Review of international taxes and tax advice on corporate listings and mergers & acquisitions

•�Support for local tax reporting and registration procedures for companies operating overseas

•�Assistance addressing local tax issues in overseas countries and other tax-related counseling

Legal counseling that aims to minimize the legal risk of overseas business activities

Prior art research, rights analysis, new IP discovery, IP strategy establishment, licensing strategy consulting, IP valuation, and others

Corporate valuations to attract overseas investment and carry out M&As, and follow-up counseling

Corporate listing and M&A counseling

Review of contracts and legal review and counseling on financing and corporate restructuring

Establishment and operation of overseas subsidiaries

Overseas patent applications

Accounting

Review of overseas business contracts

Intellectual property (IP) risk management

Tax

Legal risk management

IP R&D strategy consulting

Corporate valuation

Others

Investment advice and legal review in relation to corporate

restructuring

Services

Services

Services

Details

Details

Details

We were able to receive personal, one-on-one consultations on the areas in which we’d struggled. The

consultants were all experts in their fields, so we were satisfied with the results.- Studio3E -



•Basecamp Module•Held at the B2G Centre in Pangyo•Period: one to two weeks

•On-Site Module•Held in the country of the target market•Period: one to two weeks

•Market insights, product development and revision•Period: four weeks (including the company’s own schedule)

Programs Offered

Overseas marketing consulting •Market research, surveys of local users, and testing

•Establishment of market entry strategy, local marketing strategy•Establishment of business model pivot strategy

•�Search engine marketing, social media marketing, viral marketing, market platform marketing •Creative marketing, etc. •Localization of promotional videos, etc.

Global crowdfunding marketing (strategizing, localization, registration, promotion, etc.)

•Discovery of prospective local clients and partners•�Support for business development (contacting customers/partners,

meetings, proposals, and business alliances/contracts)

Market research and strategy establishment

(linked with the PMF program)

Global marketing

Crowdfunding marketing

Business development

Service items Details

PR Services•Counseling on PR strategy and design of management plan •Counseling on development of items and articles for media-based PR •Planning and writing of press releases for articles•Press release and article distribution service (both in Korea and overseas)•Search engine optimization service

•Support in maximizing exposure of articles through interviews•Influencer product review service

•PR workshops, seminars, and office hours•Media Day

PR Service

Editorial pickup service

PR magic strategy

Services Details

Articles are objective and boost credibility. I believe that there’s nothing better than PR services to spread

awareness about companies. We had 10 articles published about us in Japan and over 15 published in

Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. They were a big help.- Kiwontech -

It’s difficult to quantify the results of the video content creation service,

but we’d say it was worth about KRW 15 to 20 million. We were very happy with it.

[The experts in charge] were very enthusiastic about organizing the script as well.- Innopresso -

Product-Market Fit (PMF) Program

To help increase the chances for innovative technology companies to successfully advance into the global

market, we offer the Product-Market Fit Program. This program focuses on strategies for entering local

markets, provides opportunities to make direct contact with potential customers in the target market, and

draws on local insights for the purpose of market validation. The program lasts for two to four months.

The task of innovative technology companies is to identify active consumers of initial products in the target market and determine the number of consumers.

The program consists of three parts: Build → Measure (conducted locally) → Learn. This cycle is repeated two or three times.

Designing New Market Program Product Market Fit


Born2Global Annual ReportPrograms Offered

It was great because it gave us a good sense of the global market.

Experts from target countries came and gave lectures that were different from those given by

Korean experts. For starters, they had different sense of things.-Eyedea -

Training(as of 2016-2017)

Number of participants

1233

Number of events

23

Seminars and conferences(as of 2016-2017)

Number of participants

1478

Number of events

26

Based on the B2G Centre’s global partner channel, this professional program strengthens the capacity of

companies through hands-on training, seminars, meetups, and conferences with experts invited from

foreign countries and induces the exchange of market information.

Go-To-Market Practice | One-on-one mentoring, seminars, and meetups with invited experts to

help find solutions for overseas expansion |

The Born2Global Centre offers a matching service that helps Korean startups attract foreign investment and

develop their businesses. So far, we have hosted 38 Demo Days in Korea and overseas.

Go-To-Market Demo Day | Supporting overseas business development and investment attraction |

Domestic Demo Days

Number of startup participants

324

Number of events

19

(cumulative total)

Overseas Demo Days(cumulative total)


166

Number of events

19

We have had several follow-up projects since

participating in a Demo Day. Communication with

the person in charge was easy, and we were very

well taken care of.- FlyHigh -

2014 | Singapore in July, Tokyo in September, and Silicon Valley in

November

2015 | Los Angeles and Orange County in February, Brussels and

Lille in March

London in June, Beijing in August, Tokyo in September,

New York in October, Silicon Valley in November,

and Shanghai in December

2016 | Paris in June, Los Angeles in August, Silicon Valley in October,

and Beijing in December

2017 | June - Moscow (Russia), November - Silicon Valley (United States),

December -Shanghai (China)


Born2Global Annual ReportPrograms Offered

Through demand-linked partnership programs (investor matching, customized business meetings, etc.)

with global companies, investors, accelerators, and other important local channels, the Born2Global Centre

supports startups in their efforts to establish references and increase revenue.

Go-To-Market Road Show | Support for establishing references and increasing sales |

(cumulative total)

Domestic road shows


12

Number of events

2

(cumulative total)

Overseas road shows


49

Number of events

13

2016 | Finland in May, Washington and Tokyo in September,

Singapore and Beijing in October, and Finland in November

2017 | May - Tokyo (Japan) and the Netherlands; October - Taiwan;

December - Qatar, Kuwait, Tokyo (Japan), and Finland

The Born2Global Centre provides support for office space and other facilities (conference rooms, meeting

rooms, lounges, office furniture, etc.) to help innovative technology companies establish stable foundations

for their businesses.

K-Global Startup Hub | Providing facilities, such as office spaces and co-working spaces, and related programs |

Thanks to the Born2Global Centre’s expansive infrastructure, we were able to gain insights

into the local market. Being introduced to global companies in the target countries was

particularly valuable for us.- Studio3E -

Location | Building 3, Startup Campus, 20, Pangyo-ro 289beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, S. Korea

Size | Total space (lented space) : 8,167㎡(87,909ft2)

Available facilities |

• Conference rooms (3) : spaces for large classrooms or seminars equipped with multimedia facilities, capable

of accommodating up to 100 people

• Video conference room (1) : space equipped with three-way simultaneous video conferencing solutions and

equipment, capable of accommodating up to 12 people

• Meeting rooms (7) : spaces for small conferences equipped with multimedia equipment, capable of

accommodating four to eight people

• Offices (50) : office space dedicated to startups, capable of accommodating four to 20 people

*Wi-Fi, printers, copiers, and coffee machines are available in all areas free of charge.

The location and accessibility are great, and affordability is one of the biggest advantages.

It’s hard to find a place like this. - JLK Inspection -

Startup Investment Trends


Startup Investment Trends

▶ Startup Investment Trends in Korea3

Startup Investment Trends in Korea


Startup Investment Trends in KoreaVenture Capital Investment

New venture capital investment in startups has reached record highs for two consecutive years.

According to the Korea Venture Capital Association (KVCA), new venture capital investment in 2016

recorded KRW 2.1503 trillion, exceeding the record high of KRW 2.0858 trillion in 2015. This implies

that domestic venture capital firms are maintaining their steady investment in startups despite the

doubt in the global market regarding the growth potential of startups.

This trend continued into 2017 as well. As of the end of October 2017, new domestic venture capital

investment recorded KRW 1.8375 trillion, showing a 9.8-percent increase compared to the same

period in 2016 (KRW 1.6729 trillion), according to the KVCA. This increase is remarkable, even when

compared to the record high in 2016, and new venture capital investment in 2017 is expected to break

that record as well.

2000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Unit: KRW 100 million

*source Korea Venture Capital Association (KVCA)

Amount of new investment

2013 2014 2015 20162017.10

20,2

11

8,91

3

6,17

7

6,30

6

6,04

4

7,57

3

7,33

3 9,91

7

7,24

7

8,67

1

10,9

10

12,6

08

12,3

33

13,8

45 16,3

93

20,8

58

21,5

03

18,3

75

New venture capital investment records record high for two consecutive years


Venture Capital Investment

Angel Investment

EXIT

Crowdfunding

Major Venture Capital Firms in Korea

Amount of New VC Investment in Korea by Year

The number of firms receiving investment remained that same as in the previous year. The KVCA reported

that 972 firms had received new investment from venture capital investors as of the end of October 2017,

which is the same number as of the same time in 2016. This shows that venture capital investors invested

more in the same number of startups as they had by the same time in the previous year, meaning that each

startup received a larger amount of investment, on average.

48 Startup Investment Trends Korea Startup Index 2017 49


After reaching an all-time low of KRW 60.8 billion, new investment in the distribution sector bounced

back to show an increasing trend for three consecutive years, starting with KRW 109.2 billion in 2013 and

growing to KRW 204.6 billion in 2014 and KRW 304.3 billion in 2015. New investment stalled somewhat in

2016 but rebounded once again in 2017, exceeding KRW 300 billion as of the end of October.

Investment in the ICT service sector has been rising steadily for the past seven years. After exceeding KRW

400 billion in 2015, new annual investment increased slightly in 2016. As of the end of October 2017, the

total amount of new investment has already surpassed the annual investment amount of the entire previous

year, showing an increase of 10 percent or more overall.

After several years of stagnation, investment in ICT (information and communication technology)

manufacturing firms bounced back in 2017. Investment in the ICT service sector increased as well. In

particular, investment in the distribution and service sectors, which had plunged rapidly in 2016, increased

dramatically. Overall, the concentration of investment in bioindustry decreased, while investment in the

service sector increased.

According to the KVCA, new investment in the distribution and service sectors (KRW 321.1 billion)

exceeded the total investment made in these sectors in the previous year (KRW 249.4 billion) by 28.7

percent. By the end of October 2017, investment in the ICT service sector recorded KRW 407.6 billion,

also surpassing the investment made in the previous year (KRW 406.2 billion).

The year 2016 was all about bioindustry, with new investment in this sector leading the investment market. New

investment in the bioindustry and healthcare sectors rose dramatically over a four-year period, increasing from

KRW 146.3 billion in 2013 to KRW 292.8 billion in 2014, KRW 317 billion in 2015, and KRW 468.6 billion in 2016.

However, this positive trend seems to have subsided in 2017, with new investment in the bioindustry and

healthcare sectors recording KRW 283 billion as of the end of October. Some have suggested that the

decrease in investment in the bioindustry sector was the result of Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s export contract

deal falling through at the end of 2016, when it was discovered that the company had failed to report the

occurrence of a fatal side effect in a patient during the clinical trials of its lung cancer drug Olita. Although

investment in bioindustry has been making gains in the second half of 2017, some have commented that it

is too early to tell what the final result will be.

Investment in the game sector has been decreasing steadily for three consecutive years, since reaching

KRW 176.2 billion in 2014. As of the end of October 2017, new investment made by venture capital

investors was a mere KRW 86.4 billion. A number of games developed in Korea have succeeded in

the global market, some of which were massive hits, yet most of them were developed by large, well-

established game companies. As the mobile game market has begun to mature, investors have likely

started focusing on making large-scale investments, thus reducing the appeal of small game companies,

which struggle to survive in the market.

Investment in the IT, Distribution, and Service Sectors Rises

Concentration of investment in the bioindustry sector declines

Unit: KRW 100 millionGame Distribution

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2017. 102016

4500

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0


954

804

1,270

892608

918

1,553

2,046

4,019 4,062

2,494

4,026

3,0433,211

1,913

1,092

Unit: KRW 100 millionGameBioindustry

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2017. 102016

5000

4500

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0


1,017

933840

9451,126

1,052

1,463

2,9283,170

4,686

2,830

1,6831,427

864

1,762

940

Rise in Investment in the Distribution and Service SectorsDecreased Investment in the Biotech Sector



The proportion of investment in early-stage companies under three years old, often referred to as startups,

has increased steadily since 2009. Considering that the proportion of investment in early-stage companies

had been quite low prior to that time, the increasing trend is likely related to changes in industries, such as

the dramatic increase in the number of new companies in the mobile sector following the development of

smartphones, which led to increased investment in such firms.

However, the upward trend of the proportion of investment in early-stage companies weakened in 2017.

According to the KVCA, new investment in early-stage companies under three years old accounted for only

32.1 percent of all investment as of the end of October 2017, marking the first time that the proportion of

investment in such companies has decreased on a year-on-year basis since 2009.

As of the end of October 2017, the number and size of venture capital funds, which are investment sources

for venture-backed companies, have risen gradually. This is great news in terms of financial resources, as it

indicates that investment capacity for startups and other venture-backed companies is increasing.

According to the KVCA, the number of venture capital funds in Korea as of the end of October 2017 was

674, representing an 11.9-percent increase from the end of 2016. The number and size of venture capital

funds are currently on an increasing trend. The fund budget (for working capital) recorded KRW 18.3594

trillion as of the end of October 2017, showing a 9.8-percent increase from KRW 16.7205 trillion in 2016

and doubling the KRW 9.2573 trillion recorded in 2012.

dropped to 23.5 percent in 2013. Since then, however, it has been increasing gradually, recovering to 27.9

percent in 2015 and rising further to 28.7 percent in 2016.

This shift in the focus of domestic venture capital investment toward middle- and late-stage companies

is closely related to changes in industries. The IT industry, which was driven by the mobile sector and

attracted large amounts of early investment, has advanced and matured, along with many other industries.

In response, investors are shifting their focus from early-stage companies, which carry relatively higher risk,

to middle- and late-stage companies. Although the proportion of investment in middle-stage companies is

relatively low, the recent upward trend is expected to contribute to the balanced development of industries.

On the other hand, the proportion of investment in companies over seven years old, which has been declining

steadily over the past several years, increased dramatically in 2017. According to the KVCA, investment in

companies over seven years old accounted for 39 percent of all investment as of the end of October 2017,

showing a 4.5 percentage-point increase from the 34.5 percent recorded in the previous year.

The proportion of investment in middle-stage companies (over three years and under seven years old),

which are said to be entering the “valley of death,” has so far failed to break into the 20-percent range.

As of the end of October 2017, investment in middle-stage companies accounted for 28.9 percent of all

investment. In 2010, investment in middle-stage companies recorded KRW 290.4 billion, or 26.6 percent of

all investment, but then fell slightly to 26.2 percent in 2011 and hit a record low for the past decade when it

Upward trend of proportion of investment in early-stage companies weakens

Number of VC Funds Increases Rapidly

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017.10

70.0%

60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%


63.5%

39.0%

32.1%

26.0%30.3%

36.8%

40.1%

28.5%

29.2% 29.9%

26.7%

30.7%

31.3%

36.8%

32.1%29.5%

Unit: %

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017.10

35.0%

30.0%

25.0%

20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

5.0%

0.0%


26.2% 25.5%23.5%

24.8%

27.9% 28.7% 28.9%

Unit: %

Proportion of Investment in Early-Stage Companies Under Three Years Old Proportion of VC Investment in Middle-Stage Companies



The aggregate budget of early-stage funds has been higher than KRW 2 trillion every year since 2014. The

budget of new funds, which stood at KRW 2.6195 trillion in 2014, increased to KRW 2.6346 trillion in 2015

and KRW 3.3508 trillion in 2016. As of the end of October 2017, the budget was calculated to be KRW 2.4484

trillion.

This steady increase in the number of operating funds means that investment resources and capacity are

increasing. It also means that people are making continuous efforts to find new investment opportunities.

Investment is also affected by the characteristics of new funds and the success of certain funds.

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

02012


2013 2014 2015 2016 2017.10

381402

447

529

605674

Unit: number of investment funds

5,493

3,409

1,109

3,031

463

820 971 897492

346 326 296557 566

834

1,3991,747

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Unit: KRW 100 million

20102009200820072006200520042003200220012000 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

*source KVAN(한국엔젤투자협회)

Increasing Number of VC Funds

Recovery of Angel Investment

Angel Investment

Angel investment reached KRW 550 billion in 2000, when the so-called “startup bubble” was at its peak.

After that, it was in decline for a decade. When the startup bubble burst, angel investment decreased

dramatically. After that, there were occasional rebounds, but they were relatively restrained. The impact

of the investments lost with the collapse of the bubble remained a nightmare in the minds of many,

preventing sharp increases in angel investment. However, since dropping to KRW 29.6 billion in 2011, angel

investment has been increasing gradually. In 2012, it reached KRW 55.7 billion, double the amount of the

previous year, after which it rose to exceed KRW 100 billion in 2015, marking a new high since 2003. In

2016, angel investment recorded KRW 174.7 billion (direct private investment), surpassing the amount of

investment in the previous year by over 20 percent.

Private investment funds have been increasing steadily as well. According to the Ministry of SMEs and

Startups and Korea Business Angels Association, the number of private investment funds multiplied from

two in 2011 to 29 in 2013 and 55 in 2014, before rising dramatically to 211 in 2016. As of the end of June

2017, there were 273 private investment funds. The reason that such funds have gained so much traction is

that, rather than letting people collect investment information and make decisions independently, they allow

individuals to share the burden of risk and increase their opportunities.

Recovery of Angel Investment



*source Ministry of SMEs and Startups

2011 2012 2013 2014 20162015 2017.6

213

29

55

89

211

273

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Unit: number of private investment funds

*source Ministry of SMEs and Startups

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

200220012000 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017.6

28,8

75

12,0

02

4,71

7

3,96

4

2,24

6

2,10

7

2,72

7

2,17

0

1,74

2

1,24

3

748

619 2,

610

7,06

3

9,64

8

12,5

60

13,7

41

4,87

0

Unit: persons

Unit: 1 person

2013 2014 2015 2016

*source Korea Venture Business Association

334224 224301

133207113

488

997

707439

355

2,054

894

685

3510

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Less than KRW 15 million KRW 15 to 49.9 million KRW 50 to 100 million More than KRW 100 million

Rapid Increase in Private Investment Funds Number of Angel Investors Increases

Angel Investors by Investment Size

In 2016, the number of angel investors finally exceeded 10,000 for the first time in 15 years. According

to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the number of angel investors registered at the Angel Investment

Support Center was 12,560, showing an increase of 3,000 from the previous year. This trend seems to

have continued in 2017. As of the end of June 2017, a total of 13,741 angel investors were registered at the

support center, setting a record high for the last 17 years.

One of the effects of this increase in the number of angel investors is an increase in the number of small

investors. Moreover, the proportion of investments in early-stage companies has increased as well.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the number of investments in early-stage companies under

three years old was 2,277 in 2016, showing an increase of 178 percent from the 819 investments made in

the previous year. Among angel investments, the percentage of investments in early-stage companies also

showed a significant increase, rising from 30.1 percent in 2015 to 49.1 percent in 2016.

During the same period, the total amount of investment made in early-stage companies under three

years old increased by only 30 percent, from KRW 49.9 billion to 65.1 billion, because the percentage of

small investors had increased as well. In summary, as the number of investments and number of recipient

companies increased dramatically, more and more small investors began making investments, focusing

particularly on early-stage companies.

In 2016, 3,984 angel investors made investments in venture-backed companies. Of these, more than half, or

2,054, were small investors who invested less than KRW 15 million. The proportion of such small angel investors

is increasing every year. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, small investors who invested less

than KRW 15 million accounted for only 38 percent of all angel investors in 2013, which is when records on the

number of such small investors began to be kept. The proportion of small investors was the largest in terms of

the proportion of investors in each investment category. However, the proportion of the investors who invested

more than KRW 15 million was much greater than the proportion of investors who invested less. The proportion

of small investors increased to 40 percent in 2015 and rose further to 51.5 percent in 2016.

Angel investors increase by 30 percent, along with increase in small investors


Startup Investment Trends in KoreaExit (Investment Repayment)

In the startup ecosystems of the United States, European countries, and other developed nations, initial

public offering (IPO) is the most effective means by which investors and startup founders can recoup some

of their investments and reinvest them to promote the growth of the company. In Korea, however, it is still

quite rare, and viewed as unusual, for venture-backed companies to go public.

According to the Korea Venture Business Association and Korea Venture Capital Association, only 34

venture-backed companies (companies in which venture capital firms are invested) were listed on KOSDAQ

(excluding SPACs, etc.) in 2017. Considering that there were 33 venture-backed companies listed on

KOSDAQ in 2016, this represents only a small increase. The investment recovery market, however, is still

not at the level is should be.

Aside from IPO, global venture capital firms regularly use merger and acquisition (M&A) as the preferred

means of earning returns on their investments. However, this method has not been effective in Korea. As

a result, domestic venture capital firms and angel investors generally recover their capital through over-

the-counter market sales, which involves a high level of uncertainty. According to the KVCA and Ministry of

SMEs and Startups, over-the-counter sales and redemption accounted for the largest proportion, at 45.1

percent, among the various ways of recovering venture capital investment in Korea. This was followed by

IPO (31.6 percent), projects (18.2 percent), and M&As (2.3 percent). One positive characteristic to note

is that the proportion of IPOs has been increasing somewhat compared to previous years, driven by the

revitalization of the IPO market and the government’s active policy efforts to facilitate listing on the KOSDAQ

or the third market.

Every year, the numbers of venture-backed companies, venture investments, angel investors, and investors

making investments in venture-backed companies have been increasing. However, it is rare for investors to

successfully recover their capital, even partially, and reinvest it. This means that a huge amount of capital is

injected into the startup ecosystem every year without any adequate exit for such capital. This is the current

state of venture capital investment in Korea. IPO is the most effective means of recovering capital and the

most important component of the startup ecosystem, yet in Korea it is only symbolic. In the last 20 years of

the history of venture-backed companies in Korea, the IPO ratio (proportion of venture-backed companies

that complete IPOs) has never exceeded 10 percent, giving rise to the vicious cycle of: delayed listing →

insufficient investment returns → reduced investments → sluggish growth → decrease in attempts to list.

Rarity of Venture-Backed Companies that Have Launched IPOs

Lack of M&As and dependence on over-the-counter sales

Unit: number of venture-backed companies that have launched IPOs

134

105

58

37

61

43 52

29 29 34 35

17 23 26

46

33 34

150

100

50

020022001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017.10

*source Korea Venture Business Association

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

*source Korea Venture Capital Association

14.2%

18.1%

17.8%

15.7%

20.3%

23.6%

31.6%

23.7%

18.5%

22.4%

23.5%

20.9%

13.6%

18.2%

56.2%

61.3%

56.0%

49.8%

56.8%

41.3%

45.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

단위 : %M&AIPO Project Over-the-counter sales and redemption Others

Number of Venture-backed Companies that Completed IPOs by Year

Percentage of the Ways to Recover VC Investment in Korea


Startup Investment Trends in KoreaCrowdfunding

Since it was first introduced in Korea in 2016, equity crowdfunding has been tried by an average of 20 or

so companies a month. The success rate was below 50 percent in the first year, but rose to 64 percent in

2017. As of the end of June 2017, the average success rate of crowdfunding over the 17 months since its

introduction was 52 percent.

A portmanteau of “crowd” and “funding,” crowdfunding refers to a practice of raising monetary contributions

from unspecified small investors by startup founders and others who require funds through intermediaries

(online small investment brokers) via the Internet. Specifically, equity crowdfunding has been gaining

attention as a type of crowdfunding where backers receive equity shares in the company, differentiating it

from donation-based crowdfunding.

In February 2016, when investment crowdfunding was first introduced in Korea, a total of KRW 120 million

was issued for KRW 120 million in subscriptions. After that, however, issue prices fell far short of offering

prices. In June 2016, only KRW 820 million was issued for KRW 2.28 billion in subscriptions. In 2017,

however, the success rate has increased, and the difference between the issuing and subscription prices

has been narrowing. Over the course of 2016, an average of about 10 crowdfunding campaigns a month

were successful, but that figure increased to 15 a month in 2017, with the success rate climbing from 45.1

percent to 64.3 percent over the same period. In June 2017, the number of successful campaigns a month

exceeded 20 for the first time, with the issue price rising to KRW 3.05 billion, almost double the subscription

price of KRW 1.76 billion.

High rate of success of crowdfunding

*source CrowdNet

8.2

31.9

28.5 29.1

21.5

17.6

7.4

20.8 20.6 21.119.6

30.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Unit: KRW 100 millionIssuing price

1(Jan) 2(Feb) 3(Mar) 4(Apr) 5(May) 6(Jun)

Offering price

Crowdfunding Trend by Month in 2017

Another noticeable difference between 2016 and 2017 is that the number of people participating in

crowdfunding has increased dramatically, which triggered an increase in the number of small investors

as well. According to the Financial Services Commission and CrowdNet, 6,823 (or 94 percent) of all

crowdfunding participants were private investors, and half of those, or slightly more than 3,400, were

small investors who invested less than KRW 500,000. The average number of investors per successful

crowdfunding campaign was 60, showing a 42.9percent increase from 2016.

The number of crowdfunding projects each month showed no dramatic increase, with the average

remaining steady at around 20 a month in 2016 and 2017. This means that only certain companies are

engaging in crowdfunding.

Dramatic increase in investors but too few crowdfunding attempts


Startup Investment Trends in KoreaMajor Venture Capital Firms in Korea

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Korea Investment Partners made the largest number of

investments in 2016, investing KRW 148.2 billion in 84 companies by the end of the year. As the largest

venture capital firm in Korea, Korea Investment Partners invests more than all other firms nearly every

year. Smilegate Investment came in second, investing KRW 95.9 billion in 40 companies, followed by SBI

Investment, with KRW 87.8 billion in 34 companies.

Korea Investment Partners also made the largest number of investments in early-stage companies (under

three years old). In 2016, the firm invested a total of KRW 43.4 billion in 24 early-stage companies. LB

Investment came in second with KRW 41.6 billion in 15 companies, followed by SBI Investment (KRW 39.6

billion, 11 companies), SoftBank Ventures (KRW 28.1 billion, 13 companies), and K2 Investment Partners

(KRW 24.1 billion, five companies).

