Global Startup Ecosystem Report
Scope
Date
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IPOs
Korea’s tough IPO review drives bio startup to Nasdaq
A South Korean bio startup is aiming for a Nasdaq listing, deeming that the country’s exchange sets the bar too high for an initial public off...
Apr 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean games
Kakao Games invests $15 mn in Playable Worlds for global expansion
Kakao Games Corp., a game publishing unit of Korea’s web service giant Kakao Corp., has invested $15 million in US game studio Playable Worlds...
Apr 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Top-ranking S.Korean universities become hotbeds for promising startups
South Korean universities have become hotbeds for promising startups. Leading the trend are two of the country's best-known higher education ...
Apr 21, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
KDB resumes global venture IR event in Singapore
South Korea’s state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) said on Thursday that KDB NextRound, the bank’s venture investment platform, will h...
Apr 21, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Beauty & Cosmetics
Cosmax strengthens eco-friendly marketing in Southeast Asia
Cosmax Inc., a major South Korean original design manufacturer (ODM) for L'Oréal and other global cosmetics giants, is strengthening its ma...
Apr 21, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio & Pharma
Boryung takes 'health is wealth' to whole new level – space
South Korean biotech and pharmaceutical companies are expanding their footholds in the global space medicine market. Boryung, formerly Boryung Pharm...
Apr 20, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Hyundai Motor expands partnership with quantum computing firm IonQ
IonQ and Hyundai Motor Co. announced a new project on Wednesday designed to apply quantum machine learning to image classification and 3D object det...
Apr 20, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate governance
Global pension funds veto more of Korean firms' agendas
Global pension funds are expanding their influence as key shareholders of major companies in South Korea. Some of the world’s largest pensio...
Apr 19, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
South Korean conglomerates race to establish CVCs
One after another, South Korea’s household name conglomerates are establishing corporate venture capital (CVC) firms under their holding compa...
Apr 19, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
US and German startups funded by Mirae Asset join ranks of unicorns
Mirae Asset Venture Investment Co. is forecast to rake in more than 400 billion won ($325 million) for its investment in Moloco Inc. Mirae As...
Apr 15, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio & Pharma
SK's biotech bets step closer to commercialization
Biotechnology startups in Europe, backed by South Korea's SK Inc., are speeding up their development of next-generation drug candidates by joining h...
Apr 15, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
S.Korea’s luxury e-commerce startups poised to become unicorns
South Korea’s e-commerce startups are enjoying massive hikes in their valuations on the back of robust online spending by millennials and memb...
Apr 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pension funds
Korea Post to hire two GPs for global infrastructure debt
Korea Post, South Korea's state-run postal service agency, said on April 14 that its insurance arm will select two asset managers for a maxi...
Apr 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean stock market
Auto shares bounce back with foreigners' net buying
South Korean auto shares are showing some signs of a rebound after a long downtrend since the second half of last year. Foreign investors have ret...
Apr 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
Kakao Entertainment sets up content ecosystem with M&As
Kakao Entertainment Corp., a unit of South Korea’s top mobile messenger app operator, has established its own content ecosystem including crea...
Apr 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Metaverse
SK Telecom steps up metaverse push with Morph Interactive purchase
SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s top mobile carrier, has made an equity investment in Morph Interactive Co., a local three-dimensional graphics c...
Apr 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Naver aims to attract 1 bn users via active M&As by 2027
Naver Corp. vows to attract 1 billion users around the world and generate 15 trillion won ($12.2 billion) in five years. Only FAANG companies...
Apr 13, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kakao's game unit behind Odin valued at $2.7 bn before IPO
Lionheart Studio Corp., the firm behind South Korea’s popular mobile game Odin, is preparing to go public as early as this year, with its ente...
Apr 12, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Alternative investments
High conviction in private credit for a global portfolio
It seems as though the list of risks to investors is rising. Supply chain imbalances, higher raw material costs, rising interest rates, labor shortage...
Apr 12, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Creator tech startup Awake Corp. attracts over $892,000 in seed funding
Awake Corp., a startup that operates platforms to assist online creators, recently attracted 1.1 billion won ($892,473) in seed capital. The total a...
Apr 12, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hahn & Co. buys Korean food startup in bolt-on deal
Seoul-based private equity firm Hahn & Co. has acquired a South Korean meal kit provider for 75 billion won ($61 million), a deal expected to bo...
Apr 12, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Webtoons
South Korean comics platforms dominate global top 10
Six manhwa platforms operated by South Korea’s tech juggernauts rank among the top 10 paid digital comics platforms worldwide. Manhwa is ...
Apr 12, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Webtoons
Naver Webtoon to release three DC comics series from May
Naver Webtoon Ltd., the digital comics platform of South Korea’s online portal giant Naver Corp., is slated to intensify its partnership with ...
Apr 08, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pension funds
Korea Post to tap two GPs for global PE secondaries
Korea Post, South Korea's state-run postal service agency, said on April 6 its savings arm will choose two asset managers for two closed-end comming...
Apr 07, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Startups need to embrace ESG, industry insiders say
Environmental initiatives such as RE100 and high Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards are not just for conglomerates anymore, accor...
Apr 06, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Morgan Stanley PE closes first Korean buyout in 8 yrs
Morgan Stanley Private Equity has acquired a South Korean dietary supplements maker Life & Bio Co., in its first Korean buyout deal in eight yea...
Apr 06, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
Hyundai Motor, Kia rank fifth in global electric vehicle sales
South Korea’s two largest automakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., ranked fifth in terms of electric vehicle sales, which posted triple-di...
Apr 06, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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REITs
Mirae Asset Global REIT to raise $371 mn for US warehouses
Mirae Asset Global Real Estate Investment Trust Co., a South Korean listed REIT under Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., is set to raise around 450...
Apr 05, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pension funds
KTCU, CalSTRS to launch $505 mn JV for US warehouses
Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU), a retirement fund for South Korean teachers and employees, and The California State Teachers' Retireme...
Apr 05, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Kakao Piccoma acquires Japan’s cryptocurrency exchange SEBC
Kakao Corp., South Korea’s top mobile messenger app operator, has acquired a controlling stake in Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC), a Japanese c...
Apr 05, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
Latest News
- 1 Hyundai, Kia’s H1 vehicle sales in Singapore double, aided by HMGICS
- 2 Korea’s reshoring companies pale amid lack of support, incentives, tax breaks
- 3 Hyundai, Waymo forge multi-year, strategic partnership for self-driving vehicles
- 4 AI startup MarqVision raises $16.5 mn to close Series A
- 5 Taihan Cable wins $630 mn power grid project in Singapore