Biotech startup Bionetix easily surpassed what's known as the "10 billion won hurdle" by raising an additional 10 billion won in funding on Dec. 23. Industry experts aren't surprised.
One venture capital (VC) insider singled out Bionetix as a startup that "stands out in the areas of glaucoma and intractable illnesses, all of which are considered blue ocean opportunities," adding that receiving 10 billion won worth of investment isn't difficult for any company with a meaningful differentiation.
Some 100 startups raise over 10 billion wonRoughly 100 startups brought in over 10 billion won in funding in 2019. Woowa Bros. topped the list by selling 87 percent of its stake for 4.1 trillion won, followed by cosmetics maker Have & Be, which owns skincare brand Dr. Jart (1.3 trillion won acquisition), and Yanolja (214 billion won), among other startups that are eight to 15 years old. All of them were bought out by other companies.
Quite a few raked in hefty amount of funding in the Series A round, the first round of financing startups seek from investors. Fifteen startups raised more than 10 billion won in the Series A round alone this year. As the VC market heats up, more investors are making bold bets on promising companies.
Megazone Cloud, which was selected by LG CNS to partner and expand its cloud business, brought in 48 billion won in Series A investment last March.
Hyundai Motor's strategic partner Code42, a self-driving technology start-up, raised 30 billion won last October. Code42 was founded in March, which makes it less than a year old.