The venture capital firm that made the largest number of investments

Top 10 venture capital firms with the best investment performance (as of 2016)

Korea Investment Partners

Smilegate Investment

SBI Investment

Atinum Investment

LB Investment

IMM Investment

KB Investment

SV Investment

KTB Network

InterVest

Venture capital firmRank

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Subtotal

84

40

34

21

24

20

24

23

41

30

292

Number of firms invested

1,482

959

878

702

681

589

554

542

520

499

7,406

Investment amount (KRW 100 million)

Korea Investment Partners is the largest venture capital firm in

Korea, managing an investment fund worth KRW 1.966 trillion

that was created in 2008. Since its founding in 1986, it has invested a total of KRW 2.4 trillion, of which KRW 1

trillion was invested in the past year alone. Accordingly, it also has the largest number of personnel dedicated

to investment. The company employs 40 experts, 10 of whom are assessment experts with over 10 years

of experience in the field and 18 of whom are assessment experts who majored in science and engineering.

SoftBank Ventures Korea is an investment company that was

established by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. Although it is a

foreign holding company, SoftBank Ventures Korea has grown with the Korean venture industry since it

was founded in 2002, during the startup bubble. The company is known for consistently investing in Korean

startups and venture-backed companies and has invested in companies in diverse sectors, including

Internet, technology, venture-backed biotech, medical equipment, and manufacturing companies. As of

the end of 2016, SoftBank Ventures Korea has invested in over 200 startups, of which early-stage startups

account for 45 percent of its total investments. The company cooperates with its parent company, SoftBank,

and actively invests in startups that have either entered or wish to enter the global market. Also, about

30 percent of the company’s total investments are overseas. As of the end of October 2017, SoftBank

Ventures Korea operates a total of 13 funds, two of which were created in 2017.

SoftBank Ventures Korea was an early investor in SundayToz, a South Korean company that created

the amazingly popular mobile game Anipang and ushered in a new era of mobile games. In addition to

SundayToz, the company has made initial investments in Knowre, Cocone, TrueBalance, RSquare, and other

promising Korean venture-backed companies.

Smilegate Investment is a first-generation Korean venture capital

firm that was founded in 1999 as MVP Capital. Originally a game

developer that topped the Chinese market with its online game Crossfire, Smilegate acquired MVP Capital

in 2011 and changed the firm’s name to Smilegate Investment.

Since creating its first investment fund in 2000, Smilegate Investment has gone on to establish 30

investment funds, through which it has invested in more than 200 firms. With more than 30 dedicated

investment experts on its staff, the company invested nearly KRW 100 billion in 2016.

The company is actively investing in Internet and game companies, including Seed Nine, R2Beat, and

Including support personnel, Korea Investment Partners employs over 80 investment-related employees.

The firm has been increasing its investments every year as well. Korea Investment Partners invested KRW

71.5 billion in 30 different companies in 2010; KRW 93.7 billion in 34 companies in 2011; and KRW 100.5 billion

in 41 companies in 2012. In addition, the firm made KRW 120.3 billion in investments in 39 venture-backed

companies in 2013; KRW 131.5 billion in 61 companies in 2014; and KRW 258.4 billion in 81 companies in 2015,

showing significant growth every year.

The company’s major successes include: Osstem Implant (invested KRW 5.2 billion and recovered KRW 37.2

billion), YG Entertainment (invested KRW 7.4 billion and recovered KRW 68.7 billion), Kakao Corp. (invested KRW

5 billion and recovered KRW 81.8 billion), and Bodyfriend (invested KRW 4 billion and recovered KRW 18.5 billion).

Korea Investment Partners

SoftBank Ventures Korea

Smilegate Investment*source Ministry of SMEs and Startups

62 Startup Investment Trends

A large venture capital and private equity firm founded in 1999, IMM

Investment holds a total of KRW 3.1 trillion in 12 venture capital funds and 13

private equity funds, as of the end of October 2017. Its operating capital is a little more than KRW 2 trillion.

Through its venture capital funds, the company invests KRW 353 billion, led by a dedicated team of over 30

investment experts. IMM Investment has made investments in more than 120 promising venture-backed

firms and startups, including IDUS (largest handicraft market in Korea), Coupang, (largest social commerce

site in Korea), StyleShare (now the largest fashion social-media site), True Balance, and Bucketplace.

Devsisters, as well as in distribution and service companies, such as BGF Retail. In 2017, Smilegate

Investment created three new investment funds, including Smilegate Growth Fund No. 1, bring the total

number of funds it currently operates to 21.

IMM Investment


Startup Ecosystem in Korea

▶ Analysis of Korean Startup Ecosystem

▶ Analysis of Korean Startups

▶ Characteristics of Korean Startups4 Startup Ecosystem in Korea

Startup Ecosystem in Korea


Analysis of Korean Startup Ecosystem

Purpose

Participatingorganizations

Period or

Analysis

Content

Design

To conduct an in-depth study of the current status of Korean startup companies, particularly those in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, where the majority of startups are concentrated; carry out a comparative analysis of Korean and global startups; and examine the characteristics of Korean startups and the competitiveness of Korea’s startup ecosystem.

- Research: Macromill Embrain

- Analysis: Korea Enterprise Institute

21 November to 6 December (approx. three weeks)

SPSS’ statistical analysis package was used to perform frequency analysis, technology analysis, and cross analysis.

1) Company Information

2) Foundation

3) Founder’s Background

4) Talent & Experience

5) Funding & Shares

6) Market Reach & Competency

7) Startup Environment Assessment

Online and offline surveys were conducted of startups located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. To increase the confidence level, snowball sampling was kept to a minimum, and the target startups were selected through startup incubators and investment firms.- A total of 300 ICT-related startups located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province

Survey Overview

Research Sample


Overview

Research Samples

Analysis of Korean Startups

Pre-Seed RoundFunding from family, affiliates, and/

or government but not

outside investors

Seed RoundFunding From an accelerator/

angel investor

Series AFirst significant round of

Venture Capital(VC) financing

Series B or LaterVCs invest in later

stages

19659 31 14

Survey Overview

68 Analysis of Startup Ecosystem Korea Startup Index 2017 69

Analysis of Korean Startup EcosystemSnapshot of Korean Startups

Snapshot of Startups Your Average Korean Entrepreneur

Korean Startup Ecosystem

Characteristics of Startup

Number of Founding Members Initial Investment needed*

Consist of members who became acquainted through social settings

Mobile Internet

Seoul

Gangnam District

Seongnam

Most startup-dense regions1st Gangnam-gu/2nd Seongnam

Popular

44.9%27.7%

KRW109.46million

32.3%

31.3%

2.7 people

* Net capital invested in initial phase of startup

Startups are unlike regular businesses

Mobile Internet business fields

Mobile Internet business fields

Future growth potential irrespective of competence

Innovative business model

93.9%22.2% 18.6% 14.5%

Men Co-Foundership

91.7% 90.7%

Entrepreneurial Experience

60.7%

Technology Development Experience Prior to Founding a Startup

40.7%

Founded a Startup to Realize an Idea

38.0%

30’s

48.0%

College Graduate

56.7%

Engineering Major

51.0%

English-Speaking

74.0%

The locations most preferred by startups are Gangnam District in Seoul and Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province. Startups seem to be most active in these areas.

* Events held over multiple days are calculated as one event per day for the duration of the event.

high

low

SeoulGyeonggi-do

IncheonMetropolitanCity

Seongnam

Yeoncheon-gun

Pocheon-si

Dongducheon-si

Ganghwa-gun

Ongjin-gun

Jung-gu Dong-gu

Seo-guBupyeong-gu

Anyang-si

Gyeyang-gu

Bucheon-si

Nam-gu Namdong-gu

Yeonsu-gu

Ansan-siSuwon-si

Pyeongtaek-siAnseong-si

Hwaseong-si

Osan-si Yongin-si

Siheung-siGwangmyeong-si Gwacheon-si

Uiwang-siGunpo-si

Gimpo-siGoyang-si

Yangju-siPaju-si Gapyeong-gun

Uijeongbu-si

Namyangju-si

Guri-si

Hanam-si

Gwangju-si

Icheon-si

Yeoju-si

Yangpyeong-gun

*source Platum, Startup Alliance, K-Startup, D.Camp, Google Campus Seoul, and MARU180 website

Number of Startup Events Held Annually

Average Number of Startup Events Held Daily*

Approx.

2688events

1.3events



International Members in Startup*

Amount of Investment Attracted (or Target Investment)

Number of Companies by Final Investment Round

Women in Startup*

2016년(n=295) 2017년(n=300)

16.3

%

18.7

%

Pre-Seed Round Seed Round Series A Series B or later

KRW

4.23871billion

KRW

2.83929billion

KRW

694.73million

KRW

287.48million

* Percentage of startups with 1+ Women

* Percentage of startups with 1+ International Members

Number of Companies

Female employeesFemale founders

2015(n=459)

2016(n=295)

2017(n=300)

12.3

%

8.5%

8.3%

2016(n=295)

2017(n=300)

67.1

%

64.3

%

Category Pre Seed Seed Series A Series B

Years since founding

Number of employees

Equity capital

Number of tech personnel

Number of female personnel

Number of investment advisors

Number of foreign personnel

Sales

Sales amount

Overseas Expansion

3.5years

7.2

KRW 132.41 million

4.2

1.7

0.3

0.3

81.6%

KRW 740.86 million

11.5%

3.3years

7.9

KRW 215.01 million

4.5

1.8

2.5

0.5

78.0%

KRW 418.31 million

15.3%

4.0years

13.8

KRW 296.48 million

6.6

3.4

1.4

0.7

90.3%

KRW 2.04496 billion

48.4%

4.9years

19.6

KRW 296.35 million

12.4

3.7

0.9

0.4

85.7%

KRW 462.08 million

64.3%

196 59 31 14

72 Analysis of Startup Ecosystem

Comparison of Startup Ecosystems by Tech Hubs

Experienced Software Engineers

Women Founders

Early-stage Funding per Startup (Avg.)

Software Engineer Salary

$174

$276

$451

$509

$762 Silicon Valley

Tel Aviv

London

Singapore

Seoul

Unit: USD 10,000

Silicon Valley

Tel Aviv

London

Seoul

Singapore

Unit: USD 1,000

$35

$38

$52

$63

$112

Silicon Valley

Singapore

London

Tel Aviv

Seoul 68%

74%

79%

80%

87%

Seoul

Silicon Valley

London

Singapore

Tel Aviv 8%

12%

15%

16%

16%





Company

Foundation

Founder

Talent & Experience

Funding

Market Reach

Supporter & Policy Maker Insights

Company

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016-

98

45

56

51

50

Funding Year

Number of Members

• Of the 300 companies surveyed, 98 (32.7%) were founded prior to or in 2012; 45 (15.0%) were founded in 2013; and 56 (18.7%) were founded in 2014.

• When comparing companies in terms of company age by investment round, companies in the later the stage of investment round, from Pre-Seed to Series B, were older.

• The average number of members at the time of founding was 2.7, while the average number of current members was 8.6. The startup with the largest number of members at the time of its founding had 21 people, while the startup with the largest number of current members had 90. The startup whose members increased by the largest margin saw an increase of 22 times, from four to 90 people.

• Only 20 startups showed a decrease in their number of members since founding, and 44 startups showed no change in their number of personnel.

• In terms of the average number of members and investment rounds, the number of members at the time of founding and the number of current members were found to increase as companies moved from the Pre-Seed to Series B or later round.

•�A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the number of companies five years old or older increased significantly in 2017.

• The average number of members at the time of founding in 2015 was 10.0; in 2016, it was 8.8; and currently, it is 8.6. The proportion of companies with 11 or more members increased by 5.7%p, from 18.3% in 2016 to 24.0% currently.

Investment Round

Investment Round

Pre Seed

Pre Seed

Seed

Seed

Series A

Series A

Series B

Series B

2015

At time of founding

At time of founding

At time of founding

At time of founding

2.4 2.8 3.1 5.2

Current Current Current Current

7.2 7.9 13.8 20.0

2014 2014 2012

Category

Category

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016-

Total

1

2

3-5

6-10

11 or more

Total

Average

98

45

56

51

50

100

2.7 8.6

29

26

87

86

72

300

32.7

15.0

18.7

17.0

16.7

100

32.7

25.0

37.7

3.3

1.3

10

98

75

113

10

4

300

9.7

8.7

29.0

28.7

24.0

100

Nationwide

At time of founding Current

No. of startups

No. of startups No. of startups

%

% %

Annual stats

Annual stats

In the past year In the pasttwo years

In the pastthree years

In the pastfour years

In the pastfive years

39.3

23.419.7

6.810.8

16.7 17.0 18.715.0

32.7

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

3 or fewer 4-5 6-10 11 or more

Unit : %2016(n=295)2015(n=691) 2017(n=300)

21.3 21.3

29.2 28.229.123.7

28.8

18.3

28.7

18.7

28.724.0

* As the percentages in the tables of the Analysis of Korean Startups have been rounded up to the

nearest hundredth, the sum of the subsections may be different from the total amount.



66.7%18.0%

3.0%200

54 9 7 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1

Seou

l

Gye

onggi-do S

eon

gnam

-si

Gye

onggi-do S

uwon

-si

Gye

onggi-do A

nyan

g-si

Gye

onggi-do G

oyang-si

Gye

onggi-do Yon

gin-si

Inch

eon

Metrop

olitan City

Gye

onggi-do U

iwnag

-si

Gye

onggi-do P

aju-si

Gye

onggi-do G

wan

gju-si

Gye

onggi-do A

nsan

-si

Gye

onggi-do A

nse

ong-si

Gye

onggi-do H

wase

ong-si

Gye

onggi-do B

uch

eon

-si

Gye

onggi-do S

iheung-si

Gye

onggi-do U

ijeon

gbu-si

Gye

onggi-do P

ocheon

-si

51

2819 17

12 12 10 9 8 84 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1

25.5%

14.0%9.5%

Gan

gnam

District

Map

o District

Seoch

o District

Guro D

istrict

Seon

gdon

g District

Geumch

eon

District

Son

gpa D

istrict

Yeon

gdeungpo D

istrict

Yongsan

District

Jung District

Now

on District

Don

gdae

mun District

Seod

aemun District

Gwan

gjin District

Dob

ong District

Seon

gbuk D

istrict

Jongno D

istrict

Gan

gse

o District

Gwan

ak District

Don

gjak D

istrict

Jungnan

g District

Yangch

eon

District

25.5

%

14.0

% 9.5%

8.5%

6.0%

6.0%

5.0%

36.3

%

10.7

%

9.8%

3.7% 7.

9%

5.6%

3.3%

GangnamDistrict

MapoDistrict

SeochoDistrict

GuroDistrict

SeongdongDistrict

GeumcheonDistrict

SongpaDistrict

Unit : %2016(n=200) 2017(n=216)

Location

•An analysis of the locations of companies revealed that most were located in Seoul (200 companies, 66.7%), followed by Seongnam (54 companies, 18.0%) in Gyeonggi Province.

• Upon closer examination of the locations of companies in Seoul, it was found that the largest proportion of companies were located in Gangnam District (25.5%), followed by Mapo District (14.0%) and Seocho District (9.5%).

•�A comparison with the results of the 2016 study on the locations of companies shows that the proportion of startups located in Gangnam District rose by 10.8%p.

Nationwide

Seoul

Annual stats

54Seongnam-si

12SeongdongDistrict

8YongsanDistrict

8JungDistrict

38

Guro/GeumcheonDistrict

80Seocho/Gangnam/Songpa District

Same

Changed(hired from

outside)

Changed(hired from

inside)5

7

288

Founder and CEO

• Among the startups, 4.0% replaced their CEOs due to: (1) the necessity for an executive with expertise related to the company’s current projects (66.7%); (2) the necessity for the founder(s) to focus on development or marketing (16.7%); and (3) the personal circumstances of the founder(s), such as health issues (8.3%).

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study reveal that the proportion of companies whose founder is also the CEO remained relatively the same, decreasing only slightly from 96.3% to 96.0% in 2017.

Category

Same

Total

Changed (hired from outside)

Changed (hired from inside)

288

7

5

300

96.0

2.3

1.7

100

Nationwide

No. of startups %

Annual stats

Same Changed(hired from outside)

Changed(hired from inside)

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

96.3

1.7 2.0

96.0

2.3 1.7



Major Investment Areas

Annual stats Annual stats

172

72 6026 7 7 5 4 3 2 2 2 21

MobileInternet

Automation ofknowledge work

Cloudtechnology

Internet ofThings (IoT)

3D printing VR/AR/MR Renewableenergy

Energystorage

Advancedrobotics

Advancedmaterials

VR Games Software Etc.

Unit: %

Mobile Internet Automation of knowledge work Internet of Things (IoT) Cloud technology 3D printing

50.8

13.920.9

7.6 1.6

44.9

18.8 15.7 6.8 1.8

Unit : %2016(n=368) 2017(n=383)Unit: %2016(n=295)2015(n=685) 2017(n=300)

39.3 39.7

20.1

0.9

46.1

36.3

17.3

0.3

45.738.7

15.7

Less thanKRW 30 million

BetweenKRW 30 and100 million

BetweenKRW 100 million and

KRW 1 billion

KRW 1 billionor more

22.830.7

43.2

3.3

34.628.8 32.5

4.1

25.3 27.7

43.7

3.3

Unit: %2016(n=295)2015(n=662) 2017(n=300)




KRW 1 billion


• The investment areas were categorized using the “12 Disruptive Technologies” selected by the McKinsey Global Institute.• The technologies that are expected to drastically change people’s lives by 2025 include: mobile Internet, automation of knowledge work, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing,

advanced robotics, autonomous vehicles, next-generation genomics, energy storage, 3D printing, advanced materials, advanced oil and gas exploration and recovery, and renewable energy.• The areas in which the largest numbers of investments were made were mobile Internet (172 investments, 44.9%), automation of knowledge work (72 investments, 18.8%), and

IoT (60 investments, 15.7%). These three areas accounted for 79.4% of all investments. Meanwhile, the numbers of investments in advanced materials, advanced robotics, VR games, and software made up less than 1% of all investments.• It was found that large businesses tended to focus on game-related areas, such as mobile app services, mobile games, software development & service provision, and game

content development.

•�A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the proportion of mobile Internet fell by 5.9%p, while automation of knowledge work rose by 4.9%p. IoT was found to have fallen by 5.2%p.

•�A comparison of equity capital at the time of startup founding by year shows that the average amount of equity capital rose by 55% from KRW 70.55 million in 2015 to KRW 109.47 million. According to the results of the 2017 study, companies with less than KRW 30 million in equity capital accounted for the largest proportion of companies, at 45.7%, meaning that the number of small-capital startups has increased.

•�The average equity capital was KRW 202.05 million in 2014; KRW 195.18 million in 2015; and KRW 173.26 in 2016. Notably, the proportion of companies with between KRW 100 million and KRW 1 billion in equity capital increased by 11.2%p from 2015 to 2016.

CategoryMobile Internet

Automation of knowledge

work

Internet of Things (IoT)

Cloud technology

3D printing VR/AR/MRRenewable

energyEnergy storage

Advanced materials

Advanced robotics

VR Games Etc.Software

No. of startups

Percentage

172

44.9%

72

18.8%

60

15.7%

26

6.8%

7

1.8%

7

1.8%

5

1.3%

4

1.0%

3

0.8%

2

0.5%

2

0.5%

21

5.5%

2

0.5%

(Multiple answers allowed)



Changes in Equity Capital

• The average amount of equity capital held by startups at the time of founding was KRW 109.47 million. Specifically, 45.7% of companies were founded with less than KRW 30 million in equity capital; 38.7%, with between KRW 30 and 100 million; and 15.7% with KRW 100 million or more.

• The average amount of equity capital held by startups in 2016 was KRW 173.26 million. Specifically, 25.3% of companies had less than KRW 30 million in equity capital; 27.7% had between KRW 30 and 100 million; and 43.7% had between KRW 100 million and KRW 1 billion. Compared to the time of their founding, the amount of equity capital held by startups had increased by 58.3%.

• When comparing companies in terms of equity capital by investment round, the amount of equity capital rose from the Pre-Seed to Series A round but fell in the Series B and later rounds.




KRW 1 billion



127 116

4776 83

131

10

구분

Less than KRW 30 million

Between KRW 30 and 100 million

Between KRW 100 million and KRW 1 billion

KRW 1 billion or more

Total

Average


127

116

47

-

300

KRW 109.467 million KRW 173.259 million

No. ofstartups

76

83

131

10

300

No. ofstartups

45.7

38.7

15.7

-

100

%

25.3

27.7

43.7

3.3

100

%

Investment Round

Pre Seed Seed Series A Series BAt time of founding

At time of founding

At time of founding

At time of founding

KRW 90.89 million

KRW 161.53 million

KRW 155.16 million

KRW 216.79 million

Current Current Current Current

KRW 132.41 million

KRW 115.01 million

KRW 296.48 million

KRW 296.35 million


Analysis of Korean StartupsFoundation

1 2 3-5 6-10 0 1 2 3-5 6-10 001 2

Number of co-founders with shares Number of female co-founders with shares Number of tech co-founders with shares14471 56

1 28 55 3

242 15644 22 1

77

Unit : %Unit : %Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

1 2 3-5 6-10 11-20 0 1 2 3-5 6-10 11-20 0 1 2 3-5 6-10 11-20 0

Number of co-founders with shares Number of female co-founders with shares Number of tech co-founders with shares

28.1 26.1 36.93.1 0.7 5.1

48.0

23.7 18.7 0.3 9.3 20.35.4 1.418.3 1.0

38.672.9

80.7

20.7 14.20.3

26.152.0

14.7 7.3 0.3 25.7

Number of Co-founders with Shares

•�An average of 1.6 co-founders held shares in their companies, and most companies (48%) had one co-founder with shares. An average of 0.2 female founders held shares, and only 19.3% of companies had female founders with shares.•�An average of 1.1 tech experts held shares in their companies, and tech experts at 223 startup companies, which accounted for 74.3% of all startups, have held shares in their

companies from the time of founding.

CategoryNumber of co-founders with shares Number of female co-founders with shares Number of tech co-founders with shares

No. of startups No. of startups No. of startups% % %

0

1

2

3-5

6-10

Total

2814471561

300

9.348.023.718.70.3100

80.718.31.0--

100

7715644221

300

25.752.014.77.30.3100

242553--

300

• The average number of co-founders holding shares decreased by 0.9 compared to 2016. In particular, the number of companies with one person holding shares increased by 19.9%p.•The average number of women and tech experts holding shares has decreased by 0.2 compared to 2016.• In terms of investment rounds, the number of people holding shares and number of tech experts both increased from the Pre-Seed to Series B round.

Investment Round

Pre Seed Seed Series A Series B

1.5 1.6 2.0 2.9

Investment Round


1.0 1.0 1.3 2.1

Annual stats

Average 1.6

Average 2.5 in 2016

Average 1.6 in 2017

Average 0.4 in 2016

Average 0.2 in 2017

Average 1.3 in 2016

Average 1.1 in 2017

Average 0.2 Average 1.1

Composition of Founding Members

Startup Locations and Preferences

• Founding members became acquainted with one another mostly through meetings in social settings, accounting for 27.7%, of which 24.3% met at work and 21.3% met at school. One person companies accounted for 15.7% of all companies, and only eight (2.7%) had found their members through official recruitment.

• It was found that 180 startups (60.0%) were established in Seoul, and 80 (26.7%) were founded in Gyeonggi Province.

• An analysis of startups’ preferred locations showed that 60.3% preferred Seoul, while 35.3% preferred Gyeonggi Province. Among those preferring Gyeonggi Province, the largest proportion (31.3%) preferred Seongnam.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the proportion of founding members who became acquainted through school fell by 4.8%, while that of one person companies rose to 15.7% in 2017.

• A comparison of startups’ preferred locations with the results of the 2016 study shows that startups’ preference for Gyeonggi Province rose by 8.5%p, with interest in Seongnam, located in Gyeonggi Province, rising by 9.3%p. This change seems to have been brought on by the improved corporate environment in Seongnam’s Pangyo area.

Annual stats

Annual stats

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

28.1

25.8

4.4 6.4 9.

2

27.7

24.3

26.1

21.3

15.7

3.3

2.7

2.3

2.7

Acquainted through other social settings

Coworkers one man business

Attended the same school

family Official recruitment

Met through forums, projects,

or other startup activities

Other

Seoul GyeonggiProvince

Other SeoulGangnam District

Gyeonggi-doSeongnam-si

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

71.9

26.8

1.3

60.3

35.3

1.9

39.022.0

32.3 31.3

Seoul Gyeonggi Province Other

180

40

181

10680

1360.0% 60.3% 26.7% 35.3%

Unit : %Startup location

Gangnam District 97 (32.3%)

Preferred location

Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province 93 (31.3%)

8373

64

47

10 8 7 8

Acquainted through other social settings

Coworkers one man business

Attended the same school

family Official recruitment

Met through forums, projects,

or other startup activities

Other

27.7% 24.3% 21.3% 15.7% 3.3% 2.7% 2.3% 2.7%

Startup Preferences



Factors Influencing Location Decisions

Ease oftransportation

Quality ofinfrastructure

Ease ofsecuringpersonnel

Extent of local government

support for startups’ projects

Number ofstartups

Affordable rent Ease of access Concentration of cooperating companies

Diversity ofnetworks

Number of IT-based companies

Number of related organizations

and facilities

Other

39 36 31 29 29 24 20 17 16 10 10

228

• The main factors influencing startups’ location decisions were: ease of transportation (8.0%), ease of securing personnel (7.4%), and quality of infrastructure (6.3%). This shows that the startup environment and infrastructure are important factors that are considered when startups select the locations of their companies.

Category Ease of transportation

Ease of securing

personnel

Quality of infrastructure

Extent of local government support for

startups’ projects

Number of startups

Affordable rent Ease of accessDiversity of networks

Concentration of cooperating

companies

Number of IT-based

companies

Number of related

organizations and facilities

Other

No. of Startups

%

39

8.0%

36

7.4%

31

6.3%

29

5.9%

29

5.9%

24

4.9%

20

4.1%

17

3.5%

16

3.3%

10

2.0%

10

2.0%

228

46.6%

Considerations Concerning the Location of Startups

• When selecting their locations, startups’ most important consideration was the availability of affordable/rent-free space (49.7%), followed by accessibility for workers and clients (26.3%) and density of organizations and facilities for startups (10.0%).

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the number of companies choosing their location based on the availability of affordable rent or rent support has increased by 3.3%p. This indicates that infrastructure support, such as startup incubators, has a significant impact on startups’ decisions regarding location.

Annual stats

46.4

%

26.1

%

15.3

%

3.1% 4.1%

5.1%

49.7

%

26.3

%

10.0

%

4.3%

1.7% 8.

0%

Affordable/rent-free spaces

Accessibility for employees, ease of access

to public transportation,

etc.

Density of professional

organizations and facilities for startups

Density of startups

Affordable/rent-free

Conference and work spaces

Others

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)149

79

30

13

5

24

Affordable/rent-free spaces

Density of professional organizationsand facilities for startups

Density of startups

Others

Affordable/rent-free Conferenceand work spaces

Accessibility foremployees, ease of access to public transportation, etc.

49.7%

26.3%

10.0%

4.3%

1.7%

Founder

Gender of Entrepreneurs

Age of Entrepreneurs

•There were 275 startups with male entrepreneurs, accounting for 91.7%.

• The average age of new entrepreneurs was 38.7; with 48.0% being in their 30s; 48.0%, in their 40s; and 8.3%, in their 20s.

•The number of male founders was found to have increased steadily from 2015 to 2017.

•�The average age of founders rose from 36.0 in 2016 to 38.7 in 2017. The proportion of founders in their 40s was found to have increased steadily leading up to 2017.

Annual stats

Annual statsAverage

Male Female

Unit: %2016(n=295)2015(n=459) 2017(n=300)

87.7

12.3

91.5

8.5

91.7

8.3

7.4

45.6

22.5 24.418.6

49.2

28.1

4.18.3

48.034.3

9.3

Unit: %2016(n=295)2015(n=471) 2017(n=300)

20s 30s 40s 50s

Male Female

275

2591.7% 8.3%

25

144

103

28

8.3% 34.3% 9.3%48.0%

20s 30s 40s 50s



Educational Background of Entrepreneurs

Majors

• The highest level of education completed by the majority of entrepreneurs was college (56.7%), followed by master’s programs (29.0%), doctorate programs (10.3%), and less than or equivalent to high school (4.0%).

• The areas of work in which new entrepreneurs were involved prior to launching their startups included: technology development (40.7%), business planning/development (26.3%), marketing/sales (12.7%), design (7.0%), and finance (2.3%).

•�Among startup entrepreneurs, 51.0% majored in engineering; 17.0%, in commerce and business; and 12.7%, in the humanities.

• A comparison of the educational background of founders by year reveals that the proportion of college graduates was falling, while the proportion of master’s degree holders was increasing.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the proportion of technology development increased by 7.1%p, while that of marketing and sales fell by 3.2%p.

• A comparison with the results of the 2015 study shows that the number of founders with engineering majors decreased slightly in 2016 and 2017 yet remained high compared to those with other majors. The number of founders with commerce and business majors has been increasing since 2015.


Annual stats

11.3

73.8

1.113.8

4.1

60.7

25.4

9.88.3

56.7

29.010.3

Unit: %2016(n=295)2015(n=362) 2017(n=300)

Less than equivalent to high school graduate

College graduate

Master’s degree holder

Doctorate degree holder

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

33.627.1

15.9

6.42.4 2.0

12.5

40.7

26.3

12.77.0

2.3 1.0

10.0

Technologydevelopment

Business planning/

development

Marketing/Sales

Design Human resources

Finance Other

Unit: %2016(n=295)2015(n=426) 2017(n=300)

Engineering Commerce and business

Humanities Art, music, and physical education

69.2

4.517.8

7.0

51.6

19.1 12.4 6.7

51.0

17.0 12.7 6.7

12

170

87

31

29.0% 10.3%56.7%

Less than equivalent to high school graduate

College graduate

Master’s degree holder

Doctorate degree holder Technology

developmentBusiness planning/

development

Marketing/Sales

Design Human resources

Finance Other

122

79

3821 7

3

30

40.7% 26.3% 12.7% 7.0% 2.3%

Engineering Commerce and business

Humanities Natural sciences

Art, music, and physical education

Other

153

5138

22 20451.0% 17.0% 12.7% 7.3%

Have experiencefounding a startup

Have no relatedexperience

Have experienceworking at a

startup

Have experiencewith startupincubation

Have invested ina startup 25

26

54

85

182

Areas of Work Prior to Launching a Startup

Experience with Startups

• Among all entrepreneurs, 60.7% answered that they had experience founding startups, and 77.2% answered that they had experience founding startups, working at startups, incubating startups, and/or investing in startups.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the proportion of founders who answered that they had prior experience founding a startup (25.7%) increased significantly, while that of founders with no such prior experience fell by 8.7%p.

Category

Have experience founding a startup

Have no related experience

Have experience working at a startup

Have experience with startup incubation

Have invested in a startup

Total

182

85

54

26

25

372

48.9

22.8

14.5

7.0

6.7

100

NationwideNo. of

startups %

Annual stats

35.0 37.0

15.87.6 4.5

60.7

28.318.0

8.7 8.3

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Have experience founding a startup

Have norelated

experience

Have experience working at a

startup

Have experience with startup incubation

Have invested in a startup

(Multiple answers allowed)(Multiple answers allowed)



English

None

Japanese

Chinese 5

18

55

222

Able to use simple business terms

Able to have simple conversations

Near native

Not fluent but able to communicate with foreigners

38

50

74

83

To realize their ideas

Don’t know

Other

To solve problems

To escape from their previous job

For livelihood/survival

To pursue their dreams

To offer people greater convenience

Due to difficulties finding employment

To realize their own value system

Due to the popularity of founding startups

Due to the large number of startup-related support policies

827

2

3

4

5

5

14

15

23

80

114


To solve problems





Don’t know

Other





16

27

4

9

1131

33

57

59

117

184

242

Entrepreneurs and Second Language Proficiency

Level of Second Language Proficiency

Reasons for Founding a Startup

• Among all entrepreneurs, 74.0% spoke English as a second language, and 6.0% spoke Japanese as a second language. 18.3% answered that they spoke no second languages.• When comparing companies in terms of founders’ second language proficiency by

investment round, founders of startups in the Pre-Seed round were found to be relatively less proficient in English.

• Among those who answered that they can speak a second language, 33.9% indicated that they can use simple business terms, while 30.2% responded that they are able to have simple conversations. Also, 35.9% answered that they are able to converse with foreigners.• In terms of founders’ second language proficiency and investment rounds, founders of startups in the Pre-Seed round could engage in only simple conversation in a second

language.

•�Among startup founders, the largest proportion, about 38.0%, answered that they founded their startup to realize their ideas, while 26.7% answered that they wanted to solve problems, and 7.7% said they wanted to escape from their previous jobs.

• The three main reasons that led startup founders to found their own companies were: to realize their ideas (30.6%), to solve problems (23.3%), and to offer people greater convenience (14.8%).

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the number of founders who speak English as a second language rose by 2.1%p, and those who do not speak a second language rose by 0.3%p.

Investment Round

Investment Round

Pre Seed

Pre Seed

Seed

Seed

Series A

Series A

Series B

Series B

69.4%

Able to have simple

conversations

84.7%

Able to use simple business

terms

80.6%


terms

78.6%


terms

Category

Category

Category

Category

English

None

Japanese

Chinese

Total

Able to use simple business terms

Able to have simple conversations

Near native

Total

Not fluent but able to communicate with foreigners

222

55

18

5

300

83

74

50

38

245

74.0

18.3

6.0

1.7

100

33.9

30.2

20.4

15.5

100


To solve problems









Don’t know

Other

Total


To solve problems









Don’t know

Other

Total

114

80

23

15

14

5

5

4

3

2

27

8

300

242

184

117

59

57

33

31

11

9

4

27

16

790

38.0

26.7

7.7

5.0

4.7

1.7

1.7

1.3

1.0

0.7

27.4

2.7

100

30.6

23.3

14.8

7.5

7.2

4.2

3.9

1.4

1.1

0.5

3.4

2.0

100

Nationwide

Nationwide

Nationwide

Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

%

%

%

%

Total

Top choice

71.9

18.06.4 2.0 1.7 1.7

74.0

18.36.0

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

English None Japanese OtherChinese

Annual stats



1

2-3

4-5

6-10

11 or more

0 122

10

12

21

68

67 Yes

No 64

236

3

10

11

37

198

410 months

1-6 months

7-12 months

13-18 months

18-24 months

25 months or more

1

2-3

4-5

6-10

11 or more

0 22

23

55

49

89

62

Number of Members with Prior Startup Experience Startups with tech personnel at the time of founding

Time of hiring tech personnelNumber of tech personnel

• Startups had an average of 1.9 members with prior startup experience. Approximately 40.7% of companies had no members with prior startup experience; 22.3% had one member with prior experience; and 22.7% had two to three members with prior experience. Overall, about 60% of companies had members with prior startup experience.

• Overall, 78.7% of companies had members with a tech background since the time of founding.

• Upon closer examination of when startups hired their tech personnel, it was found that the majority of companies (66%) hired tech personnel from one to six months after their founding. This shows that a large proportion of startups hired tech personnel in the early stages of their establishment.

• Startups had an average of 4.9 tech personnel each. The largest proportion of startups, about 29.7%, had two to three tech personnel, while only 7.3 percent had no tech personnel at all. This shows that there is a high dependency on tech personnel in startups.• When comparing companies in terms of the number of tech personnel by

investment round, the number of tech personnel increased from the Pre-Seed to Series B round.

•�A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the number of startups that had no members with prior startup experience rose by 11.2%p, which means the proportion of startups that had members with prior startup experience decreased.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the number of startups with members with a tech background at the time of founding increased by 3.1%p, from 75.6% in 2016 to 78.7%.

•�Compared with the results of the 2016 study, the proportion of startups that hired tech personnel within one to six months of founding rose by 34.6%p, from 31.4% in 2016 to 66.0% in 2017. In contrast, the proportion of startups that hired tech personnel between 18 and 24 months of founding dropped significantly by 25.3%p.

• The average number of tech personnel at startups increased by 0.9, from 4.0 in 2016. Of particular note, the number of companies with four to five tech personnel rose by a remarkable 8.2%p.

Category

Category

CategoryCategory

0

1

2-3

4-5

6-10

11 or more

Total

Yes

No

Total

0 months

1-6 months

7-12 months

13-18 months

18-24 months

25 months or more

Total

122

67

68

21

12

10

300

236

64

300

41

198

37

11

10

3

300

40.7

22.3

22.7

7.0

4.0

3.3

100

78.7

21.3

100

13.7

66.0

12.3

3.7

3.3

1.0

100

01

2-34-56-10

11 or moreTotal

226289495523

300

7.320.729.716.318.37.7100

Nationwide

Nationwide

NationwideNationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

%

%

%%


Annual statsAnnual stats

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

1 02-3 4-5 6-10 11 or more

21.727.5

8.1 10.5

2.7

29.522.3 22.7

7.04.0 3.3

40.7 75.6

24.4

78.7

21.3

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Yes No

31.4

16.44.5

28.619.113.7

66.0

12.33.7 3.3 1.0

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

0months

24 monthsor more

1-6months

7-12months

13-18months

18-24months

20.3

40.3

8.1

17.6

4.88.8

20.7

29.7

16.3 18.3

7.7 7.3

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

1 02-3 4-5 6-10 11 or more

Average 1.9

Average 4.3 monthsAverage 4.9

Talent & Experience

Investment Round


4.2 4.5 6.6 12.4



Less than

KRW 30 million

Between KRW 30

and 50 million

Between KRW 50

and 100 million

No software

developer24

43

178

55

Salary of Software Developers

Type of personnelEquity investors

• The average salary among software developers was found to be KRW 40.47 million. Developers receiving salaries between KRW 30 and 50 million accounted for the largest proportion, at 59.3%, while 18.3% received less than KRW 30 million.

• On average, companies had two female personnel, 0.4 telecommuters, and 0.4 foreigners. • Among the surveyed companies, 35.7% had no female personnel; 79.7% had no

telecommuters, and 81.3% had no foreigners.• When comparing companies by investment round, the number of female personnel

at companies increased from the Pre-Seed to Series B round. In terms of telecommuters, Seed round companies had the fewest, while Series B round and later companies had the most.

•�The average number of equity investors was 0.9, and the average number of employees holding shares was 1.7. Overall, 65.3% of companies had no equity investors, while 42.0% had no employees with shares.

•�When comparing companies by investment round, the number of employees holding shares increased from the Pre-Seed to Series B round. The number of financial advisors was the smallest in the Pre-Seed round and decreased continuously through the Seed and Series B rounds.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the average salary of software developers rose by KRW 7.47 million, from KRW 33 million in 2016 to KRW 40.47 million. In particular, the number of software developers with salaries less than KRW 30 million was found to have decreased by 13.9%p.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the average number of female members at startups fell by 0.3, from 2.3 in 2016 to 2.0. The number of companies with no female members at all increased by 2.8%p.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the number of companies with no equity investors or employees holding shares decreased only marginally.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the average number of telecommuters fell by 0.1, from 0.5 in 2016 to 0.4. The number of companies with no telecommuters at all was found to have increased by 9.2%p.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the average number of foreigners increased by 0.1, from 0.4 in 2016 to 0.5. The number of companies with no foreigners at all fell by 2.4%p.

Category




No software developer

Total

55

178

43

24

300

18.3

59.3

14.3

8.0

100

NationwideNo. of

startups %

Annual stats

Annual statsAnnual stats


32.2

55.8

11.60.4

18.3

59.3

14.3 8.0

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)




more Than100 million

No softwaredeveloper

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

1 2 3 4 More than 5 0

27.822.0

16.615.07.8

12.04.7

10.2 9.7

32.9 35.7

Unit: %2016(n=295)

2017(n=300)

1 2 3 4 More than 5

0

18.6

12.2

4.4

2.7

3.1

59.0

18.3

8.7

2.7

1.7 3.3

65.3

16.9

21

.0

12.5

9.2

9.2

31.2

23.0

16.7

12.7

4.0

1.7

42.0

단위 : %2016(n=295)

2017(n=300)

1 2 3 4 More than 5

0

17.37.5 2.7 1.0 1.0

70.579.7

13.34.0 1.7 0.3 1.0

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

1 2 3 4 More than 5 0

12.91.4 0.7 0.3

83.7 81.3

1.011.7

4.3 1.7 1.0

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

1 2 3 4 More than 5 0

Average KRW 40.47 million

Proportion of companies employing more than one person

Proportion of companies employing more than one person

64.3% 20.3%

34.7% 58.0%

18.7%

2.3

2.0

Average in 2016

Average in 2017

0.5

0.4

Average in 2016

Average in 2017

0.3

0.4

Average in 2016

Average in 2017

Category

Category0

1

2

3

4

More than 5

Total

Average

0

1

2

3

4

More than 5

Total

Average

107

66

45

36

17

29

300

196

55

26

8

5

10

3002.00.9

0.41.7

0.4

239

40

12

5

1

3

300

126

69

50

38

12

5

300

244

35

13

5

-

3

300

35.7

22.0

15.0

12.0

5.7

9.7

100

65.3

18.3

8.7

2.7

1.7

3.3

100

79.7

13.3

4.0

1.7

0.3

1.0

100

42.0

23.0

16.7

12.7

4.0

1.7

100

81.3

11.7

4.3

1.7

-

1.0

100

Female personnel

Financial advisor

Telecommuters

No. of employees with shares

Foreigners

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

%

%

%

%

%

Investment Round Investment

Round

Pre SeedPre Seed

SeedSeed

Series ASeries A

Series BSeries BFemale

personnelFinancial advisor

Female personnel

Financial advisor

Female personnel

Financial advisor

Female personnel

Financial advisor1.7

0.3명1.8

2.5명3.4

1.4명3.7

0.9명

TelecommutersEmployees with shares



TelecommutersEmployees with shares0.4

1.1명0.2

1.8명0.3

2.9명1.3

6.1명

Female personnel

ForeignersTelecommuters

Financial advisor No. of employees with shares



Currently offering Currently not offering

70

230

23.3% 76.7%

Currently offering Currently not offering

233

6777.7% 22.3%

Offering of or Intention to Offer Stock Option

• The research showed that 23.3% of companies offered their employees stock option incentives, and 76.7% were planning to offer stock option incentives.• When comparing companies by investment round, the number of companies offering stock option incentives increased from the Pre-Seed to Series B round. However, the

number of those planning to offer stock option incentives rose from the Pre-Seed to Series A round but fell from the Series B round and after.

Intention to offer stock option incentivesOffering of stock option incentives

Investment Round

Investment Round

Investment Round

��Currently offering ��Intention to offer stock option incentives

Pre Seed

Pre SeedPre Seed

Seed

SeedSeed

Series A

Series ASeries A

Series B

Series BSeries B

5%

71.9%14.8%

25%, 100%

91.5%32.2%

100%

90.3%48.4%

1%, 100%

7.4%50.0%

Ratio of Stock Options to Salary Offered to Employees

Unit: %2016(n=737) 2017(n=818)

Self-financing (own funds)

Technology guarantee funds

or credit guarantee funds

Central government or government ministries

Angel investors

or accelerators

Family members

or acquaintances

Banks or non-bank financial

institutions

Venture capital(VC)

Local governments

Other companies

Crowdfunding

19.917.2 17.0

13.0 10.33.4

8.3 6.5 5.6 3.9 1.4

21.9 20.914.3

9.0 8.6 7.2 6.23.4 2.0

75 4

1

9

1

12

1 13

52 2 1

10

1 14

1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 8% 10% 12% 15% 20% 25% 30% 50% 75% 100% 130% 150% 200%

10.0

%

12.9

%

17.1

%

14.3

%

•�Looking at the ratio of stock options to salary offered to employees, it was found that the largest proportion of companies, or about 17.1%, offered a 10% ratio, while 14.3% offered a 100% ratio. Furthermore, 55.7% companies offered a ratio of less than 10%, while 22.9 percent offered one more than 100%.• When comparing companies by investment round, the majority of companies in the Pre-Seed round offered a ratio of 5%, while that figure was 25% in the Seed round, 100% in

the Series A round; and 1% and 100% in the Series B round.

Average 39.0%

Funding

16

28

51

53

59

70

74

117

171

179Self-financing (own funds)

Technology guarantee funds orcredit guarantee funds

Central government orgovernment ministries

Family members oracquaintances

Banks or non-bankfinancial institutions

Venture capital (VC)

Local governments

Other companies

Crowdfunding

Angel investors or accelerators

Business Financing

• The largest proportion of startups, about 21.9%, were self-financed, while 20.9% were funded by technology guarantee funds or credit guarantee funds and 14.3% were funded by the central government or government ministries.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the number of startups that were self-funded (own funds) or funded by technology guarantee funds, credit guarantee funds, banks, or non-bank financial institutions increased slightly, while the number of startups funded by the central or local governments, angel investors or accelerators, family members or acquaintances, or venture capital decreased.

Category


Technology guarantee funds or credit guarantee funds



Family members or acquaintances

Banks or non-bank financial institutions


Local governments

Other companies

Crowdfunding

Total

179

171

117

74

70

59

53

51

28

16

818

21.9

20.9

14.3

9.0

8.6

7.2

6.5

6.2

3.4

2.0

100

Nationwide

No. of startups %

Annual stats





투자 단계별 기업 수 Desired Amount of Initial Investment

Current Difficulties Attracting InvestmentDesired Investors for Pre-Seed Round

Pre Seed Round

Seed Round

Series A

Series B or later

Exit

14

31

59

196

3336

1114

252931

Venture capital(VC)

Central governmentor government ministries

Technology guarantee fundsor credit guarantee funds

Other companies

Self-financing(own funds)

Crowdfunding

Angel investorsor accelerators

Banks or non-bankfinancial institutions

Family or acquaintances

• Financing stages were divided into: Pre-seed Round, Seed Round, Series A, Series B or later, and Exit. Startups in the Pre-seed Round accounted for 65.3%; followed by those in the Seed Round, at 19.7%; Series A, at 10.3%; Series B or later, at 4.7%.

• The largest number of startups in the Pre-Seed round (24.8%) hoped to attract funds from angel investors or accelerators, followed by VCs (22.2%). In addition, 20.0% of startups hoped to attract funding from the central government or government ministries.

•�The proportion of startups in the Pre-Seed round has increased significantly, while the proportions of startups in the Seed, Series A, and Series B rounds have all decreased.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the proportion of startups that wish to receive funding from the central or local governments increased by 5.5%p.

Category

Category

Pre Seed Round

Seed Round

Series A

Series B or later

Exit

Total




Technology guarantee funds or credit guarantee funds

Other companies

Crowdfunding


Banks or non-bank financial institutions

Family or acquaintances

Total

196

59

31

14

-

300

31292514116333

125

65.3

19.7

10.3

4.7

-

100

24.823.220.011.28.84.82.42.42.4100

Nationwide

Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

%

%

Annual stats

Annual stats

53.9

31.5

11.91.7 1.0

65.3

19.710.3 4.7

Unit: %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Pre Seed Round Seed Round Series A Series B or later Exit

25.2

25.2

14.5

11.9

6.3

2.5 5.

7

0.6 3.

1

3.1

24.8

23.2

20.0

11.2

8.8

4.8

2.4

2.4

2.4

Unit: %2016(n=159) 2017(n=125)

Angelinvestors oraccelerators

Venturecapital(VC)

Centralgovernment

or governmentministries

Technologyguaranteefunds

or creditguaranteefunds

Othercompanies

Banksor non-bankfinancial

institutions

Localgovernments

Familyor

acquaintances

Crowdfunding

Self-financing

(own funds)

79

32

9

2

3Less than

KRW 10 million

Between KRW 10and 50 million



KRW 300 millionor more

• The average amount of initial funding that startups hoped to attract was KRW 694.73 million. The largest proportion (63.2%) hoped to attract initial funding of more than KRW 300 million, followed by those seeking KRW 100 to 300 million (25.6%).

• The difficulties faced by startups in the Pre-Seed round included: evaluation based on short-term (sales) results, difficulty finding investors, and lack of networks.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the average initial investment that startups hoped to attract increased by KRW 199.28 million, from KRW 495.45 million in 2016 to KRW 694.73 in 2017. Meanwhile, the proportion of startups that hoped to attract an initial investment of over KRW 300 million rose by 21.1%p.

Category





KRW 300 million or more

Total

3

2

9

32

79

125

2.4

1.6

7.2

25.6

63.2

100

NationwideNo. of

startups %

Annual stats

1.9 3.8 8.8

43.4 42.1

2.4 1.6 7.2

25.6

63.2

Unit: %2016(n=159) 2017(n=125)


BetweenKRW 10

and 50 million

BetweenKRW 50

and 100 million

BetweenKRW 100

and 300 million


Average KRW 694.73 million

Investment decisions are based on short-term (sales) results1 Lack of personnel6Difficulty finding investors2 Lack of interest among investors in certain areas7Lack of networks3 Difficulty convincing investors of the profitability

of projects8Not enough opportunities to explain the project4 Necessity of having a near-completed system9Difficulty with investor relations (IR)5 Lack of time10

Pre Seed Round

Pre Seed Round

Pre Seed Round



Most Recent Year in Which Startups Attracted Funding

Amount of Funding Attracted

24

22

9

3

12012

2014

2015

2016

2017

4

10

7

14

15

9Less thanKRW 50 million




BetweenKRW 500 millionand KRW 1 billion


• The largest number of startups had last attracted funding in 2017 (40.7%), followed by those who had done so in 2016 (37.3%).

• The average amount of funding that startups had attracted from angel investors and accelerators was KRW 287.48 million. The largest proportion of companies had received funding in the range of KRW 50 million to 100 million (25.4%), followed by KRW 100 million to 300 million (23.7%), KWR 500 million to KRW 1 billion (16.9%), less than KRW 50 million (15.3%), and KRW 300 million to 500 million (11.9%).

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that a large proportion of startups had last attracted funding in 2017, and that a similar proportion of startups had last attracted funding in 2016.

• The average amount of funding attracted most recently by startups rose by KRW 29.75 million, from KRW 257.73 million . In particular, the proportion of companies that had attracted funding in the range of KRW 500 million to KRW 1 billion rose by 12.6%p.

Category

Category

2012

2014

2015

2016

2017

Total







Total

1

3

9

22

24

59

9

15

14

7

10

4

59

1.7

5.1

15.3

37.3

40.7

100

15.3

25.4

23.7

11.9

16.9

6.8

100

Nationwide

Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

%

%

Annual stats

Annual stats

1.1 2.28.6

54.8

33.3

1.7 5.115.3

37.3 40.7

Unit: %2016(n=93) 2017(n=59)

2012 20142013 2015 2016 2017

25.8

8.6

37.6

12.9

4.310.8

15.3

25.4 23.7

11.916.9

6.8

Unit: %2016(n=93) 2017(n=59)

Less thanKRW

50 million

BetweenKRW 100

and300 million

BetweenKRW 50

and100 million

BetweenKRW 300

and500 million

BetweenKRW

500 millionand

KRW 1 billion

KRW1 billionor more

Desire to Attract Investment from VC Firms in the Seed Round

Difficulties Attracting Investment from Venture Capital Firms (VCs)

14

45Yes

No

• Among the respondent startups, % hoped to attract their next round of funding from VC firms.

• The difficulties faced by startups in attracting investment included: evaluation based on short-term (sales) results, difficulty making value estimations for projects, and difficulty convincing VCs of the profitability of projects.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the proportion of startups that wished to attract funding from venture capital firms decreased by 11.9%p.

Category

Yes

No

Total

45

14

59

76.3

23.7

100

Nationwide

No. of startups %

Annual stats

88.2

11.8

76.3

23.7

Unit: %2016(n=93) 2017(n=59)

Yes No

Investment decisions are based on short-term (sales) results1 Not enough opportunities to explain projects6Difficulty making value estimations2 Difficulty with investor relations7Difficulty convincing VCs of the profitability of projects3 Projects are in areas with which VCs are unfamiliar8Difficulty finding investors4 Lack of VCs’ capacity to verify the technology9Difficulty proving profit model5 Lack of VCs’ capacity to provide consulting on

technology commercialization10

Seed Round

Seed Round

Seed Round

Seed Round



Round Total Investment Attracted from VC Firms

Estimated Value of Startups at Initial Investment Stage

5

7

8

6

5Less than

KRW 100 million



Between KRW 1and 3 billion


13

4

6

8Less than

KRW 500 million

BetweenKRW

1 and 3 billion

BetweenKRW

3 and 5 billion

KRW5 billionor more

• The total investment that Series A startups attracted from VCs was KRW 1.53387 billion. The largest proportion of startups attracted funding in the range of KRW 500 million to KRW 1 billion (25.8%), followed by KRW 1 billion to 3 billion (22.6%), and KRW 100 million to 500 million (19.4%).

•�At the time of initial investment, the average value of startups was KRW 4.23871 billion. Overall, 41.9% of startups were valued at over KRW 5 billion, accounting for the largest proportion, followed by 25.8% of startups that were valued at less than KRW 500 million.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the average amount of funding startups attracted from VCs increased by KRW 5.59 million, from KRW 1.52828 billion in 2016 to about KRW 1.5336 billion in 2017. The number of firms receiving small investments under KRW 100 million and the number receiving large-scale investments over KRW 3 billion both increased.

• Compared to the results of the 2016 study, the average value of startups at the time of initial investment decreased by KRW 336.11 million, from KRW 4.57482 billion . The proportion of startups that were valued at less than KRW 500 million at the time they attracted their initial investment rose by 22.9%p.

Category

Category




Between KRW 1 and 3 billion


Total





Total

5

6

8

7

5

31

8

6

4

13

31

16.1

19.4

25.8

22.6

16.1

100

25.8

19.4

12.9

41.9

100

Nationwide

Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

%

%

Annual stats

Annual stats

5.714.3

25.7

40.0

14.316.1 19.425.8 22.6

16.1

Unit: %2016(n=35) 2017(n=31)

Less thanKRW

100 million

BetweenKRW 100

and500 million

BetweenKRW

500 millionand

KRW 1 billion

BetweenKRW 1

and 3 billion


2.9 2.9

31.422.9

40.0

25.819.4

12.9

41.9

Unit: %2016(n=35) 2017(n=31)

Less thanKRW

500 million

BetweenKRW

500 millionand

KRW 1 billion

BetweenKRW 1

and 3 billion

BetweenKRW 3

and 5 billion


Average KRW 1.53387 billion


CEOs’ Share Acquisition Rate

Current Difficulties Attracting Investment

• The difficulties faced by startups in attracting investment included: evaluation based on short-term (sales) results, difficulty making value estimations, and difficulty finding investors.

Annual stats

Investment decisions are based on short-term (sales) results1 Investments are made in the form of venture

capital loansOthers

Difficulty making value estimations2 Necessity of preparing for performance management

Difficulty finding investors3 Necessity of preparing for future growth

Difficulty waiting to attract investment4 Difficulty finding proper region for investment evaluation

Difficulty attracting the interest of investors5 Rapid exhaustion of funds

2

5

6

7

4

7-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-99%

100%

• Based on respondent startups’ answers to the question about what percentage of shares were acquired by their CEOs when attracting their initial investment, it was found that CEOs acquired an average of 53.2% of their companies’ shares.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the average proportion of shares acquired by startups’ CEOs decreased by 2.4%p, from 55.6% . Also, the proportion of CEOs who acquired between 41% and 60% of shares decreased by 26.0%p.

Category

-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-99%

100%

계

7

4

7

6

5

2

31

22.6

12.9

22.6

19.4

16.1

6.5

100

Nationwide

No. of startups %

8.617.1

48.6

11.4 11.42.9

22.612.9

22.6 19.4 16.16.5

Unit: %2016(n=35) 2017(n=31)

-20% 21-40% 41-60% 61-80% 81-99% 100%

Average 53.2%

Series A Round

Series A Round

Series A Round

Series A Round



Size of Follow-up Investment Attracted from Venture Capital Firms

Value Estimation at the Time of Investment Attraction

3

6

1

1

3Less thanKRW 100 million

BetweenKRW 100

and 500 million


BetweenKRW 1

and 3 billion


8

1

5Less than

KRW 500 million

Between KRW100 and 500

million


• Startups in the Series B or later rounds attracted an average of KRW 2.83923 billion from VCs, with the largest proportion of them attracting funding between KRW 1 billion and 3 billion (42.9%).

• The estimated value of startups was KRW 8.59893 billion, with 57.1% of startups being valued at over KRW 5 billion.

• The sample surveyed in 2016 consisted of five startups. The average follow-up investment amount decreased by KRW 1.09 billion, from KRW 3.93 billion in 2016 to KRW 2.84 billion in 2017.

* A sample size of less than 30 requires careful interpretation.

•�The sample surveyed in 2016 consisted of five startups. The average estimated value of startups at the time of investment attraction increased by KRW 2.48 billion, from KRW 6.12 billion .


Category

Category






KRW 500 million or more

Total



Total

3

1

1

6

3

14

5

1

8

14

21.4

7.1

7.1

42.9

21.4

100

35.7

7.1

57.1

100

Nationwide

Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

%

%

Annual stats

Annual stats

39.3

28.4

Unit: %2016(n=5) 2017(n=14)

Average

61.2

86.0

Unit: %2016(n=5) 2017(n=14)

Average



CEOs’ Share Acquisition Rate

Current Difficulties Attracting Investment

• The difficulties faced by startups in attracting investment included: difficulty with everything, difficulty making value estimations, and lack of information on attracting investment.

Annual stats

Other “Difficulty with everything”

“Difficulty making value estimations”

“Lack of information on attracting investment”

“Difficulty attracting the interest of investors”

“Lack of interest in certain industries among investors”

“Difficulty finding investors”

“Inadequate investment in manufacturing”

“Insufficient funding power among Korean VCs”

“Difficulty proving profit model”

“Difficulty translating belief in technology into profits”

1

2

4

7-20%

41-60%

61-80%

100%

• The average share acquisition rate of CEOs of startups in the Series B or later rounds was 36.9%. For the largest proportion of startups (50%), the proportion of shares acquired by CEOs was less than 20%.

• Compared to the results of the 2016 study, the proportion of shares acquired by CEOs decreased by 3.7%p, from 40.6% .


Category

-20%

41-60%

61-80%

100%

Total

7

4

2

1

14

50.0

28.6

14.3

7.1

100

NationwideNo. of

startups %40.6

36.9

Unit: %2016(n=5) 2017(n=14)

Average

Average 36.9%

Series B Round or Later


Series B Round or later



Analysis of Korean StartupsMarket Reach

35

122

143Development and

provision of services

Development of

physical products

Product development

and service provision

75

225Yes

No

44

26

76

791

2

3

4 or more

Startup Business Types

Launches of Products and Services

Products/Services language

English resources

• The largest number of startups were dedicated to the development and provision of services, accounting for 47.7%. While the startups that both developed physical products and provided services accounted for 40.7%, only 11.7% of startups focused solely on the development of physical products.

• Startups that had already launched their products or services accounted for 75.0% of all respondent startups, while 25.0% were in the process of preparing to launch.• When comparing companies in terms of product release rate by investment round,

the product release rate increased from the Pre-Seed to Series A round but dipped slightly in the Series B and later rounds.

• Most products and services were launched in one language, accounting for 35.1%, followed by two languages (33.8%) and four or more languages (19.6%).

• When comparing companies in terms of product or service languages by investment round, the number of languages rose from the Pre-Seed to Series A round but fell in the Series B and later rounds.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the proportion of the “development of physical products” increased by 6.6%p.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study reveals that the product and service release rate increased by 7.2%p in 2017.

• Compared to the results of the 2016 study, the number of companies providing their services in one language has decreased, while the number of those providing their services in two to four languages has increased.

Category

Category

Category

Development and

provision of services

Product development

and service provision

Development of

physical products

Total

Yes

No

Total

1

2

3

4 or more

Total

143

122

35

300

225

75

300

79

76

26

44

225

47.7

40.7

11.7

100

75.0

25.0

100

35.1

33.8

11.6

19.6

100

Nationwide

Nationwide

Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups%

%

%

Annual stats

Annual stats

Annual stats

53.6

41.4

5.1

47.740.7

11.7

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Development andprovision of services

Development ofphysical products

Product developmentand service provision

67.8

32.2

75.0

25.0

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Yes No

48.0

28.0

12.0 12.0

35.1 33.8

11.619.6

Unit : % 2016(n=200) 2017(n=225)

1 2 3 4 or more

Investment Round

Investment Round

Pre Seed

Pre Seed

Seed

Seed

Series A

Series A

Series B

Series B

69.9%

1

81.4%

2

90.3%

4 or more

85.7%

2

Rate of product release


184 162

92 71 68 68 4616 3 2 2

Company profile Homepage Proposal New about product

N/A(Not applicable)

Marketing sales plan

Press kit Products catalog

Products/Services

Video promotion

Mobile app

• The largest proportion of documents and information created by startups in English was company information, accounting for 25.8% of the total, followed by webpages (22.7%), proposals (12.8%), and product-related news (9.9%).

Category

No. of startups

%

Company profile

184

25.8

Homepage ProposalNew about

productN/A(Not

applicable)Marketing sales plan

Press kitProducts catalog

Products/Services

Video promotion

Mobile app Total

162

22.7

92

12.8

71

9.9

68

9.5

68

9.5

46

6.4

16

2.2

3

0.4

2

0.3

2

0.3

714

100



54

246Yes

No

39

43

53

111Less than 6 monthssince founding

Between6 months and 1 year

Between1 and 2 years

2 years or more

48

28

26

42

102Less than

100 million

Between KRW100 and 300 million

Between KRW300 and 500 million


Between KRW500 million andKRW 1 billion

Sales Results

Time to First Sale

Amount of sales in the previous year

• Of the startups that responded, 82.0% had made actual sales.

• The majority of startups, accounting for 45.1%, had made their first sale within six months of founding, followed by between six months and one year (21.5%), between one and two years (17.5%), and two years or more (15.9%).• When comparing companies by investment round, a large proportion of companies

answered that it had taken them two years or more after reaching their Series B round to make their first sale.

• The largest proportion of startups made less than KRW 100 million in sales in the previous year (2016), accounting for 41.5%, followed by startups that made over KRW 1 billion (19.5%) and between KRW 100 and 300 million (17.1%).

• When comparing companies by investment round, the amount of sales in 2016 increased from the Pre-Seed to Series A round but fell in the Series B and later rounds.

• Compared to the results of the 2016 study, the proportion of startups earning sales revenue increased by 12.5%p in 2017.

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the proportion of startups that made their first sale two years or more after founding increased by 9.6%p.

• A comparison of the sales figures by year shows that there was an increase of over KRW 1 billion from 2016 to 2017.

Category

Category

Category

Yes

No

Total

Less than 6 months since founding

Between 6 months and 1 year

Between 1 and 2 years

2 years or more

Total

Less than 100 million





Total

246

54

300

111

53

43

39

246

102

42

26

28

48

246

82.0

18.0

100

45.1

21.5

17.5

15.9

100

41.5

17.1

10.6

11.4

19.5

100

Nationwide

Nationwide

NationwideNo. of

startups

No. of startups

No. of startups%

%

%

Annual stats

Annual stats

Annual stats

69.5

30.5

82.0

18.0

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Yes No

51.2

24.418.0

6.3

45.1

21.5 17.5 15.9

Unit : %2016(n=205) 2017(n=246)

Less than 6 monthssince founding

2 years or moreBetween 6 monthsand 1 year

Between1 and 2 years

33.3

20.214.4 13.7

18.3

46.8

25.8

9.5 6.811.4 11.1

41.5

17.110.6

19.5

Unit : %2016(n=190)2015(n=540) 2017(n=246)

Less than100 million




KRW1 billionor more

Investment Round

Investment Round

Pre Seed

Pre Seed

Seed

Seed

Series A

Series A

Series B

Series B

Less than 6 months

KRW 740.855 million

Less than 6 months

KRW 418.312 million

Less than 6 months

KRW 2.04496 billion

Less than 6 months,

2 years or more

KRW 462.083 million

Comparison of patents with the previous year

•�Compared to the results of the 2016 study, the number of patents registered increased by 1.9, from 0.9 in 2016 (2015) to 2.8 in 2017. Also, the number of patent applications increased by 2.0.

23 32

9 3

233

40 76

19 16

149

Unit : %2015

2016

1 2-5 6-9 10 0

44

78

13 13

152

32

79

19 23

147

Unit : %2015

2016

1 2-5 6-9 10 0

Category

0

1

2-5

6-9

10 or more

Total

Average

233

23

32

9

3

300

0.9 2.8 1.0 3.0

77.7

7.7

10.7

3.0

1.0

100

149

40

76

19

16

300

49.7

13.3

25.3

6.3

5.3

100

152

44

78

13

13

300

50.7

14.7

26.0

4.3

4.3

100

147

32

79

19

23

300

49.0

10.7

26.3

6.3

7.7

100

Patent registration Patent application

2015

No. of startups % No. of

startups % No. of startups % No. of

startups %

20152016 2016

Patent registration Patent application



Patent Designs Rights Retained

Trademark rights

Utility models

•�An analysis of the patents held by startups reveals that startups had an average of 2.2 patents registered in Korea, 0.7 patents registered overseas, 2.1 patent applications filed in Korea, and 0.9 patent applications filed overseas. Companies that had no patents registered in Korea accounted for 50.7%; no patents registered overseas, for 85.7%; no patent applications filed in Korea, for 52.3%; and no patent applications filed overseas, for 77.7%.

•�An analysis of startups in terms of intellectual property rights for product designs shows that startups held the intellectual property rights for an average of 0.4 product designs in Korea and 0.1 product designs overseas. Companies that had no intellectual property rights for product designs in Korea accounted for 85.0%, while those with no intellectual property rights for product designs overseas accounted for 96.0%.

•�An analysis of startups in terms of trademarks reveals that startups had an average of 1.1 domestic trademarks and 0.3 overseas trademarks. Companies that had no domestic trademarks accounted for 60.0%, while those that had no overseas trademarks accounted for 86.0%.

•�An analysis of startups in terms of utility models reveals that startups had an average of 2.2 domestic utility models and 0.7 overseas utility models. Companies that had no domestic utility models accounted for 93.3%, while those that had no overseas utility models accounted for 97.3%.

Category

Category

Category

0

1

2-5

6-9

10 or more

Total

Average

0

1

2-5

6-9

10 or more

Total

Average

0

1

2-5

6-9

10 or more

Total

Average

152

44

78

13

13

300

255

22

20

2

1

300

180

50

56

10

4

300

2.2

0.4

1.1

0.7 2.1

0.1

0.3

0.9

50.7

14.7

26.0

4.3

4.3

100

257

19

19

1

4

300

85.7

6.3

6.3

0.3

1.3

100

85.0

7.3

6.7

0.7

0.3

100

60.0

16.7

18.7

3.3

1.3

100

157

50

63

15

15

300

288

7

5

-

-

300

258

18

22

2

-

300

52.3

16.7

21.0

5.0

5.0

100

233

21

35

5

6

300

77.7

7.0

11.7

1.7

2.0

100

96.0

2.3

1.7

-

-

100

86.0

6.0

7.3

0.7

-

100

Patent registration

Domesic

Domesic

Patent application

Overseas

Overseas

Domesic

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

% No. of startups %

%

%

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

% No. of startups %

%

%

DomesicOverseas Overseas

Category

0

1

2-5

10 or more

Total

Average

280

15

4

1

300

2.2 0.7

292

6

1

1

300

93.3

5.0

1.3

0.3

100

97.3

2.0

0.3

0.3

100

Domesic Overseas

No. of startups No. of startups% %

6 1 1

292

1 2-5 10 or more 0

15 4 11 2-5 10 or more 0

280

4478

13 13

152

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

22 202 1

255

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

50 5610 4

180

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

Patent registration(Domesic)

Designs(Domestic)

Trademark rights(Domestic)

19 19 1 4

257

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

Patent registration(Overseas)

50 6315 15

157

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

7 50 0

288

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

18 222 0

258

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

Patent application(Domesic)

Designs(Oversea)

Trademark rights(Overseas)

21 35 5 6

233

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

Patent application(Overseas)

Utility models(Overseas)Utility models(Domestic)



23.7 23.1

2.8 6.1

41.4

13.325.3

6.3 5.3

49.7

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

2012 2013 20143 Monthaverage

Seoul Gyeonggi Province Total average

14.4% 9.6%16.3%16.8%

7.3%13.8%

3.6%

6.5% 1.7%9.2%

7.8%10.6%

3.1%

15.5%

8.1%

-1.8%3.5%

2.9%

9.8%

16.0%13.7%

3.7%11.6% 8.2%



5.4 5.1 1.4 0.7

86.4

6.3 8 1 0.7

84.0

2016(n=295) 2017(n=300) Unit : %

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

5.4 1.7

92.9

4 3 0.3

92.7

2016(n=295) 2017(n=300) Unit : %

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

12.1% 5.8% 7.8%1.3%

-7.7% -7.0%

-20.8%-15.7%

-18.1%

-2.5%-5.9% -5.8%



8.5% 6.0% 10.7%

27.5%

32.4%30.7%

-0.4% 5.2% 0.3%

11.8%14.5%

13.9%



22.0 26.4

1.7 2.0

48.1

12.321.3

5 2.7

58.7

2016(n=295) 2017(n=300) Unit : %

1 2-5 6-9 10 or more 0

Intellectual Property Rights Retained

Patents

Patents

Design

Design

Utility models

Utility models

Trademark rights

Trademark rights

2.9

2.8

Average in 2016

Average in 2017

10.6%

200.0%

Growth Rate of Startups in 2017

Average Growth Rate of Startups over Three Years

8.2%

66.7%



-5.8%

200.0%



0.3

0.5

Average in 2016

Average in 2017

0.1

0.3

Average in 2016

Average in 2017

13.9%

0.0%



1.4

1.4

Average in 2016

Average in 2017

Annual stats

High growth rate

High growth rate

High growth rate

Unit : Number of intellectual property rights

Annual stats

Annual stats

Annual stats

Comparison of the Growth Rate of Registered Intellectual Property Rights

•�Compared to the statistics from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (for 2012 to 2014), the registered patent, registered utility model, and registered product design growth rates were found to have increased.

Category

Seoul 25,150 29,369 28,315 1,636 1,657 1,312 15,537 15,251 16,741 31,697 40,398 40,225

Gyeonggi Province 24,761 26,558 28,275 2,066 1,907 1,607 13,923 14,407 16,705 12,418 16,436 17,294

Total 84,061 95,667 97,294 6,151 5,718 4,682 42,628 43,866 49,856 61,505 80,372 80,645

Patents Utility models Design Trademark rights

2013 2013 2013 20132014 2014 2014 20142012 2012 2012 2012

*source Korean Intellectual Property Office



Startups with Intellectual Property Rights by Investment Round

2015 Patent registration (Total) 0.6 1.2 0.7 4.0

2016 Patent registration (Domestic) 1.3 2.8 4.7 5.6

2016 Patent registration (Overseas) 0.2 1.0 3.0 0.6

2015 Patent application (Total) 0.5 1.4 1.1 5.0

2016 Patent application (Domestic) 1.3 2.6 3.3 7.6

2016 Patent application (Overseas) 0.4 1.4 1.8 2.6

2016 Trademark rights (Domestic) 0.7 1.4 1.9 2.9

2016 Trademark rights (Overseas) 0.2 0.5 0.6 1.1


Plan for overseas expansion notmentioned in

investment proposal

Plan for overseasexpansion mentionedin investment proposal

but not prepared

Currently preparing foroverseas expansion

Launchedproducts/services inoverseas market and

reported sale

Launchedproducts/services inoverseas market butcurrently lacks sales

63

24

110

59

44

Overseas Expansion

•An analysis of overseas expansion by Korean startups revealed that 29.0% of startups have advanced into overseas markets, and 21.0% have achieved sales.

• When comparing companies by investment round, the number of intellectual property rights held by startups increased from the Pre-Seed to the Series B and later rounds.

• An annual comparison of companies in terms of global market entry shows that the proportion of startups that have successfully completed their entry into the global market has increased remarkably.

Category

Plan for overseas expansion not mentioned in investment

proposal

Plan for overseas expansion mentioned in investment proposal but not prepared

Currently preparing for overseas expansion

Launched products/services in overseas market but

currently lacks sales

Launched products/services in overseas market and

reported sale

Total

44

59

110

24

63

300

14.7

19.7

36.7

8.0

21.0

100

Nationwide

No. of startups %

Annual stats

14.7

62.8

22.521.4

66.1

12.5

29.0

56.4

14.7

Unit : %2016(n=295)2015(n=707) 2017(n=300)

Launched products/services inoverseas market

Preparing foroverseas expansion

No plan

Target and Preferred Countries for Overseas Expansion

•�Among the startups preparing to expand overseas, the majority expressed a preference for expansion into North America (25.3%), followed by China (19.4%) and Southeast Asia (18.9%). On the other hand, North America was the most popular target country among startups that had already expanded overseas, with 25.7% of startups having established a presence in the North American market, followed by the Japanese market (16.8%) and Southeast Asia market (17.3%).

•�Other target regions and countries included the Middle East, Taiwan, South America, and Uzbekistan.

• The results of the 2015 study showed that startups expressed a preference for expansion into North America, including the United States and Canada, as well as China and Southeast Asia, while the 2016 study showed that startups expressed a greater preference for China, North America, and Japan. This shows that the desire of startups to expand into North America and China has remained strong.

Category

98 25.3 49 25.7 China 75 19.4 26 13.6

Southeast Asia 73 18.9 32 16.8

Japan 59 15.2 33 17.3 Europe 50 12.9 23 12.0 India 14 3.6 10 5.2 Southwest Asia 11 2.8 9 4.7 Others 7 1.8 9 4.7 Total 387 100 191 100

North America (U.S. and Canada)

Preferred country for overseas expansion

Country to which startups have already expanded

No. of startups No. of startups% %

Difficulties in overseas expansion

• The greatest difficulty faced by startups in expanding overseas was found to be securing sufficient funding, followed by the difficulty finding professional personnel and the language barrier.

“Difficulty securing sufficient funding”1 “Difficulty creating networks”6“Difficulty finding professional personnel”2 “Difficulty finding partners”7“Language barrier”3 “Difficulty finding new distribution channels,

customers, and markets”8“Lack of information on the local region and market”4 “Difficulty finding buyers”9“Marketing difficulties”5 “Difficulty receiving certification for products”10

2015

2016

2017





China

China

China

Japan

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia



No one

Onlyfounder

Less than5 people

5 peopleor more 12

129

46

113

67

40

59

6728.8%

25.3%

17.2%

28.8%

Less than1-10 hours

Between10 and 20 hours

Between20 and 30 hours

30 hoursor more

67

23377.7%

22.3%

Yes

No

Facebook

YouTube

Instagram

Linkedin

Twitter

Google Adwords

Google Plus

reddit

Tencent Weibo

Others

N/A(Not applicable) 70389

1736

4761

96108

195

4

2

4

9

11

19

22

38

78

113Technical skills

Expertise

Network

Human resources

Design

Global experience

Brand

Funds-flow

Others

Products/Servicesplanning ability

Employees with two or more years of overseas experience Activities to Reach Target Customers

Social media sites used by startups for marketing and promotional purposes

Sales strategy and strength

• Startups that employed workers with two or more years of experience overseas accounted for 62.3% of the total, with the largest proportion of those having less than five such employees (43.0%). Startups no employees with overseas experience accounted for 37.7%.• When comparing companies by investment round, the Pre-Seed round had the largest number of startups with no employees with two or more years of experience overseas.

• Startups that were conducting activities to reach their target customers accounted for 77.7%. Among them, 28.8% spent either a relatively short amount of time, from 1 to 10 hours, on marketing or spent over 30 hours focusing on related activities. By type of activity, startups focused most on their website (28.5%), followed by viral marketing (15.8%), exhibitions and expos (14.0%), and conferences and other networking events (8.9%).

• When comparing companies by investment round, startups in Pre-Seed round spent an average of 20.6 hours; Seed round startups spent 17.5 hours; Series A startups spent 35.1 hours; startups in Series B and later rounds spent 23.4 hours.

•�An examination of the social media sites used by startups for marketing and promotion purposes shows that the largest proportion of startups used Facebook, accounting for 28.5%, followed by YouTube (15.8%), Instagram (14.0%), and LinkedIn (8.9%). Startups that did not use social media at all accounted for 10.2%.

•�When asked about the main sales strategies or advantages of their products and services, the largest number of startups answered that their technical skills were their greatest strength (37.7%), followed by product/service planning ability (26.0%) and expertise (12.7%).

Investment Round

Investment Round

Pre Seed

Pre Seed

Seed

Seed

Series A

Series A

Series B

Series B

No one

20.6

Only founder

17.5

Less than 5 people

35.1

5 people or more

23.4

Category

Category

Category

Category

No one

Only founder

Less than 5 people

5 people or more

Total

Facebook

YouTube

Instagram

Linkedin

Twitter

Google Adwords

Google Plus

reddit

Tencent Weibo

Others

N/A(Not applicable)

Total

Technical skills

Products/Services planning ability

Expertise

Network

Human resources

Design

Global experience

Brand

Funds-flow

Others

Total

Homepage

Viral marketing

Exhibition/Exposition

Conference

News article

Video(Youtube), Podcast

Portal site

Event

ebook, Newsletter

Public beneficial activities

Others

Total

113

46

129

12

300

195

108

96

61

47

36

17

9

8

3

70

684

113

78

38

22

19

11

9

4

2

4

300

195

108

96

61

47

36

17

9

8

3

70

864

37.7

15.3

43.0

4.0

100

28.5

15.8

14.0

8.9

6.9

5.3

2.5

1.3

1.2

1.3

10.2

100

37.7

26.0

12.7

7.3

6.3

3.7

3.0

1.3

0.7

1.3

100

28.5

15.8

14.0

8.9

6.9

5.3

2.5

1.3

1.2

0.3

10.2

100

Nationwide

Nationwide

Nationwide

Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups

No. of startups%

%

%

%

Naver, Pinterest, Blog, Snapchat, TumblrOthers

Utility models(Overseas)Utility models(Domestic)



230

70

Yes No

Awareness of Competitors

•�To the question about their awareness of potential competition in the markets they wish to enter, 76.7% of startups answered that they are aware of their potential competition.

Category

Yes

No

Total

230

70

30

76.7

23.3

100

Nationwide

No. of startups %

Supporter & Policy Maker insights

Excellent

Inadequate

178

122

Centralgovernment

VC firms andother investors

Localgovernments

Conglomerates

Others

190

52

23

7

28

Assessment of the Korean Startup Environment

Stakeholders Making Large Contributions to the Fostering of Startups

• When asked for their opinion on the startup environment in Korea, 59.3% of respondent startups answered “excellent.”

• Of the respondent startups, 63.3% answered that the central government was the stakeholder that has made the largest contribution to the fostering of startups, followed by VC firms and other investors (17.3%).

• A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the assessment of the Korean startup environment was unchanged.

• Compared to the results of the 2016 study, the proportion of startups that positively assessed the contribution of the central government to fostering startups increased by 10.1%p, while those that positively assessed the contribution of VCs and other investors decreased by 15.9%p. The proportion of startups that positively assessed the contribution of local governments rose by 4.0%p.

Category

Category

Excellent

Inadequate

Total

Central government

VC firms and other investors

Local governments

Conglomerates

Others

Total

178

122

300

190

52

23

7

28

300

59.3

40.7

100.0

63.3

17.3

7.7

2.3

9.3

100

Nationwide

Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups

%

%

Annual stats

Annual stats

59.3

40.7

59.3

40.7

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Excellent Inadequate

53.2

33.2

3.7 1.48.5

63.3

17.37.7 2.3

9.3

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Centralgovernment

Localgovernments

Conglomerates OthersVC firms andother investors



Assessment of the Central Government’s and Local Governments’ Support Policies for Korean Startups

*Satisfied(Very satisfied + Satisfied)

• Regarding the startup support policies implemented by the central government (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Small and Medium Business Association, etc.), 37.0% of startups viewed them positively, while 34.5% answered positively for the policies implemented by local governments.• When comparing companies by investment round, the majority of startups that were satisfied with the central government’s support policy were in the Series B or later rounds,

while the majority of those satisfied with local governments’ support policies were in the Seed round.

2227

134

78

18 26

41

122

95

16

Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Very dissatisfiedDissatisfied

Central government Local governmentsCategory

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neutral

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Total

Central government Local governments

16

95

122

41

26

300

No. of startups

18

78

134

27

22

279

No. of startups

5.3

31.7

40.7

13.7

8.7

100

%

6.5

28.0

48.0

9.7

7.9

100

%

Investment Round

Pre Seed Seed Series A Series BCentral

governmentCentral

governmentCentral

governmentCentral

government

31.1% 49.2% 38.7% 64.2%

Local governments

Local governments

Local governments

Local governments

26.0% 49.2% 32.2% 32.0%

Greatest Advantages of Korea’s Startup Environment

•�According to startups, the greatest advantages of Korea’s startup environment are: political framework (17.8%), cost structures (17.2%), culture of entrepreneurship (16.7%) and access to community (16.7%).

•�While the 2016 study revealed that startups pointed to the cost structure and access to startup communities as the greatest advantages of Korea’s startup environment, the 2017 study shows that startups felt the government’s support policy, such as the tax system, and cost structure were the greatest advantages.

Category Category

Political Framework

Cost Structures

Access to Community

Culture of Entrepreneurship

Access to Knowledge

Access to Human Capital

Access to Customers

Access to Financial Capital

Other

Total

Political Framework

Cost Structures

Access to Community

Culture of Entrepreneurship

Access to Knowledge

Access to Human Capital

Access to Customers

Access to Financial Capital

Other

17.8

17.2

16.7

16.7

9.9

6.9

5.4

4.1

5.3

100

1

2

3

3

5

6

7

8

9

160

155

150

150

89

62

49

37

48

900

4

1

2

3

6

5

7

8

9

Nationwide Rank

No. of startups 2016 2017%

(Multiple answers allowed) (Multiple answers allowed)(Multiple answers allowed)

Annual stats

Factors Obstructing Startup Growth and Vitalization

•�When asked to select the factor that most hinders the growth and vitalization of startups, startups pointed to: difficulty procuring capital from investors, such as VC firms and angel investors (33.3%), too much focus on particular areas such as mobile among startups (16.3%), difficulty finding human capital for startups(13.0%), and lack of social encouragement for startups and tolerance of failure (13.0%).

•�The largest proportion of startups found the difficulty involved in procuring capital from investors to be the most significant factor hindering their growth (23.1%), while relatively few found it difficult to secure human capital.

•�When asked to select the top three factors that hinder the growth and vitalization of startups, startups pointed to: difficulty procuring capital from investors, such as VC firms and angel investors, which was chosen by the majority of startups, at 19.7%, followed by lack of social encouragement for startups and tolerance of failure (16.9%), difficulty finding human capital for startups (15.8%), and lack of markets for products and services launched by startups (12.0%).

•�While the results of the 2016 study showed that startups pointed to the lack of social encouragement for startups and low tolerance for failure as the biggest factors obstructing the growth and vitalization of startups, the results of the 2017 study revealed that the difficulty of procuring capital from investors was the biggest factor (18%).

Category

Category

Category

Category

Difficulty procuring capital from investors, such as VC firms and angel investors

Too much focus on particular areas such as mobile among startups

Difficulty finding human capital for startups

Lack of social encouragement for startups and tolerance of failure

Lack of markets for products and services launched by startups

Lack of successful exits and opportunities to recover investments

Lack of business capacity among startups

Lack of entrepreneurship among startups (get-rich-quick schemes)

Lack of mentoring and professional consulting services for startups

Total



















Total










33.316.313.013.08.35.34.33.33.0100

1

2

3

3

5

6

7

8

9

19.716.915.812.09.89.67.04.64.6100

1

2

3

3

5

6

7

8

9

100493939251613109

300

1

5

2

3

6

4

7

8

9

1751501401068785624141

887

2

1

3

6

4

5

7

8

9

Nationwide Nationwide

No. of startups

No. of startups% %

Top choice

Top choice

Total

Total


Annual stats

Rank Rank

2016 20162017 2017



Category

Internet/mobile business areas

High growth potential regardless of investment area, investment performance, or sales results

Innovative business (profit) model

Technology that is difficult to imitate

High growth rate

Achievement of a certain level of sales or higher

No significant difference between IT startups and other startups

Attraction of a certain level of investment or higher

Total

22.2

18.6

14.5

14.0

10.9

8.2

6.1

5.6

100

135

113

88

85

66

50

37

34

608

Nationwide

No. of startups %



Characteristics of Startups

Key Capabilities Necessary for Startup Founders

•�According to the respondent startups, the major characteristics of startups are: Internet/mobile business area (22.2%), future growth potential (18.6%), innovative business (profit) model (14.5%) and technology that is difficult to imitate(14.0%). Meanwhile, only 6.1% answered that there were no significant differences between IT startups and regular startups, showing that the majority of respondents regarded IT startups as quite different from other startups.

•�In order of priority, startups pointed to business planning (marketing) as the most important capability for startup founders (28.7%), followed by technological capability (27.0%), entrepreneurship (14.5%), ability to procure funding (14.3%) and global capabilities (7.2%).

•�A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that the largest proportion of startups were still found in the Internet/mobile industry. Also, the proportions of startups with high future growth potential and technology that is difficult to imitate increased in 2017.

•�A comparison with the results of the 2016 study shows that startups’ business planning (marketing) capability, technological capability, and the ability to procure funding have all increased, while entrepreneurship has decreased slightly.

Annual stats

Annual stats

21.7

14.9

15.3

12.0

13.9

8.4

3.6 10

.2

22.2

18.6

14.5

14.0

10.9

8.2

6.1

5.6

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Internet/mobilebusinessareas

Technologythat is

difficult toimitate

Innovativebusiness(profit)model

Achievementof a certainlevel ofsales orhigher

NosignificantdifferencebetweenIT startupsand otherstartups

Achievementof a certainlevel ofsales orhigher

Futuregrowthpotential

Highgrowthrate

24.8

22.1

22.8

12.3

5.4

3.4

3.7

1.0 4.

5

28.7

27.0

14.5

14.3

7.2

3.5

2.8

1.0

1.0

Unit : %2016(n=295) 2017(n=300)

Business planning

(marketing) capability

Technological capability

Entrepreneurship

Ability to procure

external funding

Global capabilities

Excellent educational

background Ot

hers

Ability to procure

sufficient equity capital

Experience in startups,

venture-backed companies,

and other related areas

Category

Business planning (marketing) capability

Technological capability

Entrepreneurship

Ability to procure external funding

Global capabilities

Ability to procure sufficient equity capital

Experience in startups, venture-backed companies, and other related areas

Excellent educational background

Others

Total

28.727.014.514.37.23.52.81.01.0100

172162878643211766

600

Nationwide

No. of startups %

Conference/Seminar/Forum

Networking (Party)


Class

Demoday

Business fair

Workshop/Camp

Contest

N/A (Not applicable)

Others 2

39

60

77

88

103107

132

136

192

Startup programs and events

•�A closer examination of the support programs and events held for startups shows that the largest proportion of startups participated in conferences, seminars, and forums, accounting for 20.5%, followed by networking events (parties) (14.5%), exhibitions and expos (14.1%), classes (11.4%), and demo day events (11.0%). Startups that did not participate in any such programs or events accounted for 4.2%, showing that the overwhelming majority of startups were actively taking part in support programs and events.

Category

Conference/Seminar/Forum

Networking (Party)


Class

Demoday

Business fair

Workshop/Camp

Contest

N/A (Not applicable)

Others

Total

192

136

132

107

103

88

77

60

39

2

937

20.5

14.5

14.1

11.4

11.0

9.4

8.2

6.4

4.2

0.2

100

Nationwide

No. of startups %


Characteristics of Korean Startups




Phases of Startup Growth

Global Comparison

Comparison of Concentration

Analysis of Domestic Startup Activities

Appendix. Information on Startups that Participated in the Survey

Phases of Startup Growth

•�In terms of the average age of startups, based on the founding year, Pre-seed Round funding were raised

at 3.5 years; Seed, at 3.3 years; Series A, at four years; and Series B and later, at 4.9 years.

•�The average number of employees grew throughout the investment stages, from 7.2 to 7.9, 13.8, and

19.6 employees. The average number of tech personnel also grew, from 4.2 to 4.5, 6.6, and 12.4, and

the number of female personnel, from 1.7 to 1.8, 3.4, and 3.7.

•�The number of investment advisers were the largest in the Seed Round, with an average of 2.5 per

startup, and decreased continuously in the later stages.

•�The amount of equity capital secured by startups showed an increasing trend, except for a slight decrease

among those in the Series B or later rounds. In terms of sales, Series A startups recorded the highest

sales, at KRW 2.04496 billion, while Seed round startups posted the lowest sales, at KRW 408.31 million.

Pre-Seed startups recorded KRW 740.86 million in sales, while Series B or later startups recorded KRW

462.08 million, showing that investment rounds and sales figures are not necessarily directly proportional.

•�The percentage of startups that have expanded overseas was 11.5%, 15.3%, 48.4%, and 64.3% by

investment stage, confirming a correlation between investment stages and overseas expansion.

Startups by Final Investment Round

Number of Companies by Final Investment Round


196

5931

14

Unit : companies


*A sample size of less than 30 requires careful interpretation.

Years since founding 3.5 3.3 4.0 4.9

Number of employees 7.2 7.9 13.8 19.6

Equity capital KRW 132.41 million KRW 215.01 million KRW 296.48 million KRW 296.35 million

Number of tech personnel 4.2 4.5 6.6 12.4

Number of female personnel 1.7 1.8 3.4 3.7

Number of investment advisors 0.3 2.5 1.4 0.9

Number of foreign employees 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.4

Sales 81.6% 78.0% 90.3% 85.7%

Sales amount KRW 740.86 million KRW 418.31 million KRW 2.04496 billion KRW 462.08 million

Overseas Expansion 11.5% 15.3% 48.4% 64.3%


Characteristics of Korean StartupsGlobal Comparison

Compass (https://www.compass.co), a startup information analysis firm, compiles and releases the results of quantitative and

qualitative analyses of the global startup ecosystem and development trends. It also carried out the Startup Genome Project,

which analyzed the factors of startups’ success. Every year, the company releases the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking,

in which it compares and analyzes the performance of startups in different cities based on categories such as Ecosystem

Demographics, Ecosystem Performance, Funding, Market Reach, Talent, Startup Experience Index, Demographics of Founders,

and Resource Attraction. The recently released Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking 2017 ranks the top 20 cities based on an

assessment of investment trends and startup growth. In addition to information on these top 20 cities, the report also provides

data on 25 other cities, including Seoul.

2017 Global Startup Ecosystem Reporthttps://startupgenome.com/

2017 Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking

Ecosystem Demographics

Talent

Startup Experience Index

Founders Demographics

Resource Attraction

Ecosystem Performance

Funding

Market Reach

Category Index

Metropolitan GDP

Metropolitan Population

Ecosystem Value

Startup Output

Growth Index

Early-Stage Funding per Startup

Early-Stage Funding Growth Index

Experienced VC Firm Index

Foreign Customers

Global Connctions

Experienced Software Engineers

Experienced Growth Employees

Visa Success Rate

Software Engineer Salary

-

Women Founders

Immigrant Founders

Entrepreneurs

Startups

Performance

Funding

Market Reach

Talent

Startup Experience

Silicon Valley1

1

1

2

1

1 New York3

2

3

7

4

2 London4

4

2

10

5

3 Beijing2

5

19

8

2

4 Boston6

6

12

4

3

5

Performance

Funding

Market Reach

Talent

Startup Experience

Tel Aviv9

8

4

11

7

6 Berlin7

9

6

5

10

7 Shanghai8

3

10

9

13

8 Los Angeles5

7

15

14

11

9 Seattle12

13

14

3

6

10

Performance

Funding

Market Reach

Talent

Startup Experience

Paris14

14

9

16

8

11 Singapore16

16

11

1

20

12 Austin15

11

18

6

9

13 Stockholm17

20

8

18

12

14 Vancouver19

19

7

15

15

15

Performance

Funding

Market Reach

Talent

Startup Experience

Toronto18

12

5

20

18

16 Sydney20

10

13

12

17

17 Cicago13

15

20

13

14

18 Amsterdam10

17

17

19

16

19 Bangalore11

18

16

17

19

20



Seoul Index Ecosystem Demographics

Ecosystem Performance

GDP

Ecosystem Value(Startup economic value)

Growth Index(Active technical startups)

Population

Number of Startups

$153 $264

$542 $619

$688 Seoul

Silicon Valley

London

Singapore

Tel Aviv

$2.4 $11

$22 $44

$264 Silicon Valley

London

Tel Aviv

Singapore

Seoul

4.24.54.5

4.64.8London

Singapore

Seoul

Tel Aviv

Silicon Valley

*Seoul : not comparable

3.75.5

7.6 14

Seoul

Silicon Valley

London

Singapore

Tel Aviv

13-164.3-5.9

2.2-3.71.6-2.4

1.5-3.4

Silicon Valley

London

Seoul

Tel Aviv

Singapore

Unit : $100million

Unit : $100million

Unit : million

Unit : 1,000



Funding Talent

Average Initial Investment (amount) Experienced software tech employees

Venture Capital Experience Index

Software tech employees annual salaryVisa success rate

Initial Stage Investment Growth Index Experienced Growth Employeese

$174 $276

$451 $509

$762 Silicon Valley

Tel Aviv

London

Singapore

Seoul 68%74%

79%80%

87%Silicon Valley

Singapore

London

Tel Aviv

Seoul

8.28.4

9.010.1

10.9Silicon Valley

London

Tel Aviv

Seoul

Singapore

$35 $38

$52 $63

$112 Silicon Valley

Tel Aviv

London

Seoul

Singapore25%25%

27%44%

58%Silicon Valley

London

Tel Aviv

Seoul

Singapore

4.44.64.6

4.75.2Seoul

Tel Aviv

Singapore

London

Silicon Valley59%

74%

76%76%

80%Seoul

Tel Aviv

Singapore

London

Silicon Valley

Unit : $1,000

Market Reach

Startup Experience IndexForeign customer Global connection

14%25%

30%33%

45%Tel Aviv

London

Silicon Valley

Singapore

Seoul

4.14.8

6.16.7

7.4Silicon Valley

London

Tel Aviv

Singapore

Seoul

2.110.8

1111.4

12.9Tel Aviv

Singapore

Silicon Valley

London

Seoul



Founders demographicsThe locations of 467 accelerators, VCs, and government institutions (departments) in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province were analyzed.

Female founder Foreign founder

8%12%

15%16%16%Seoul

Silicon Valley

London

Singapore

Tel Aviv 12%16%

35%42%

46%Silicon Valley

London

Singapore

Tel Aviv

Seoul

Resource Attraction

Founder Startup

351463

7311,079

2,896Silicon Valley

London

Seoul

Singapore

Tel Aviv

1540

2572,049Tel Aviv

Singapore

Silicon Valley

London

Seoul

Density analysis

Venture Capital

Accelerator

Incubator

Yeoncheon-gun

Pocheon-si

Dongducheon-si

Ganghwa-gun

Ongjin-gun

Jung-guDong-gu

Seo-guBupyeong-gu

Anyang-si

Gyeyang-guBucheon-si

Nam-gu Namdong-gu

Yeonsu-gu

Ansan-si

Suwon-si

Pyeongtaek-si

Anseong-si

Hwaseong-si

Osan-si Yongin-si

Siheung-siGwangmyeong-si

Gwacheon-siSeongnam-si

Uiwang-si

Gunpo-si

Gimpo-si

Goyang-si


Uijeongbu-si

Namyangju-si

Guri-si

Hanam-si

Gwangju-si

Icheon-si

Yeoju-si

Yangpyeong-gun

Seoul

IncheonGyeonggi-do

high

low

SeoulGyeonggi-do

IncheonMetropolitanCity

Seongnam

Yeoncheon-gun

Pocheon-si

Dongducheon-si

Ganghwa-gun

Ongjin-gun

Jung-gu Dong-gu

Seo-guBupyeong-gu

Anyang-si

Gyeyang-gu

Bucheon-si

Nam-gu Namdong-gu

Yeonsu-gu

Ansan-siSuwon-si

Pyeongtaek-siAnseong-si

Hwaseong-si

Osan-si Yongin-si

Siheung-siGwangmyeong-si Gwacheon-si

Uiwang-siGunpo-si

Gimpo-siGoyang-si


Uijeongbu-si

Namyangju-si

Guri-si

Hanam-si

Gwangju-si

Icheon-si

Yeoju-si

Yangpyeong-gun

*source Naver, Google, Korean Venture Capital Association, Seoul Startup Hub, The Accelerator Portal, Startup incubating network system

132 Analysis of Startup Ecosystem

Startup activity analysis

Total number of startup activities

1.3 times a day

2,688Total

* Events held over multiple days are calculated as one event per day for the duration of the event / as of December 11, 2017.

Refer to the schedules posted on each website.

Monthly activityUnit : %

Jan.

20

15

10

5

0Feb. Mar. Apr. May. Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

5.5

9.7

8.0

10.7

6.2

9.0 9.3 9.6 9.3

6.9

14.4

1.2

*source Platum, Startup Alliance, K-Startup, D.CAMP, Google campus Seoul, Maru180 homepage

Success Stories of Born2Global Members


▶ Success Stories of Born2Global Members5Success Stories of Born2Global Members




Mymusic Taste

Odd Concepts

Salted Venture

4DReplay

Hankook NFC

NEOFECT

Sky Labs

SendBird

G’Audio Lab

Lunit Inc.

TwoEyes Tech, Inc.

Buzzvil

MINDs Lab

Riiid Co., Ltd.

MyMusicTaste

Company Information SUMMARY

COMPANY HISTORY CURRENT STATUS

CEO ▶ Lee Jaeseok Developed products ▶ MyMusicTaste (fan request-based concert organizing service)

Foundation date ▶ December 2011 (MyMusicTaste launched in December 2013)

Website ▶ mymusictaste.com

Address ▶ MyMusicTaste, Hoerim Bldg., 14, Eonju-ro 130-gil (246-1 Nonhyeon-dong), Gangnam-gu, Seoul

2011

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

•December - Founded as a corporation

•April - Launched beta version of MyMusicTaste•July - Won the Bronze Award at the “I Am a Global •Venture, Startup Battle Korea 2013”•�November - Made it to the top 10 at K-Tech Silicon

Valley•�December - Distributed official version of MyMusic Taste•�December - Executed kickoff concert with Japanese jazz

and hip hop artists re:plus X DJ Chika X Hidetake Takeyama

•�November - Won the Young Innovative Entrepreneur Award from the Korea Entrepreneurship Association

•�April - Attracted Series A investment from Formation 8, Samsung Venture Investment, Golden Gate Ventures, Time Wise Investment, and Partners Investment•�May - Awarded the Vienna Startup Package by the

Austrian government•�December - Won the Grand Prize at the Korea Content

Awards•�December - Attracted Series B investment from

Softbank Ventures, Samsung Venture Investment, Golden Gate Ventures, Partners Investment, Bokwang Venture Capital, and DT Capital

•�March - Launched second version of MyMusicTaste, featuring new look and features

•�November - Attracted Series C investment from KTB Network, Stonebridge Capital, Yellowdog, Softbank Ventures, Samsung Investment, Formation 8, Bokwang Ventures Investment, and Golden Gate Ventures

180

142

32

Dublin, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles

USD

22.3 million

Approx.

1.3million

Staff

Number of concerts organized

Number of cities in which concerts were held

Overseas subsidiaries

Cumulative investment

Number of users

138 Success Stories of Born2Global Members Korea Startup Index 2017 139


In the first four years after its founding, MyMusicTaste planned 147 concerts in 52 cities in 32 countries.

The concerts were held in a diverse range of countries and continents, including Southeast Asia, North

America, and various countries in Europe. Artists who have worked with MyMusicTaste range from famous

musicians such as EXO, BTS, and The xx to lesser-known musicians. Befitting the company’s reputation as

a global concert organizer, 99 percent of all its 1.35 million users are based overseas. In addition to the 41

employees at its Korean headquarters, the company also employs staff at its overseas offices.

Performances organized by MyMusicTaste always begin with requests from fans. After it receives

fans’ requests for a concert by their favorite artist, MyMusicTaste determines the ideal city and scale

for the concert and then contacts the respective artist and begins planning the performance. Because

MyMusicTaste comes to the negotiation table already armed with data on concert demand, it is much easier

for both the artist and the agency to organize the overseas concert or tour. Approximately 75 percent of the

company’s business involves organizing overseas performances by Korean artists, while 20 percent involves

organizing performances by foreign artists in foreign (non-Korean) cities.

Lee said, “Most artists are looking to generate large profits and interact with their fans from all corners of the

world through international tours. It is based on this need that we get a sense of the market and plan the

tour. Generally, the majority of concerts are held in major cities in developed countries, such as Los Angeles,

New York, Paris, and London. Performances in cities such as Madrid, Lisbon, Budapest, and Istanbul are

held with the aim of broadening a tour’s scope of venues to include lesser-known metropolises. In fact, it is

in such cities that demand for concerts is especially high.”

MyMusicTaste has successfully crossed the “valley of death” that all startups encounter in their early years:

financial hardship. Lee said, “From 2014 until early 2015, we managed to struggle through the ‘valley of death’

thanks to our founding members’ decision to forego being paid. Having endured that experience, I now realize

that companies do not survive because they are strong; they are strong because they have survived.”

MyMusicTaste’s sales and number of tickets sold have been more than doubling every year. In early

November, the company attracted an investment of KRW 12.3 billion, which it will use to expand its

Growth into a truly global service

“Companies do not survive because they are strong; they are strong because they have survived.”

Planning Concerts Tailored to Individual Tastes “MyMusicTaste”

MyMusicTaste is a global fan-initiated service for live events. MyMusicTaste connects artists and fans by

allowing fans to request their favorite artist’s concert in their city and planning events based on the analysis

of the requests. With the majority of its users located overseas, MyMusicTaste has certainly earned its

reputation as a global live event making service that amplifies the voices of fans all over the world.

MyMusicTaste was launched by CEO Lee Jaeseok in 2013. Originally a game developer, Lee was in charge

of supplying Nexon’s Maple Story in the United States and Europe from 2006 until 2009. After witnessing

the explosive growth of the Maple Story development team following the company’s acquisition by Nexon,

Lee began dreaming of starting his own company. An avid Coldplay fan, Lee came up with the idea for

MyMusicTaste while trying to find a way to attend a Coldplay concert in Korea.

Lee said, “Entrepreneurship is the process of making something from nothing. Creating a company in an

area in which one has no connections or prior experience is a challenge. However, my experience as a

game developer was a great help in our efforts to imbue MyMusicTaste with a ‘master artisan spirit’ and our

consistent interactions with users around the world.”

“MyMusicTaste” analyzes the overseas demand

for concerts and directly engages in the planning of

the concerts.

With 1.35 million users around the world,

MyMusicTaste has been doubling in size every year.

The company is collaborating with a wide variety of artists, including

EXO, BTS, and The xx.

Going forward, it aims to expand into new genres and events, such as hip

hop and live events.

MyMusicTaste’s sales

and number of tickets

sold have been more

than doubling every year.

In early November, the

company attracted an

investment of KRW

12.3 billion.



Lee explained that the support provided by the Born2Global Centre was a great help for the company its

efforts to connect with fans and organize concerts in new cities.

He said, “Out of desperation to keep themselves afloat, startups often end up focusing on government projects,

which usually makes it very difficult for them to grow their key businesses. In this respect, we benefited a great

deal from the Born2Global Centre’s enthusiastic support of our core global business endeavors.”

overseas offices and diversify the genres of performances it plans in North America.

Lee said, “The investment we received in November will be used not to help us survive but to continue

growing our company. Going forward, we plan to diversify the genres of concerts we host around the world

to include hip-hop and rap and increase the size of our overseas offices so that they can take on greater

roles and responsibilities.” Lee emphasized, “If your aim is to change the paradigm of the performance

industry, it is not enough to simply pool the resources of several teams or institutions. So far, we have

received a lot of assistance from overseas investors.”

Including its initial analysis of overseas demand for concerts, MyMusicTaste is involved in various aspects

of concert preparations, including scheduling, concert venue reservation, and stage direction. Not only is

it a technology-based company that uses IT to analyze data, it is also an O2O company in that it directly

organizes offline performances.

The vision of MyMusicTaste is to bring happiness to music fans worldwide. Toward this end, it has thus far

been involved primarily in live event planning, including concerts, fan meetings, and showcases, but hopes

to expand its areas of business. Lee added, “We are also seriously considering expanding into the auxiliary

product and commercial business areas related to live events. Basically, what we do is analyze fans’

activities in order to maximize their happiness.”

“The full support of the Born2Global Centre has been a big help.”

Bringing happiness to global music fans

Odd Concepts


COMPANY HISTORY

CEO ▶ Kim Jeongtae (John T. Kim) Developed products ▶ DeepLook and Oddeye

Foundation date ▶ May 2012 Website ▶ oddconcepts.kr

Address ▶ 5F, 5, 19-gil, Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

•Renamed company as “Odd Concepts Corporation”

•�Launched commercial service of the Oddeye engine and was ranked No. 1 in engine performance evaluations conducted by a large number of global companies

•�Operated an omni-channel service based on the Oddeye engine and registered multiple patents, both domestically and internationally

•Attracted Pre-Series A investment from KB Investment

•�Launched automatic, machine learning-based clustering service for online products

•�Launched commercial service of DeepLook, securing 150 million data traffic and four million unique visits per month

•�Attracted Series A investment from Stonebridge Capital and Colopl Next

CURRENT STATUS

11Staff

Plan to open a Japanese branch

Not disclosed

Overseas expansion

Sales



Odd Concepts conducts its business by supplying APIs to fashion e-commerce sites. It decided to do this

after realizing that it would be easier to become competitive by supplying optimized solutions that satisfy

the needs of actual users rather than focusing on more visible

projects.

In fact, Odd Concepts does not invest in technologies such as

optical character recognition (OCR) or facial recognition. Instead,

the company has opted to focus on areas that best highlight its

strengths, such as image and video search, as is evident in its

choice of fashion as its core business area.

Odd Concepts CEO Kim Jeongtae said, “My idea for this business

came from the fact that while other e-commerce companies are

using various types of search techniques, the fashion industry

was still depending on a very primitive form of search. With our

commercialization of an AI-based search function, shoppers can

now find not only clothing of similar styles but also the prices at

which such clothing is sold on other sites, thus naturally allowing

for easy price comparison.”

Although it has been less than one year since the February launch of Odd Concepts’ DeepLook service,

the company has achieved the unprecedented record of 150 million API calls a month, having begun

at only around 100,000 API calls in its first month in operation. This represents a 1,500-fold increase in

just 10 months, during which time the service’s number of monthly users has risen to four million.

An even more significant accomplishment is that of its total API calls, 15 to 20 percent now come from

Japanese e-commerce sites. Kim said, “We chose Japan as our first market because, unlike other

East Asian countries, it has a unique, closed-off fashion ecosystem. After three months of knocking

on doors, traffic increased by over 70-fold in six months, which eventually enabled us to secure an

investment from a Japanese venture capital firm.”

In November, Odd Concepts succeeded in receiving an investment from the Korean venture capital

firm Stonebridge Capital and the Japanese venture capital firm COLOPL NEXT. With these two major

Rapid market domination through unique B2B strategy

1,500-fold increase in API calls in 10 months, leading to growing interest from Japan

AI meets a shopping mall: capitalizing on the perceptive abilities of AI “Odd Concepts”

Odd Concepts upplies an AI-based image search application program interface (API) through a cloud service.

First, it allows the user to choose clothes that match his or her tastes, and then automatically employs the image

search engine DeepLook (independently developed by Odd Concepts) to search for similar types of clothing and

displays the results. The service is capable of finding not only images of the clothing worn by the model based on

features such as shape, color, or pattern but even clothes that are hanging in a store.

API designed especially for mobile shopping

From simple AI analysis of user preferences to

content creation

Competitiveness in terms of quality of the search

engine, which gives tens of thousands of search

results

In November, Odd Concepts succeeded in receiving a total investment of KRW 2.5 billion from the Korean venture capital firm Stonebridge Capital and the Japanese venture capital firm COLOPL NEXT. With these two major investments, general expectations concerning Odd Concepts’ growth potential have increased.



Salted Venture



CEO ▶ Cho Hyung-jin Developed products ▶ Smart shoes and fitness coach solutions

Foundation date ▶ September 2015 Website ▶ iofitshoes.com

Address ▶ 728-22, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

2015

2016

2017

•� August - Became one of the first startups to spin off from Samsung Electronics

•� September - Founded the Salted Venture Corporation•� October - Attracted total investment of KRW 600 million•� November - Certified as a venture firm and established

an R&D center

•� February - Participated in Mobile World Congress (MWC)•� August - Conducted a Kickstarter campaign (attracting

USD 100,000, or 300% of funding goal)•� November - Won CES 2017 Innovation Award in the

Wearable Technologies category•� December - Selected as one of the K-Global 300

companies

•� February - Won the ISPO Gold Award in the Fitness & Health category

•� March - Attracted Pre-Series A investment of KRW 1 billion

•� Launched products

12Staff

North America

Not disclosed

Overseas expansion

Sales

•��Plans to release a collaboration product with a sports brand (in the first half of 2018)

Other accomplishments

investments, general expectations concerning Odd Concepts’ growth potential have increased. Last

year, the company received an additional investment from KB Investment.

Odd Concepts will continue targeting foreign markets by securing sales channels and establishing

strategic partnerships with the aim of engaging in marketing collaborations. It intends to increase its

search accuracy through AI sophistication, achieved via machine learning, and pioneer markets by

engaging in collaborations with local companies.

Kim said, “Based on the DeepLook engine currently in operation, we are planning an additional search

engine that is focused on content.” He then went on to explain that the company will continue seeking

investment from global investment companies and plans to apply the data it has gained through

DeepLook to various types of content, thereby expanding the scope of its business.

Our product database,

which is updated over five

million times a day, and the

technology needed to keep

this database running are

what set Odd Concepts

apart from its competitors.



Salted Venture delops “training coaches” rather than digital step counters

Salted Venture makes smart wearable devices. However, while other smart wearable device

manufacturers focus on measuring the wearer’s heartrate, breathing, and distance traveled via a smart

band or watch to ascertain the wearer’s current status and total calories burned, Salted Venture goes

one step further. Designed especially for golfers, the company’s IOFIT smart shoes actually teach the

wearer proper golf posture.

Salted Venture’s primary product, IOFIT is a golf shoe with a sensor installed in its sole. This sensor not

only takes highly accurate measurements of the current state of the wearer’s body but also provides

a mobile fitness coaching solution through a linked smartphone or tablet. While most golf coaching

devices focus on the upper body aspects of the user’s swing, IOFIT collects data on weight transfer,

which is directly related to driving distance, and displays it in real time so the wearer can check

whether he or she has assumed the proper posture and properly transferred his or her body weight

from one foot to the other at given times during the swing. In addition to data on the wearer’s swing,

IOFIT uses data on posture, weight transfer, and other skills of professional golfers as a standard for

comparison, allowing users to further enhance their skills.

Salted Venture CEO Cho Hyung-jin said, “Although some exercise devices currently on the market

boast excellent performance, they are not much more than glorified step counters at best. IOFIT,

however, uses data from the feet (plantar pressure) and video images of the body (center of gravity)

to detect common bad golf habits that the wearer may not even be aware of, such as slicing and

duffing. It then displays this data to the wearer so that the necessary improvements can be made.

The data is also used to help prevent injury and increase performance.” The IOFIT was recently used

for KPGA training and a TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) training seminar. It is also used at coaching

academies run by famous Korean pro golfers such as Choi Jong-hwan, Na Seung-uk, and Jang Jae-

shik. Domestic pro golfers and coaches who use IOFIT have praised the product as “a pioneering force

of the golf coaching market.”

If we can secure the

top position in the golf

market, which is one of

the most difficult markets

to penetrate, we believe

that we will also be able

to succeed in the running

and fitness markets, which

are dominated by existing

sportswear brands such as

Nike and Under Armour.



Salted Venture has

received a KRW 600

million investment

from Samsung Venture

Investment and a KRW

1 billion investment from

overseas firms. Officially

released in July, IOFIT has

achieved approximately

KRW 200 million in sales.

4DReplay


COMPANY HISTORY State

CEO ▶ Jung Hongsu Developed products ▶ 4DReplay (specialized video solution)

Foundation date ▶ February 17, 2012 Website ▶ 4dreplay.com

Address ▶ United States: 630 8th Street, Suite 4, San Francisco, CA 94103

Korea: 3-12, Dongpangyo-ro 52beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

•� February - Founded as a corporation

•� May - Established affiliated research institute

•� May - Supplied content of the Incheon Asian Games

•� April - Supplied KBO League content to SBS Sports•� June - Certified as venture firm•� November - Won the grand prize at the Korea Excellent

Patent Awards, hosted by Hankook-Ilbo

•� April - Supplied KBO League content to KBSN and SK Wyverns

•� October - Established American subsidiary 4DReplay, Inc.

•� March - Supplied video content of WBC 2017•� May - Supplied video content of U20 World Cup Korea•� June - Supplied video content of the US MLB League•� August - Signed deal to attract investment from Japan’s KDDI��- Supplied video content of Japan’s NPB League•� October - Supplied video content of the United States’

NBA League•� November - Supplied video content of Japan’s NPB Japan Series - Struck deals to attract investment from KT and Mirae

Asset

24Staff

United States, Japan, and China

Overseas expansion(planned)

KRW

1.1 billion

Sales(2016)

•��Plans to supply video content of PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games


The idea behind the IOFIT was to replace the typical golf simulators used in the golf coaching market.

The simulator commonly found in professional golf coaching centers is a device that consists of a high-

speed camera, computer system, and ground reaction force sensing device, which measures changes in

the user’s center of gravity. Until now, this type of golf simulator was very expensive and available to only

professional golfers and students at golf academies. With the development of IOFIT, customers can now

get a device that does everything equipment costing over $20,000 can do for the much lower price of $359

to $399. As a result, IOFIT has popularized the golf coaching market, allowing anyone who loves golf to

experience the center of gravity-based coaching that was previously available to only professionals.

For Cho, the hardest part of the development process involved the characteristics of the shoe as a smart device.

Contrary to smart watches, smart bands, and smart clothing, shoes must be highly durable, as they are not only

subject to intense pressure and resistance from being in constant contact with the ground, but can also get wet

when it rains. Moreover, the sensor inside the shoe must be highly sensitive and capable of analyzing the user’s

movements in the short time it takes to make a swing. In other words, the shoe had to be durable and sensitive

at the same time. After literally thousands of tests, Cho finally managed to balance these two factors perfectly in

terms of design and the production process, marking the birth of IOFIT.

Putting a large and expensive golf simulator in a shoe



baseball but throughout the United States and Japan as well.

At the core of 4DReplay’s technology is the function that allows users to watch the video of

their choice whenever they want. This technology goes beyond the space-oriented video filming

method to record the movements of the subject from a 360-degree angle, allowing any moment

of the video to be replayed from any angle.

Most of the video footage we see played on television during baseball game broadcasts is now

created using 4DReplay’s technology. After first being used for the pole jump at the Incheon Asian

Games, 4DReplay’s technology went on to be used for SBS professional baseball game broadcasts

in 2015 and KBS baseball game broadcasts in 2016 and 2017.

4DReplay is now recognized in other countries as well. Having filmed a few San Francisco Giants

games and done a Japanese professional baseball game broadcast, the company will soon be

signing contracts with sports associations and broadcasting companies in various countries (United

States, Japan, and European countries).

The main reason for 4DReplay’s growing visibility in the industry is its unparalleled technology,

which compares favorably in terms of quality and performance than that of the Israeli startup that

was acquired by Intel in August 2016. According to 4DReplay, it is capable of creating and playing

videos in 4K resolution in just five to ten seconds, while it takes minutes for its competitors to do

the same.

As its name suggests, 4DReplay has developed technology for replaying 4D videos.

CEO Hongsu Jung said, “The difference in scale between the Korean and global sports markets is

significant, especially in terms of broadcasting rights. So, to make it easier for us to enter overseas

markets, we decided to establish our headquarters in Silicon Valley.”

4DReplay’s technology goes beyond the space-oriented video filming method to record the

movements of the subject from a 360-degree angle, allowing any moment of the video to be

replayed from any angle.

As Jung had hoped, 4DReplay has already grown beyond the Korean market and is knocking on

the doors of foreign markets. The company’s video technology, which was put into action for

the first time at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, is being applied not only in Korean professional

From domestic leagues to the major league with 4D videos “4DReplay”

Time series replay for all sports events, such as

those at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the

Japan Series

Secret to the company’s competitiveness:

knowledge and experience in all areas related to

cameras



Hankook NFC



CEO ▶ Richard Hwang Developed products ▶ Phone2Phone, NFC Pay, and authentication services

Foundation date ▶ April 1, 2014 Website ▶ hankooknfc.com

Address ▶ 10F (KTB Network Incubating Center), A-dong, U-space 2, 670, Daewangpangyo-ro,

Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do

20132014

2015

2016

2017

•�December - Registered patent for “Self-Card Payment System Using a Mobile Device and How to Use the System”

•�April - Founded Hankook NFC Corporation•�July - Attracted first round of investment from KTB Network•�September - Certified as venture firm by the Korea Venture Capital Association (KVCA)•�December - Listed among Top 100 Startups by Startup Alliance•�January - NFC Pay successfully passed security review of the Financial Supervisory

Service•�March - Attracted second round of investment from KDB Capital and L&S Venture

Capital and selected as a smart finance advisor for the Industrial Bank of Korea•�April - Registered patent for “Simple Personal Authentication System Using a Mobile

Device and Plastic Credit Card and How to Use the System”•�June - Filed domestic patent application for “Simple Ordering Service-Providing

System Using NFC Tech and How to Use the System”•�July - Selected to be a member of the K-ICT Born2Global Centre’s “K-ICT Global

Business Support Program” and signed contract for a joint NFC Pay service project with NHN KCP

•�August - Signed personal authentication contract for PayOn with NHN KCP and filed domestic patent application for “Mobile Banking Account Transfer System through Personal Authentication for Plastic Credit Card and Debit Account and How to Use the System”

•�October - NFC Pay successfully passed security review of Samsung Card and KB Kookmin Card; filed patent application for Phone2Phone Pay, based on Samsung Pay; signed contract to supply Interpark’s shopping division with NFC Pay service; and filed patent application for NFC personal authentication service in major overseas markets (United States, China, Europe, and Australia)

•�November - Supplied Ticketmonster with NFC tech service; chosen as promising ICT company among K-Global 300 companies; filed domestic patent application for “Fingerprint Personal Authentication System Using Credit Card Information Saved in a Mobile Device and How to Use the System”; filed domestic patent application for “Mobile Card Payment System Enabling Card Payments between Mobile Devices and How to Use the System”; and listed among Top 100 Startups by Startup Alliance

•��January - Signed contract to supply SBS Golf with NFC Pay service and forged business partnership with Penta Security Systems to provide Samsung Pay’s personal authentication service

•�February - Participated in 2016 Mobile World Congress with Phone2Phone Pay•�March - Signed business alliance agreement with KCB to provide NFC personal

authentication service; signed strategic alliance deal with Galaxia Communications to provide Phone2Phone Pay service; and supplied Lotte Super and AlarmMon with NFC tag service

•�April - Supplied AmorePacific with NFC tag service; NFC Pay launched in Interpark’s shopping division

•�May - Phone2Phone Pay, a payment service for Samsung Pay, launched pilot service for gas stations

•�June - Registered patents for “Simple Personal Authentication System Using a Mobile Device and Plastic Credit Card and How to Use the System” and “Fingerprint Personal Authentication System Using Credit Card Information Saved in a Mobile Device and How to Use the System”

•�July - Selected to be a member of the K-ICT Born2Global Centre’s “K-ICT Global Business Support Program”

•�May - Attracted third round of investment from Japan’s MJS•�August - Won first prize at the 2017 Maekyung Fintech Awards

12

Japan (2017)Southeast Asia (2018)

Not disclosed

•��Domestic: 5 registered /

1 application

•��Overseas: 1 registered /

7 applications

4DReplay moved its headquarters to the United States for one simple reason: to expand its foreign business

volume. Soon, the company hopes to provide its services to popular sports broadcasting companies in

numerous other countries, including those involved in baseball, basketball, and ice hockey in the United

States and in soccer, cricket, golf and rugby in European countries.

In addition to diversifying the sports events the company covers, Jung is looking into a wide range of

business models. Starting next year, 4DReplay will begin offering its services via mobile application.

Wireless carriers and broadcasting companies are working to find ways to provide all the support needed for

4DReplay’s filming, including set construction and technological support, as one comprehensive package.

In the near future, 4DReplay plans to strengthen its cooperative relationships with camera manufacturers

with the aim of enhancing the quality of its videos.

Breaking out of the domestic market and going global

Major global companies are

showing increasing interest

in our company, and we

already spend more than

half of every year working

on projects outside Korea.

Besides sports, 4dreplay’s

technology can be applied

to a near-infinite number of

areas, such as educational

solutions.

Staff


Sales

Patents



One major advantage of this payment method is that the user does not need to download or register a mobile

application. Moreover, as credit card information is not saved on the smartphone, there is little need to fear losing

personal information due to hacking or misplacing the phone.

In addition to its NFC-based payment system, Hankook NFC has developed an NFC self-authentication service and

P2P (phone-to-phone) payment technology based on Samsung Pay.

Hankook NFC CEO Richard Hwang said, “Our technology helps offline stores increase their sales via online means.

In addition, we provide a function that automatically creates a card payment window on your smartphone when you

upload a product photo to your social media account.”

This allows store owners who have many followers on social media to sell their products without having to upload

photos onto an open market or online shopping mall. The use of direct transaction approval by credit card companies

instead of a POS reader or VAN network has the added benefit of cutting costs for small business owners.

Hankook NFC’s technology generated even greater excitement in the Japanese market than it did in Korea.

In May 2017, the company succeeded in securing an investment of KRW 3 billion from and signing a

service partnership contract with a Japanese company. The entire process took six months, starting with

Hankook NFC’s introduction of its technology in late 2016 and an inspection of the company.

Convenient NFC-based payment marks rise of fintech

KRW 3 billion investment secured from and service alliance forged with Japanese company

Hankook NFC leads the emergence of a “cashless society” in Japan

Hankook NFC was founded in April 2014 by CEO Richard Hwang. The company’s goal is to provide

convenient and safe fintech services based on NFC technology, one of the most widely used examples of

which is the transportation card for Korea’s bus and subway systems.

Hankook NFC’s patented technology enables mobile payments by pairing an NFC-enabled Android

smartphone with a credit card. Payments can be made even without a point-of-sale (POS) reader by

holding a credit card up to an NFC-enabled smartphone and entering the credit card’s password.

Hankook NFC’s technology

generated even greater

excitement in the Japanese

market than it did in Korea.

In May 2017, the company

succeeded in securing

an investment of KRW 3

billion from and signing a

service partnership contract

with a Japanese company.

The entire process took

six months, starting with

Hankook NFC’s introduction

of its technology in late

2016 and an inspection of

the company.



NEOFECT



CEO ▶ Ban Ho-young Developed products ▶ RAPAEL (smart rehabilitation solutions)

Foundation date ▶ June 2010 Website ▶ neofect.com

Address ▶ Neofect, #401, West Hall, Dankook University, 152, Jukjeon-ro, Suji-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do

2010

2014

2015

2016

2017

•�June - Founded as a corporation

•�December - Launched first RAPAEL Smart Glove product, and registered it with the US FDA

•�January - Won Runway Incubator Award at the “beGLOBAL San Francisco 2015” startup conference•�November - Selected as an honorary K-Global 300 company

•�February - Published paper on the effect of the RAPAEL Smart Glove in Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation•�March - Selected as a showroom finalist at Pioneer Asia 250•�August - Established subsidiary in San Francisco, United States•�October - Released new RAPAEL Smart Kids product for

children with disabilities•�November - Established subsidiary in Munich, Germany - RAPAEL Smart Glove won the Thematic Award at ITU

Telecom World, the world’s biggest ICT exhibition, as well as a 2017 CES 2017 Innovation Award

•�January - Attended CES 2017; RAPAEL Smart Glove selected as one

of CNN’s 14 coolest tech products from CES 2017 - RAPAEL Smart Glove selected as one of CNET’s 50 coolest

tech products from CES 2017 and ZDnet’s best 11 smart home, IoT products from CES 2017

•�May - Launched RAPAEL Smart Board, a medical device for upper limb rehabilitation•�June - RAPAEL Smart Glove selected as winner in “Caregiver Quality

of Life” category at the AARP Innovation Champion Awards•�August - Released RAPAEL Smart Pegboard, a digital

pegboard for functional and cognitive rehabilitation•�October - RAPAEL Smart Glove won the Popular Science’s

Best of What’s New Award•�Launched RAPAEL ComCog, software that enables stroke or

dementia patients to engage in cognitive rehabilitation through games•�November - RAPAEL Smart Pegboard won CES 2018 Innovation

Award

50

United States and Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Italy, etc.)Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, etc.)

KRW

2.1 billion

Staff


Sales(as of end of 2016)

Although Apple Pay is highly popular in Japan, as NFC readers have been installed only in subway stations

and certain convenience stores, the service is largely unavailable. With Paytomo, however, store owners/

merchants need only install the Paytomo app on their smartphones to be able to accept payments via Apple

Pay, credit card, or bitcoin, without having to replace their POS reader. Hankook NFC has high expectations

for the commercialization of its service in the Japanese market in 2018, with its biggest opportunity being

the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. In preparation for the Games, through which Japan aims to

attract 40 million foreign tourists to the country, the Japanese government and credit card companies are

making aggressive efforts to expand the availability of credit card payment services.

Furthermore, with Japan having increased the consumption tax from five to eight percent, store owners

have even more cash on their hands, leading to money management issues and increased general

agreement on the need for Japan to become a cashless society.

Hwang said, “Our investor, MJS Group, is the second largest company in Japan’s electronic payment

industry and, accordingly, has a nationwide customer base. By combining an investment with a royalty-

based contract, we were able to enter the Japanese market faster than engaging in a joint venture or

attempting to do so on our own would have permitted.”

The Japanese partner company, MJS, will be using Hankook NFC’s patented technology to provide a

phone-to-phone payment service, called Paytomo, throughout Asia. It will be released in Japan in February

2018.

MJS is a Japanese ERP company that is well known domestically for having been listed on the Tokyo Stock

Exchange as early as 1997. Together with its partnership with Hankook NFC, MJS founded a subsidiary (MJS

Finance & Technology) through which it plans to enter the fintech industry in earnest.

In Japan, the credit card payment rate is quite low, at only 17 percent. The reason for this is that many

stores do not accept credit cards due to the high commission fees involved.

Hwang said, “In Japan, people believe that making cash payments for small purchases is beneficial to the

store owner. Also, as Japan does not have the same government regulation Korea does to prevent credit

card affiliates from refusing credit card payments, many credit card affiliate stores request cash payments.”

Phone-to-phone payment method accelerates arrival of cashless society in Japan



CEO Ban Ho-young was always interested in rehabilitative treatment. “My father and uncle both died from

stroke. In both cases, it was very difficult to have to just stand by and watch them suffer. During those

experiences, I noticed the lack of rehabilitation methods available for patients who have lost most of their

Harnessing painful experiences and applying them to the creation of a patient rehabilitation solution

Medical Solution Company Specializing in Stroke Rehabilitation “NEOFECT”

NEOFECT develops medical devices and software for stroke patients and people suffering from neurological

or musculoskeletal diseases. At CES, the world’s largest electronic device trade show, in 2017, NEOFECT

received an Innovation Award for its RAPAEL Smart Glove, a rehabilitation device for the hands, wrists,

and lower arms of stroke patients. More recently, the company received its second consecutive Innovation

Award at CES 2018 for its RAPAEL Smart Pegboard, a rehabilitation device designed for stroke patients’

hands and arms.

The main feature of NEOFECT’s RAPAEL series is its use of games. Unlike other rehabilitation device

companies, the majority of which offer products that involve the repetition of simple and boring movements,

NEOFECT has introduced a game-based element to its devices to make rehabilitation activities more

entertaining and effective.

The company’s most recent release is the RAPAEL smart pegboard, which, simply put, is a digital version of

the traditional wooden pegboard. With this device, the patient engages in rehabilitative training by grasping

and placing wooden pegs into a board in accordance with the rules of the selected game. The purpose of

pegboard training is to enhance hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, cognitive ability, space perception,

and concentration.

The 63 high-luminance LEDs installed on the board light up to show the user where to place the pegs. For

example, when playing the whack-a-mole game, only the holes where the user is expected to place the

peg light up. To have patients make shapes, the lights create the shape of a heart or arrow, among others.

The device also provides audio feedback through a speaker embedded in the board that notifies the user of

his or her progress through sound effects and voice.



Unlike other rehabilitation solution companies, which have focused mainly on hardware development,

NEOFECT has grown based on its prioritization of both software and hardware. It is currently developing

a rehabilitation solution that involves the use of AI and IoT. Ban said, “Big data is the key. We will be

thoroughly analyzing the movements that enable patients to recover their neurological functions more

quickly.”

To develop new products, Ban is also actively striving to attract investment. As of last year, the company’

s annual sales stand at around KRW 2.1 billion, but it has already accumulated KRW 13.5 billion in

investment, meaning that many companies are very optimistic about NEOFECT’s potential. The list of

NEOFECT investors includes a number of famous KOSDAQ-listed venture capital companies, including

DSC Investment and Company K.

After receiving consultations from the Born2Global Centre on patents and two areas of accounting,

NEOFECT was able to conduct its business more effectively. The company’s transaction method, which

had primarily been B2B, was changed to include more B2C transactions in 2017, allowing NEOFECT to help

more patients with their rehabilitation efforts.

Pioneering a next-generation medical device market under the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Ban believes that the greatest strengths of NEOFECT products are practicality and convenience. As an

engineering major, Ban was confident about his ability to develop machines and solutions, but knew that

he lacked medical expertise. “I visited rehabilitation centers literally hundreds and thousands of times. I met

with patients, doctors, and physical therapists to get as accurate a picture as possible of the rehabilitation

process.” This direct feedback from the field, which we had not considered in his first product designs, was

then applied to the creation of NEOFECT’s final products.

Another strength of the company’s products is convenience. Most rehabilitation equipment is very costly

(hundreds of millions of Korean won) and quite large, which is why they are available only in hospitals. As a

result, patients who are determined to get well have no choice but to undergo rehabilitation at a hospital.

motor abilities and began thinking about how to resolve that problem.” A university friend of Ban’s who was

studying rehabilitative medicine at the time shared his views and suggested starting a company together,

thus giving birth to NEOFECT.

Practical feedback is just as important as research in the lab

Sky Labs



CEO ▶ Lee Byunghwan Foundation date ▶ September 8, 2015 Website ▶ i-skylabs.com

Developed products ▶ CART (cardio tracker), a ring-type device for detecting atrial fibrillation

Address ▶ #301, 3F, C-dong, 242, Pangyo-ro (Pangyo Digital Center, Sampyeong-dong), Bundang-gu,

Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do

2015

2016

2017

•September - Founded Sky Labs Corporation

•�December - Selected as an incubee company of the Incheon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation

•January - Attracted seed investment from SparkLabs•�March - Granted approval to establish an affiliated research

institute•�May - Certified as a venture firm by KIBO - Certified as an “excellent company” by the technology

evaluation of the NICE Information Service - Selected as one of the top three domestic winners of

Grants4Apps Korea, hosted by Bayer Korea•�June - Participated in SparkLabs Demo Day•�July - Selected as a member company of the K-ICT

Born2Global Centre•�August - Chosen as one of the top four global winners of

Bayer Grants4Apps Accelerator 2017•�November - Invited to be a speaker at Frontiers Health Conference 2017 - Invited to be a speaker at Digital Silver Forum 2017 - Took part in Slush 2017 and gave a presentation at

Grants4Apps Accelerator Demo Day•�December - Attended Tech Crunch Disrupt Berlin 2017 - Attracted Pre-Series A investment from Atinum Investment

and Mirae Holdings

8

Germany, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom

Not disclosed

Staff


Sales

•��Attracted investment from and jointly developed a project with the headquarters of Bayer and conducted a joint clinical trial with Seoul National University Hospital




CART is tiny wearable device developed independently by Sky Labs which is optimized for the early

diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. Designed in an easy-to-wear ring shape, it consistently monitors for any signs

of atrial fibrillation. CEO of Sky Labs, Lee Byunghwan said, “As stroke caused by atrial fibrillation accounts for

over half of all stroke-caused deaths, it is a serious condition. CART is currently the best way to consistently

monitor for the warning signs, which is the most important means of diagnosing atrial fibrillation.”

In general, the symptoms of atrial fibrillation include a pounding sensation in the chest, difficulty in

breathing, feeling of stuffiness/suffocation, and exhaustion. However, patients who are adjusted to chronic

atrial fibrillation or shows heartrate close to normal heartbeat, often display no apparent symptoms, meaning

early diagnosis is very important for such patients. Most existing equipment for diagnosing arrhythmia uses

electric signals (ECG), which is a method that involves placing electrode pads on the patient’s chest, or

doctors to use both hands to gauge the condition of the heart. The limitation of the ECG method is that it

cannot be used to monitor for the infrequent symptoms of atrial fibrillation on a regular (daily) basis.

However, Sky Labs’ CART uses optical signals in the ring. This ring-shaped device is equipped with

an optical sensor that measures the speed of blood flow in the fingers, allowing measurements of the

heartrate as well as detecting any irregular heartbeats. The wearer can check the heartrate measurement

results via the accompanying mobile application. CART is also more accurate and convenient than existing

diagnosis methods. Lee said, “All you have to do is slip CART onto your finger, and it does the rest! It is

comfortable to wear and does not require any handling or operation, all the while constantly collecting data

necessary for the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.”

Sky Labs’ sophisticated technology is already being recognized internationally, as evidenced by the

company’s selection as a final candidate in 2017 for the Grant4Apps Accelerator, a startup support program

by the Leverkusen-based global pharmaceutical firm Bayer. Support came from Bayer’s headquarters after

Sky Labs won the first place in the Grant4Apps Korea Contest (co-hosted by Bayer Korea and KOTRA).

Grant4Apps is a contest that is widely known as the best opportunity for healthcare startups to turn their

ideas into actual business projects. Of the four startups selected in 2017, Sky Labs was the only Korean

company. Thanks to its success in the contest, Sky Labs will be receiving project funding from Bayer and

exclusive office space at its headquarters. Mentoring session by Bayer’s experts have been provided to

Sky Labs for more ideas in achieving greater growth, and Lee recently participated in the Frontiers Health

Conference, a healthcare event held in Europe, and the EU’s Digital Silver Forum as a speaker. Through

such opportunities, Sky Labs is busily establishing foothold in entering the European market.

In early 2018, Sky Labs will be releasing CART as a wellness product. However, after completing clinical

CART: allowing for real-time diagnosis of atrial fibrillation

Green light from Bayer expects to result in positive synergy effect

A smart watch that protects the heart: ushering in an era of data-based healthcare

Atrial fibrillation is a form of arrhythmia that causes the atria to beat irregularly. A common chronic disease

among those above 40, it is also a major cause of stroke. The death rate of stroke caused by atrial fibrillation

is quite high, which means it is crucial to discover malfunction warnings from the body as soon as possible

to prevent fatal situations from arising. However, due to the non-continuous monitoring of patients for early

diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, it is usually unnoticed until serious symptoms appear.

Developed CART, a wearable device for the early diagnosis

of atrial fibrillation

Measures heart rate and blood flow using optical

signals and provides real-time analysis through a

mobile app

Laid the foundation for its expansion into Europe with the support of Bayer, a German pharmaceutical

company

Expected to be officially released in the diagnostic medical device market in



SendBird



CEO ▶ Kim Dong-shin Foundation date ▶ November 2012 Website ▶ sendbird.com

Developed products ▶ Online software development research and technology consulting service

Address ▶ 13F, Endeavor Tower, 45, Seocho-daero 74-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul

2012

2014

2015

2016

2017

•�November - Founded Smile Family

•�March - Selected for and joined Techstars London•�October - Converted to a corporation headquartered in

the United States

•�December - Selected as the Best Startup by the Small and Medium Business Administration

•�March - Selected for Y Combinator and attracted investment•�June - Selected for KB Starters Valley and as an AWS

Hot Startup•�November - Chosen as one of the top four startups in

the Slush 100 Pitching Competition

•�January - Ranked No. 1 on the Top 50 Developer Tools of 2016, created by StackShare•�December - Attracted KRW 17 billion in Series A

investment

25

25000+

5million

6000+

Capstone Partners, Y Combinator, and NXMH

Not disclosed

Staff

Subscribers

Global chatting MAU

Linked apps

Major investors

Sales

The final goal of Sky Labs is to become a healthcare company that is based on data utilization. Using

data analysis, the company aims to secure technologies that can diagnose and predicting diseases.

After releasing CART, Sky Labs plans to develop devices and services that measure blood pressure and

blood sugar levels, and it is currently conducting research on technology and working to secure adequate

personnel to manage these projects.

evaluation with Seoul National University Hospital and licensing procedures, CART will be re-released as a

medical device. Discussions are also underway with German and Finnish hospitals regarding joint clinical

testing, as well as discussions on joint product releases in collaboration with Bayer. Sky Labs is targeting

not only individual consumers as the primary demand base for its atrial fibrillation diagnostic device but also

pharmaceutical companies, which frequently conduct large-scale clinical trials. To get the most accurate

clinical trial results, it is necessary to have as detailed data as possible on changes in the participants’

heartrates. Lee said, “Once CART enters the diagnostic device market, it will be used for various purposes,

including diagnosis and general health management for both healthy and sick individuals, provision of

clinical testing or services, and organizing projects for managing chronic diseases, just to name a few.”

Entrepreneurship based on personal experience: “We will usher in a new era of personal health management”



CEO Kim also notes that the most difficult aspect of developing SendBird’s product was trying to convince

clients and investment companies about the merits of the company’s business model. He recalled, “In

2015, most Korean companies were unfamiliar with the SaaS model?paying for and using a technological

solution for a monthly fee. So it was difficult to explain our business model to client companies, most of

which regarded a chat application as a service and its developer as a subcontractor.” Most purchasing

departments of IT companies in Korea were unaware of API-format, cloud-based services. It was no easy

task to popularize a software product that requires adding it to one’s own consumer application to provide

an enhanced messaging service.

Kim said, “We were confident that our product was strong. So we eventually decided that we should enter

the United States market?a market more familiar with the SaaS model and one with a wider customer base

and more available funding. We’re still focusing on providing our services in the United States market, but

we’re making great in-roads in other global markets at the same time.”

Kim’s idea is already bearing fruit. Having recognized SendBird’s potential, several venture capital firms

and accelerators in the US have offered to invest. After Y Combinator (YC), known as one of the world’s

most prominent accelerators, selected SendBird, Kim says there has been a tangible difference in the way

outsiders now view the company. YC is a major accelerator that cultivates and consults for startups, while

it helps them secure funds and develop their technology. It is best known for giving initial support to now-

famous companies like Airbnb and Dropbox. Kim said, “Every year, almost 6,000 companies, dreaming

Korean market still hesitant to accept SaaS model: “shooting the moon” in the “global marketplace”

Receiving funding from the world’s greatest accelerator

Empowering customer communication for mobile, web, and consumer applications

SendBird develops and supplies chat APIs (Application Program Interfaces) for mobile, web and consumer

applications for businesses. Simply put, it creates richly-featured chat and messaging functions that

integrate with any business’s digital application. With the rise of messenger applications, consumers began

to expect seamless messaging experiences within other consumer apps. There is now a growing demand

for two-way communication between customers and businesses and amongst customers themselves.

SendBird CEO Kim Dong-shin said, “Messenger-like functions that involve communication with others

are highly sensitive to advancements in ICT. The small chatrooms of the Web 2.0 era have transformed in

today’s mobile era into the powerful mobile messenger services such as WeChat and Kakao Talk.”

“Because our product makes chat and messaging available to any business with a digital product,” Kim said

about SendBird’s product, “Our chat API will become the gold standard of chat in the future.”

The biggest advantage of SendBird’s API, according to Kim, is its universality. Since the product is SaaS

(Software as a Service), companies that choose the SendBird API can easily and drastically reduce their

development time from six months or more to several weeks.

“Increasingly more companies are combining our chat API with AI to create automated chatbots that

handle client consultations,” Kim said, “Going forward, we will continue our efforts to make communication

between people and businesses more natural and convenient.”

Increasingly more

companies are combining

our chat API with AI

to create automated

chatbots that handle

client consultations. Going

forward, we will continue

our efforts to make

communication between

people more natural and

convenient.



of becoming the next Airbnb, apply to enter YC’s Accelerating Program. Of these, YC selects 80 to 100

companies to support. We are only the second Korean company after MemeBox to be selected by YC.”

Thanks to this overseas recognition, SendBird has managed to secure a total investment of KRW 5.5 billion

from multiple startup stars, including Justin Kan, the co-founder of Twitch.tv (the world’s largest game

broadcasting channel and Amazon affiliate). SendBird will receive an additional KRW 20 billion by December

2017, which the company will devote to further improving the quality of its product.

The Born2Global Center gave consultation support to SendBird on law and patents, while the startup

develolped its API. Thanks to Born2Global Center’s consultation, SendBird was able to address a multitude

of issues, drawing up terms of use and contracts written in both Korean and English and determine patent-

related risks. Since law and patent firms tends to view small startups as minor customers, startups can

face certain limitations, including price and selective access to services. However, with the help of the

Born2Global Centre, SendBird was able to take a much more proactive approach toward requesting and

securing support and cooperation.

We attracted a total

investment of USD 16

million (KRW 17 billion)

from Shasta Ventures,

August Capital, and Justin

Kan, the co-founder of

Twitch.tv.

G’Audio Lab



CEO ▶ Henney Oh Developed products ▶ 3D audio and rendering solutions

Foundation date ▶ May 6, 2015 Website ▶ gaudiolab.com

Address ▶ 555 W 5th St, 35th Fl, Los Angeles, California, US 90013

2017

2016

2015

2014

•�October - Won Innovative VR Company of the Year Award at the VR Awards•�January - Officially launched 3D audio solutions

•�November - Established G’Audio Lab office in Los Angeles•�September - Attracted KRW 5 billion in Series A

investment from Korea Investment Partners, LB Investment, Softbank Ventures, and Capstone

•�July - Secured seed investment of KRW 1.1 billion from Softbank Ventures, Capstone, and the TIPS Program•�May - Spun off from the WILUS Institute of

Standards and Technology and established Gaudi Audio Lab

•�April - Started as Project GAUDI at the WILUS Institute of Standards and Technology•�January - MPEG-H 3D Audio adopted as an

international standard

29

North America, Asia, and Europe

Not disclosed

Staff

Overseas expansion

Sales



G’Audio Lab creates the standard for next-generation 3D audioG’Audio Lab works with immersive media such as 360 video, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality

(AR). The company began as a project (Gaudi Project) conducted by the WILUS Institute of Standards &

Technology, which was also founded by G’Audio Lab CEO Dr. Henney Oh.

At a conference on international video and audio standardization that was held in Barcelona in 2014, G’Audio

Lab’s core technology was selected to be the next-generation 3D audio standard(MPEG H 3D Audio),

beating out a number of multinational corporations. As a result, the spin-off Gaudi Audio Lab (G’Audio Lab)

was established in 2015.

Holding a Ph.D. in audio signal processing, Oh is a renowned expert in his field. He said, “The defining

characteristic of G’Audio Lab is its highly qualified audio research staff. Including myself, we have seven

Ph.D. holders who are fully immersed in technology research with the sole purpose of creating the world’s

most realistic 3D audio. Altogether, our research experience exceeds 100 years!”

Oh added, “Seven Ph.D. holders is quite a lot, even when compared to the size of the doctoral-level research staff

of global corporations. Our deep rooted audio industry expertise is the foundation of the company’s sophisticated 3D

audio technology and robust suite of products, which also sets apart from any other existing offerings.”

Sound is a crucial aspect in creating a virtual three-dimensional space. For immersive media such as 360

video and VR, where there is a high degree of interaction between content and the user, the audio must be

just as vivid as the video to provide a truly life-like experience. However, most existing 3D audio systems

create sound that seems to be coming from fixed sources, even when users turn their head or change

location. This limitation breaks the immersion and subverts the original purpose of immersive media.

G’Audio Lab creates highly realistic three-dimensional audio using binaural rendering technology that

mimics how we hear in real life. Oh said, “G’Audio Lab is a 3D audio solution company that helps one

distinguish depth, direction and movement of sound sources. Our technology surrounds one with highly

vivid, multi-dimensional sound using any regular headphones or earbuds.”

Based on this technology, the company provides post/live-production 3D audio solutions for both

content (movies, computer games, television programs, etc.) producers and publisher platforms. Its 3D

audio rendering SDK Sol, for example, can be embedded in any live or streaming players in order to offer

unparalleled sound quality via G’Audio’s proprietary audio format.

Within three years of its founding, G’Audio Lab received a large investment thanks to its outstanding

technology, high growth potential, and the promising nature of its business. In October 2016, it received

Series A investment from a number of distinguished Korean VC companies, including SoftBank Ventures,

Korea Investment Partners, LB Investment, and Capstone Partners.

Beating global giants to be adopted as a standard for next-generation 3D audio technology

3D audio: a necessity for realizing completely immersive experiences

Global recognition of technology spurs investment and debut in overseas markets



Lunit Inc.



CEO ▶ Anthony Paek Foundation date ▶ August 2013 Website ▶ lunit.io

Developed products ▶ Deep learning-based medical image diagnostic software

Address ▶ 6F, 175, Yeoksam-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

•�August - Founded Lunit Inc.

•�June - Attracted investment of KRW 100 million from K Cube Ventures

•�August - Came in seventh place globally and first place domestically at the ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Competition (ILSVRC), a global image recognition technology competition

•�November - Attracted investment of KRW 2 billion from Softbank Ventures and two other venture capital firms

•�December - Came in fifth place globally and first place domestically in the object recognition category at ILSVRC

•�August - Attracted investment of roughly KRW 3.7 billion from Intervest and other investment firms

•�October - Won first place in the TUPAC at MICCAI 2016•�November - Presented four research abstracts (more

than its peers in the industry) at the 2016 Meeting of the Radiological Society of America (RSNA 2016), the world’s largest radiological society

•�January - Selected as the only domestic startup on the list of CB Insights AI 100 (top 11 in the health care and top seven in the medical diagnostics categories)

•�April - Selected as one of the world’s top five “social impact” AI startups by NVIDIA

•�September - Ranked at the top at CAMELYON17•�October - Won “Most Committed Award” at Create@Alibaba

Cloud, a global startup contest - Chosen as one of the best three startups of the year at

the Softbank Ventures Forum

33Not disclosed

Staff

Sales

•��Papers: eight published in journals and presented at conferences

•��Registered four domestic patents

•��Filed 11 overseas patent applications


KRW

5.7 billion

Attracted investment

G’Audio Lab aims to expand the immersive media industry by distributing its 3D audio editing tool Works

for free of charge. It also holds workshops and events so that anyone can enter this new and competitive

field, building a greater people’s interest and ecosystems.

At the end of 2016, G’Audio Lab moved its headquarters to Los Angeles as the first step of its plan to target

the global content market?an aggressive move that was made possible by the investments it had received.

In October 2017, G’Audio Lab was honored with the “Innovative VR Company of the Year” award, alongside

multinational corporations such as Google and Facebook, at the VR Awards held in London.

Oh said, “We received high scores in all areas at the VR Awards, including technology, product usability,

and contribution to the industry. Immersive media is still an unfamiliar area for many, so we have been

enlightening content creators and platform providers and helping them solve critical problems for content

creation and consumption.”

The company’s proprietary audio format GA5 is so far the only way that a content creator’s intentions can

be delivered in their entirety. This is appreciated by content consumers who want to enjoy concerts, sports

and live events with superior audio quality.

At the forefront of the expansion of the immersive media industry

With the ultimate vision

of becoming the audio

standard for VR/AR

around the world,

G’Audio Lab expressed

its hope that its

technology will help the

friends and families of

its members and people

around the world find

greater happiness in their

everyday lives.



Lunit Inc. has developed a deep learning-based technology for analyzing medical images that dramatically

lowers the rate of misdiagnosis. Currently, the AI technology is being subjected to a sophistication process

in cooperation with major medical institutions in Korea, including Seoul National University Hospital,

Severance Hospital of Yonsei University Health System, Samsung Medical Center, and Asan Medical

Center.

Anthony Paek, the CEO of Lunit, explained, “The data-driven imaging biomarker (DIB) technology that Lunit

proposed for the first time ever in 2015 is an AI system that has learned abnormal and clinically significant

image patterns from big data.” He went on to add, “Currently, DIB technology has achieved an accuracy

level comparable to that of human experts. In the future, however, we will have new DIB technologies

capable of outperforming humans.”

Lunit’s DIB technology, called Lunit INSIGHT, uses AI technology to analyze existing x-ray images to help

doctors make more accurate diagnoses. So far, the results of clinical trials have shown that using this

technology increases diagnostic accuracy by 14 percentage points. Based on deep learning, an AI skill-

building practice that makes use of big data and artificial neural network technologies, Lunit INSIGHT is

capable of accurately analyzing images. Paek explained, “Most medical imaging AIs have been directly and

With a medical AI research team consisting of 12 deep learning researchers and three medical doctors,

Lunit has developed the best deep learning and computer vision technologies in the world. At the 2015

ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Competition, it ranked fifth in terms of object detection and

localization, surpassing the teams of Google and Tencent. Lunit’s technology has gained recognition around

the world through the company’s participation in international competitions, ranking first in the Tumor

Proliferation Assessment Challenge (TUPAC) in 2016 and Camelyon in December 2017. Also in 2017, Lunit

was also the only Korean company included on CB Insights’ “AI 100,” which ranks the 100 most promising

indirectly influenced by DIB technology. Since we now have access to the big data of hospitals and are

capable of processing DIB learning from various perspectives, the future potential of our company seems

quite high.”

Lunit’s AI interprets x-ray images and lowers the misdiagnosis rate

The top AI dream team in the world--better than those of Google and Tencent

Lunit Leads the Expansion of AI in the Healthcare Industry

X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation used to detect and diagnose various injuries and diseases,

such as bone fractures, lung cancer, and breast cancer. Compared to computed tomography (CT) and

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, x-rays are simpler and relatively less expensive. However, since

the images must still be interpreted by doctors, the technique still has one critical weakness: occasionally,

doctors fail to notice the signs of disease.

Developed AI-based medical imaging technology using big data and deep learning

Ranked highest in major computer vision

competitions around the world for the excellence of

its technology

Expected to release “Lunit INSIGHT,” an AI-based medical image analysis

program

Aims to apply its AI technology to all medical fields, including pathology



AI companies in the world, and secured an investment from K Cube Ventures, SoftBank Ventures,

Formation 8, and Mirae Asset Venture Investment.

Lunit unveiled Lunit INSIGHT, its AI-based real-time medical image analysis software, at the end of

November at the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago. Able to accurately detect the signs of

major lung diseases, such as lung cancer, pneumonia, pneumothorax, and tuberculosis, from x-ray images,

Lunit INSIGHT rapidly processes medical images to provide results in only seconds after the images are

uploaded and boasts an accuracy of 98 percent. The software is expected to be used for clinical purposes in

hospitals and medical centers starting in the second half of 2018.

Lunit CEO Paek said, “Lunit INSIGHT is the first AI-based medical image analysis program in the world that

has been released in a final, usable state. Through this release, we plan to expand the basis for the industry

so that more medical professionals can gain easy access to such image analysis software.” In the first

half of the next year, Lunit is expected to unveil a mammography solution that allows doctors to use Lunit

INSIGHT for the early diagnosis of breast cancer.

In the short term, we

will focus on improving

the regulations related

to the development and

utilization of AI. In the mid

to long term, however, we

will present fundamental

ideas for transforming

Korea into a leader rather

than a follower.

TwoEyes Tech, Inc.


Timeline State

CEO ▶ Song HunJoo Developed products ▶ VUO, a 3D 360° VR camera

Foundation date ▶ July 10, 2014 Website ▶ vuo360.com

Address ▶ 1408-4, O’biz Tower, 126, Beolmal-ro, Dongan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do

2014

2015

2016

2017

•�July - Founded as a corporation•�September - Established dedicated R&D department - Won a prize at the Small and Medium Business

Administration’s Innovative Technology Show•�November - Registered as a software business

•�March - Certified as a venture firm•�September - Won the grand prize (Minister’s Award) at the

Contents Startup League, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

•�June - Selected as one of the top 100 startups at Singapore’s Echelon Asia Summit 2016•�August - Changed corporate name to TwoEyes Tech, Inc. - Established a subsidiary in the United States•�November - Won third prize at the Gyeonggi Center for

Creative Economy & Innovation’s “IoT Biz Factory Demoday”

•�January - Participated in CES2017•�June - Jointly won the K-ICT Born2Global Centre’s “Go-To-

Market Demo Day”•�July - Selected to be a member company of the K-ICT

Born2Global Centre•�August - Came in first place in the K-Startup Investment Parade,

hosted by the Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation

- Selected as one of the 14th groups of alumni of POSCO’s Idea Marketplace

•�September - Selected as the 10th alumni of SparkLabs•�November - Selected as the sixth alumni of the Gyeonggi Center for

Creative Economy & Innovation’s K-Champ Lab - Won a CES 2018 Innovation Award for its 3D 360° VR

camera

3Not disclosed

Staff

Sales

About USD 200,000 through Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign


50 countries, including the United States

Overseas expansion



TwoEyes Tech’s technology for shooting in various modes using two pairs of fisheye lenses has

already started gaining recognition around the world. In November, the company was granted a CES

2018 Innovation Award, which is given to companies that have developed products that meet certain

standards of innovation, functionality, design, and other criteria at the world’s largest annual trade

show.

General consumers also began showing interest in TwoEyes Tech as well. The company’s recent

crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter managed to secure investments from 699 backers totaling

nearly USD 190,000, which is almost five times more than its original goal of $40,000 USD. In the

coming year, the company is planning to begin official sales through mass production, and another

funding project on Makuake, a Japanese crowdfunding site, is in the works as well.

Song HunJoo, CEO of TwoEyes Tech said: “We are planning to revamp our product name for a more

global audience once we start mass producing and selling the cameras. The challenge we are facing

now is to create a quality product that functions well and is easy to use.”

A pair of lenses captures mass appeal and innovation

TwoEyes Tech, 360-degree virtual reality that can be viewed easily and comfortably

TwoEyes Tech is a startup that has developed a binocular 360-degree field-of-view VR camera that

captures images using two pairs of fisheye lenses arranged 65 millimeters apart, just like the eyes of a

human, thus allowing for a more comfortable VR experience.

TwoEyes Tech made sure that the VR images it produces mirrors human eyesight by taking the standard

distance between human eyes into consideration when capturing the images. As a result, the images

show a three-dimensional representation of the world as people see it. In only one filming session, the

VR camera captures 360-degree 3D video that can be viewed on VR headsets, smartphones, computer

monitors, and 3D TVs. The videos, in full HD, 3D, and red-cyan mode, can be converted from and into

180-degree and 360-degree content, meaning that a single recording can be converted into six different

types of content.

Moreover, filming with the camera is quite easy. When held horizontally, the camera records in binocular

mode; when held vertically, it records in monocular mode. The recordings it produces can be viewed

immediately on a smartphone or uploaded to social media.

Successfully developed binocular 360-degree

field-of-view VR camera

Recognized at CES for innovative design and

engineering

Aims to become the global standard for VR

video capture

We are planning to

revamp our product name

for a more global audience

once we start mass

producing and selling the

cameras. The challenge

we are facing now is to

create a quality product

that functions well and is

easy to use.



Buzzvil



CEO ▶ John Lee, Young Lee Developed products ▶ Mobile lockscreen advertising platforms

Foundation date ▶ May 8, 2012 Website ▶ buzzvil.com

Address ▶ 2F, 3F, and 5F, Daelim Bldg., 272, Seokchonhosu-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

•�January - Launched mobile lockscreen advertising application “HoneyScreen”

•�June - Released HoneyScreen in Japan•�December - Attracted KRW 3 billion in Series A

investment from Softbank Ventures

December - Recorded annual sales of KRW 4 billion, showing a turnaround in operating profit

•�May - Launched the mobile lockscreen advertising platform “BuzzScreen,” which went on to secure Ok Cashbag as a partner

•�October - Selected as Best Portfolio in 2015 at the Softbank Ventures Forum

•�December - Attracted KRW 13 billion in Series B investment from LB Investment, KTB Network, POSCO Technology Investment, ES Investor, and Company K Partners and reported annual sales of KRW 9.6 billion

•�October - Expanded partners of BuzzScreen to 20 companies, including BC Card, L.Point, KT’s WhoWho and Clip Card, and T-money.

•�November - Acquired American lockscreen advertising company Slidejoy, securing 12 million global users

•�December - Posted global annual sales of KRW 25 billion

•�July - Provided lockscreen advertising service in 27 countries worldwide

•�August - Secured 17 million global users

70Domestic sales of KRW 2.1 billionGlobal sales of KRW 25 billion2017 global sales of KRW 35 billion

Staff

Sales

27 countries, including the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, and the United Kingdom

Overseas expansion

Song aims to expand TwoEyes Tech’s business from VR cameras to video-related software, to which his years

of experience in the computer graphics and 3D video industry can be applied to create a growth engine for the

company. In addition to its VR cameras, TwoEyes Tech is planning to unveil a VR video editing program as well.

The reason Song decided on a VR camera as the product with which TwoEyes Tech would enter the

overseas market lies in his career experience as well. Prior to founding TwoEyes Tech, Song worked

as a developer, creating a VR application called “ARC Interactive.” As the VR market began growing,

Chinese companies such as Huawei requested the production of VR cameras that could be embedded in

cellphones, and thus TwoEyes Tech was born.

“When I received those requests from Chinese companies, I immediately thought that was something that had

market demand,” remarked Song. “So, we started developing a VR camera in cooperation with Intops and other

manufacturers, based our determination to create a product that could be competitive in the global market.”

Aside from VR cameras, TwoEyes Tech also plans to unveil multi-angle cameras that can film at various angles

simultaneously and playback the recorded videos freely. The next product in the works is TwoEyes Hover, which

allows the user to change the direction of the camera by simply touching the display and quickly rotate the

camera by swiping across the screen. The company’s goal is to allow people to create 360-degree videos like

those in the Matrix movie without having to use special filming techniques or effects.

Song commented, “Our goal is to grow into a company that can shake up the VR camera market. My main

goals, however, are to contribute to the growth of the VR industry and improve upon our technology so that

it can become the standard for VR video capture.”

Aiming for video software beyond VR

CEO Song said, “Our goal

is to grow into a company

that can shake up the

VR camera market. My

main goals, however,

are to contribute to the

growth of the VR industry

and improve upon our

technology so that it can

become the standard for

VR video capture.

(as of end of 2016)

KRW 160billion in total

•Major investors - Softbank Ventures - LB Investment - KTB Network - POSCO Technology Investment

1.7million people


Total global users



products as well, while users can watch advertisements and earn reward points.

In May 2015, Buzzvil partnered with OK Cashbag to provide its BuzzScreen service and expanded its

partnerships with telecommunications companies and various other companies that offer loyalty programs.

Currently, Buzzvil has over 40 partners in Korea, including OK Cashbag, BC Card, T-Money, KT WhoWho,

Lotte L.Point, and 11st.

Buzzvil is now expanding its business beyond Korea to the United States, Japan, and other Asian and

European countries. To launch its service in the United States, Buzzvil acquired SlideJoy, an American

mobile lockscreen advertising company, in November 2016. HoneyScreen is a service that targets mainly

Asian users, while SlideJoy is its equivalent for North American and European users.

Currently, Buzzvil has 70 employees and is operating overseas branches in the United States, Japan, and

Taiwan. After advancing into the United States in 2014 to conduct research on and develop advertising

technology, Buzzvil is now expanding its business in the American market through SlideJoy.

Prior to entering the United States, Buzzvil began operating in Japan in May 2013 with its HoneyScreen

application, and released BuzzScreen more recently in the second quarter of 2017. The company is

expected to maintain stable growth in Japan, having reached the break-even point with HoneyScreen in the

third quarter of 2016. Starting in 2018, Buzzvil’s growth is also expected to pick up pace in Taiwan, where

the company began operating in 2015.

Based on Lee’s goal of creating the first mobile lockscreen ecosystem, Buzzvil unveiled BuzzScreen, a

business-to-business (B2B) model, following its HoneyScreen product.

BuzzScreen is provided to partner companies as a software development kit (SDK). When a partner

company installs the BuzzScreen SDK on their application, the users of the application will be able to use

the reward advertising platform on their lockscreens without having to install a separate application. Partner

companies receive a share of the marketing profits and use a part of the lockscreen to promote their own

Taking on the world with HoneyScreen and BuzzScreen

Dreaming of the first mobile lockscreen ecosystem

Buzzvil enters the global market with mobile lockscreen advertising

Buzzvil provides a mobile lockscreen advertising service. Upon its founding, Buzzvil first considered

providing a service through which compensation is provided to people who participate in viral marketing

campaigns on social media sites. The two founders named the company “Buzzvil” to signify the “buzz” they

would create through this viral marketing platform.

In the preparation stage, however, changes were made to the plan and the current service became the

company’s main product. Buzzvil CEO John Lee said he got the idea for a lockscreen advertising service

from the screen doors on subway station platforms.

In terms of their global

service, HoneyScreen

and SlideJoy are like

shock troops. Once we

collect enough data to

identify the preferences

and patterns of the users

of each country, we

will be able to create a

platform for entering B2B

partnership services.



MINDs Lab



CEO ▶ Yoo Taejoon Developed products ▶ AI platform “maum.ai”

Foundation date ▶ January 1, 2014 Website ▶ mindslab.ai

Address ▶ 6F, Dasan Tower, 49, Daewangpangyo-ro 644beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do

2014

2015

2016

2017

•�January - Launched MINDs Insight, a social big data analysis platform service•�February - Chosen as one of the companies to receive

customized technical support from ETRI (Electronics and Communications Research Institute), sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT (formerly Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning)•�April - Released MINDs MI, an industry-specific market

intelligence service•�May - Undertook the second-year task of the Exobrain project.•�July - Launched i-VOC, a VOC (Voice of the Customer)

analysis solution that made it onto the list of the top 100 national research and development accomplishments

•�August - Succeeded in attracting investment from a venture capital firm•�November - Undertook an R&D project to “develop deep

learning-based smart home voice-recognition device technology”

•�June - Launched a lineup of AI platform products •�July - Succeeded in attracting investment from another

venture capital firm

•�January - Vice Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance paid a visit to MINDs Lab and said, “The Ministry will work to loosen control in response to the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”•�February - Won Minister’s Award from the Ministry of Science

and ICT (formerly Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning) at the 2016 Technology Commercialization Awards•�May - Officially unveiled AI platform maum.ai•�August - Forged strategic business alliance with Ibiz Academy•�September - Won Recognition of Excellence Award at ITU

Telecom World

110Approx.

10 billion

Staff

Sales

•��Won Recognition of Excellence Award at ITU Telecom World 2017, which was organized by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), an agency of the United Nations•��Made it onto the list of the top 100 national research

and development accomplishments in 2014•��Won the grand prize in the category of

“excellent cases of public technology commercialization” at the 2016 Technology Commercialization Awards for the Special Research and Development Zones•�Included on Forbes Asia’s list of “10 South

Korean Startups Breaking Out in 2017”•�Selected as one of the second group of

alumni of the 2016 K-Global ICT promising technology development support businesses by the Ministry of Science and ICT (formerly Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning)

Major Accomplishments

KRW

5.7 billion


United States (New York and Silicon Valley) and Canada

Overseas expansion

While emphasizing that the

lockscreen ad service is one

of the services “made in

Korea” that could become

such a success case, Lee

said overseas expansion

was necessary for ensuring

South Korea’s success and

prosperity in the future.

(as of end of 2016)

Having doubled its sales every year so far, Buzzvil’s sales are expected to grow from KRW 20 billion in 2016

to KWR 35 billion in 2017. This incredible growth is being driven mainly by the dramatic increase in overseas

sales rather than domestic sales.

CEO Lee said, “Our growth has doubled every year in Korea. Although we are now only in the early stages

of signing partnership agreements with foreign companies, I believe that our incredible growth will continue

overseas as well.” Lee’s goal is to increase the company’s share of foreign sales from the current 20

percent to around 40 percent.

It was this goal that drove Buzzvil to plan its B2B service model, BuzzScreen, and register for the global

patent. The company also hired foreign developers to create a more global UX design in the development

stage and looked for local partners in its overseas advancement stage as well.

Doubling growth every year and increasing share of sales overseas



MINDs Lab is an AI platform company that provides an integrated AI solution, including everything from

core algorithms to AI consulting services. With the onset of the AI era, many companies wish to provide

intelligent chatbots, smart call centers, VR consultants, smart machines, AI-based education, and other

various AI services. However, it is very challenging for most companies to offer such services, as they do

not have the resources of large conglomerates and lack technical proficiency and cost efficiency. Moreover,

maintenance and repair are just as difficult for them as development. To support these companies to move

forward in AI business, MINDs Lab provides evolutionary AI platform “maum.ai” which serves as a platform

to implement a variety of AI services. The company also provides various AI services on top of the platform

in a modular approach, which are readily available so that companies can use its AI services on an as-

needed basis.

maum.ai platform consists of six modules, including Brain, an AI engine that functions independently; M2U,

MINDs Lab’s advanced technology has been receiving significant attention both at home and abroad. In

September, the company was recognized as the best and most innovative small and medium enterprise

at ITU Telecom World 2017, hosted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), where it was

the only Korean company to be selected. MINDs Lab was also included on Forbes Asia’s list of “10 South

Korean Startups Breaking Out in 2017” earlier this year.

which processes input and output commands for various interfaces and devices; MLT, which provides a training

platform for machine learning algorithms; BOT, a chatbot module; and BIZ, a business application optimized

for different business areas that provides analyses of customer reviews and real-time customer support.

These modules can be assembled in a plug and play manner and provide customized AI services for each

company. So far, MINDs Lab has participated in KEB Hana Bank’s text-banking AI project, developed the first AI

platform-based civil complaint service with Daegu Metropolitan City, developed AI chatbot for Samsung Gear S,

implemented AI call centers with various customers and is now applying its technologies and services to various

industries, including finance, communications, manufacturing, and public services.

MINDs Lab CEO Yoo Taejoon explained, “MINDs Lab is a comprehensive AI platform company that handles

all aspects of the general AI value chain, from the most basic technological elements to platforms, platform-

based smart machines, vertical business applications and expert consultations. By doing so, we are able

to provide companies that wish to adopt AI-based innovation with a more time and cost-efficient way of

introducing AI services.”

maum.ai platform understands people’s emotions

Engaged in competition based on technological capacity and earned the “attention” of the UN and Forbes

MINDs Lab mesmerizes the world with innovating AI technology and services

Provides customized AI services optimized for

each industry and service using AI modules

Operates various research centers focused

on linguistic and visual intelligence

Provides the latest AI services through prompt

updates

Attracted the attention of Forbes and the UN with its incredible idea and

technology We attracted a total of

KRW 4 billion in investment

from KEB Hana Bank and

KDB Bank in 2017 alone.

So far, we have secured a

total investment of KRW 9

billion.”



These achievements were the result of MINDs Lab’

s establishment of its own research lab and efforts to

further hone its technologies. Currently, 200 employees

of MINDs Lab and related companies in four different

countries are working to develop new technologies,

and MINDs Lab is independently operating R&D labs

specializing in various fields of AI, including linguistic

intelligence, visual intelligence and smart machines.

All we have is the concept

of the service, but we hope

to transform ourselves into

a portal, where necessary

information can be gained

not through a text search

but via an AI-based Q&A

service.

Riiid Co., Ltd.



CEO ▶ Jang Young Jun Foundation date ▶ May 2014 Website ▶ riiid.co

Developed products ▶ “Santa TOEIC,” a machine learning-based education platform

Address ▶ 4F, Geundo Bldg., 37, Yeoksam-ro 25-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

2014

2015

2016

2017

•�May - Founded Riiid•�June - Selected to participate in the Global K-Startup Program by the

Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and Korea Internet & Security Agency

•�July - Selected as a K-Startup company•�August - Attracted investment from SK Planet and the Banks

Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs•�December - Officially approved for technology guarantee and venture

firm certification

•�January - Attracted investment from TheVentures - Launched beta version of the “Renote!” service•�March - Selected for the TIPS Program, which supports accelerators

and tech startups based on private investment•�July - Selected as a startup in the “Value Up” category at the 2015

K-Global DB-Stars event•�September - Attracted investment from D3jubilee•�November - Won first prize (Korea Data Agency’s President Award)

in the “Value Up” category at the 2015 K-Global DB-Stars event

•�January - Launched beta version of the “Santa for TOEIC!” service - Attracted Series A investment from DSC Investment, DS Asset

Management, and Shinhan Capital•�April - Won the grand prize in the education category at the 2016

Korea Mobile Award•�July - Signed a cooperation agreement with KAIST to conduct joint

research on machine learning algorithms•�October - Filed a patent application for algorithms creating questions

customized for machine learning•�November - Presented a paper on AI algorithms at the Neural

Information Processing Systems (NIPS) conference•�December - Took top spot at the 2016 K-Global@Beijing event

•�April - Attracted Series A2 investment from DSC Investment, ES Investor, and Daesung Private Equity

•�June - Officially launched “Santa for TOEIC!”•�October - Came in first place in the consumer satisfaction category

at the 2017 KQSI Awards•�December - Won first prize in the education/culture ? language study category

at Asia Smart App Awards 2017 - Won Minister’s Award from the Ministry of Science and ICT at the

First Fourth Industrial Revolution Awards

32Not disclosed

Staff

Sales

•��Signed joint research contract with KAIST in July 2016

•��Submitted a paper to the 2016 NIPS academic conference

•��Filed two patents on machine learning

•��Signed an MOU on business partnership with LGU+


KRW

4.5billion


In the near future, MINDs Lab plans to focus on

providing AI services in SaaS (software as a service)

environment. Currently, the company has proven

success in providing an on-site platform for companies

to install the software and platform on their local

servers, for information sensitive industries such as

finance and governments. Leveraging these successes

and experience, MINDs Lab plans to expand its business not only locally but also for global markets through

SaaS platforms and services. Currently, MINDs Lab is drawing up strategies to provide these services for

their global clients.

Going further, MINDs Lab’s vision is to go beyond providing an AI platform ? to become an AI portal

company. In particular, the company will focus its efforts on developing an AI portal based on machine

reading comprehension (MRC) technology, which enables computers to understand the context of texts

and answer questions. It expects that MRC will fundamentally change the way in which users acquire

information. Moreover, MINDs Lab aims to provide AI-based call center BPO and AI-based education

services not as B2B but as B2BC or B2C services.

CEO Yoo of MINDs Lab remarked, “MINDs Lab has managed to increase its competitiveness by smoothly

transitioning from big data to deep learning and then to AI. Currently, all we have is the concept of the

service, but we hope to transform ourselves into a portal, where necessary information can be gained not

through a text search but via an AI-based Q&A service.”

Going beyond an “AI platform” to provide an “AI portal”



Based on his experience in Silicon Valley, Jang shifted his focus to education. Explaining how he came

to found Riiid!, he said, “While many aspects of our lives have been improved thanks to the remarkable

developments in IT, the rote-learning framework of our education system, under which the same

information is delivered to all students uniformly, has seen little change despite the introduction of Internet

lectures. I wanted to change the paradigm of the education market by providing personalized learning

services based on data mining and machine learning technologies.”

Riiid! has developed “Renote,” a smartphone application that makes it easy for students to identify and

manage all the incorrect answers they gave on worksheets, and created an adaptive learning algorithm

in January 2015. Based on this algorithm, Riiid! developed the adaptive-learning platform “Santa,” and

released “Santa TOEIC,” a customized learning platform optimized for the TOEIC exam as its first project,

which was commercialized and released in September 2017.

An educational service that features an AI tutor, Santa TOEIC was developed jointly by the research teams

of Riiid!, UC Berkeley, KAIST, and Seoul National University. Created using data on 30 million questions and

answers from 450,000 users acquired through R&D and beta tests, Santa TOEIC provides customized and

optimized learning methods for individual users.

Riiid!’s service provides questions that serve to strengthen the user’s particular weaknesses based on

data collected from 30 questions answered by the user. It predicts the questions the user will probably get

wrong and asks those questions. It also suggests optimized means of learning to increase one’s score as

quickly as possible by introducing concepts that the user does not have a good grasp on. CEO Jang said, “The

first Santa TOEIC we created provided customized learning based on an existing algorithm, but it became

the product it is now only after we collected data through user interaction.”

The accuracy rate of question prediction based on the machine-learning algorithm applied to Santa TOEIC

currently exceeds 90 percent. After the user answers 30 diagnostic questions, the AI analyzes the answers

and accurately predicts more than 90 percent of the time which questions the users will get wrong and

which wrong answer they will choose. Based on these predicted values, the AI then calculates which

questions and lectures will increase the user’s scores as much as possible. Ultimately, Santa TOEIC uses AI

technology to construct a personalized curriculum for each user to raise users’ scores based on the results

of the users’ answers to each question.

Founded edutech startup after seeing opportunity in Korea’s rote-teaching education market

Provides optimal learning method for users and “predicts wrong answers”

Riiid! changes the education paradigm with one-on-one AI teacher

Founded by the current CEO, Jang Young Jun, in 2014, Riiid! is an AI-based edutech startup whose most

competitive product is its machine learning-based “customized learning” service. Jang holds a degree in

Business Administration from UC Berkeley and has business experience in Silicon Valley. Based on his

diverse range of experience, he founded Riiid! after returning to Korea and has been innovating the country’

s English education market ever since.

A significant amount of R&D effort and the application of machine learning were necessary to complete

Continuous R&D achievements lead to billions of Korean won in investment

192 Success Stories of Born2Global Members

the technology. In the process, the research team led by Riiid! and Suh

Changho, a professor of KAIST, presented a paper titled “Machine learning-

based user analysis and problem-recommendation algorithm” at NIPS

(Neural Information Processing Systems) 2016, a global conference for

neural network-based AI research that was sponsored by 34 global firms,

including Google, Apple, Facebook, Alibaba, and Oracle. Riiid!’s research

achievement, based on real user data, has attracted the attention of

academics and resulted in the company fielding calls from interested

domestic and foreign investors.

In June 2017, Riiid! attracted additional investments from the Korean

venture capital firms DSC Investment, ES Investor, and Daesung

Investment, coming one year after the company attracted Series A

investment totaling KRW 2 billion from DSC Investment, DS Asset, and

Shinhan Capital in 2016. DSC Investment then went on make an additional

investment the following year, along with the first investments made by

ES Investor and Daesung Investment. Riiid!’s unique achievements in AI

technologies applicable to various multiple-choice tests, such as TOEIC,

TOEFL, and SAT, and market expansion strategies were key factors in the

investors’ decisions.

“Many investors identified with our vision of using our technology to

replace teachers in cram schools and the private education market with AI

tutors,” explained Jang. “We also earned positive reviews for reaching our

milestones according to schedule.”

Riiid! has dramatically revamped its content, system, and services for the

peak season (winter vacation). In 2018, the company hopes to achieve

even more in the Korean market through Santa TOEIC and start offering its

services in China as well.

Becoming a global service, achieving success in the Korean market, and entering the Chinese market

Afterword


▶ Afterword

Afterword 6

Afterword


Afterword

The first venture capital boom in the late 1990s and the second in the late 2000s were different in

many ways, but the main difference was the debate surrounding the existence of the “tech bubble.”

During the first venture capital boom, there was endless debate on the tech bubble, which eventually

did burst, causing significant damage to countless investors and workers. During the second venture

capital boom, however, very little concern has been expressed regarding another tech bubble, largely

because this time there are relatively fewer indiscriminate IPOs, less excessive speculation, and more

moral responsibility among entrepreneurs.

However, this does not necessarily mean that the second venture capital boom is any less intense than

the first. Since 2009, an average of 2,000 venture-backed companies have been founded every year,

bringing the total number of venture-backed companies in South Korea to over 35,000 by 2015. The

number of venture-backed companies registered in Korea recorded 34,281 in the first half of 2017, and

that number increased to a tentative 35,140 as of the end of November 2017.

40,000

35,000

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

*source Korea Venture Business Association (KVBA)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017.6

8,79

8 11,3

92

8,77

8

7,70

2

7,96

7

9,73

2

1,22

18

14,0

15

15,4

01 18,8

93

24,6

45

26,1

48 28,1

93

29,1

35

29,9

10

31,2

60 33,3

60

34,2

81

Afterword

Conclusion of the Korea Startup Index 2017

Number of Venture-Backed Companies Founded by Year

198 Afterword

Venture-backed companies are often highly effective in creating jobs. Companies that receive venture

capital investments generate up to four times more employment than non-venture-backed SMEs.

Early-stage startups and companies started by young people tend to create more jobs than others.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, from 2012 to 2016, venture-backed companies

created about 30,000 new jobs and maintained the employment of 140,000 people as of the end of

2016. In addition, venture-backed companies saw an annual average increase of four to 19.9 percent

in their number of employees over the same period, which is up to four times higher than the annual

average increase in employees at SMEs (4.5 percent as of 2014).

In line with the growth of venture-backed companies in South Korea, venture capital investment is

increasing rapidly as well, contrary to the subdued performance of venture investment in the global

market. According to the Korean Venture Capital Association, new venture capital investment reached

KRW 1.8375 trillion as of the end of October 2017, showing a 9.8-percent increase compared to the

record-breaking investment made in the same period in 2016 (KRW 1.6729 trillion).

However, although venture investment is increasing rapidly and venture-backed companies are highly

active, only a small number of companies have been successful in the global market. Among them,

Coupang, Woowa Brothers Corp., Yello Mobile, and Viva Republica have shown potential in the global

market, allowing them to attract investments from overseas investment firms, and a few startups have

been doing quite well in Indonesia, India, and other emerging markets. Nonetheless, only a handful of

venture-backed companies have created products or services that have gained attention in the global

market.

Considering the short history of startups in South Korea and the increasing number of startups that are

venturing overseas despite their lack of experience in the global market, there is plenty of potential

for Korean startups in the global arena, particularly for companies such as: Hyperconnect Inc., the

developer of the video chat service Azar, which now has more than 100 million users round the globe;

Vonvon, a media content company; Neofect, a developer of rehabilitation solutions that focuses on

the overseas market; and NBT, the developer of CashSlide, which has become the top lockscreen

advertising application in China.

While the computer-based Internet revolution drove the venture capital boom of the late 1990s, the

current smartphone-based mobile revolution has been leading the current venture capital boom since

the late 2000s. What differentiates this second boom from the first is the existence of a single global

market, which was impossible to imagine during the computer era but has become a reality through

Google Play and the App Store. And it has not even been a decade since we started competing in this

new global market. We are very hopeful that this year’s Korea Startup Index will provide the necessary

foundation for those who are dreaming of founding a global startup and entering the overseas market.

Date of Publication February 2018

Publisher K-ICT Born2Global Centre

4F, Startup Campus Building #3, 20, Pangyo-ro 289 beon-gil, Bundang-gu,

www.born2global.com

www.facebook.com/born2global

www.linkedin.com/company/born2global

문 의 [email protected]

Design and Printing Hwang Won Hee, Shinhwa-adcom and Kyungsung Munhwasa

※ The copyright of this book belongs to Born2Global.

Anyone wishing to use the content of this book must seek permission

in advance from the copyright holder.

Korea Startup Index 2017

Korea-Startup-Index-2017_Korean.pdf - Born2Global

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