habit forming app
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AI startup Return Zero transforms phone calls into texts
South Korea-based startup Return Zero is enhancing the quality of life for people through its voice recognition app, Vito, which provides phone call...
Aug 10, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korean activist fund KCGI joins in consortium to buy Ssangyong
A South Korean electric bus maker Edison Motors Co. added the activist fund Korea Corporate Government Improvement Fund (KCGI) as a financial invest...
Aug 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Google’s in-app billing system ignites power play among Korean regulators
South Korea’s attempt to prohibit global app store operators from forcing certain in-app payment schemes has hit a bumpy road due to power pla...
Aug 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Fashion app Queenit raises $9 mn from VC firms
Queenit, a South Korea-based fashion mobile platform targeting women in their 40s and 50s, has raised 10 billion won ($9 million) from venture capit...
Jul 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
SK Materials’ shares fly high on rosy business outlook
Shares of SK Materials Co., the industrial gas manufacturing affiliate of South Korea’s SK Group, are hovering around all-time high levels ami...
Jul 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
S.Korea closer to banning Google's in-app billing system
South Korea is a step closer to stopping app store operators like Google Inc. and Apple Inc. from requiring all digital content purchases from apps ...
Jul 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Battery materials
SK Materials to form a JV with US battery startup Group14 Technologies
SK Materials Co., SK Group’s industrial gas manufacturing arm, will set up a joint venture (JV) with a US battery materials startup Group14 ...
Jul 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Hydrogen economy
Korea forms ambitious public-private green ammonia alliance
South Korea has taken a major step forward in building the hydrogen economy by forming an extensive green ammonia alliance involving 13 private firm...
Jul 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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EV Batteries
LG Chem to form separator JV with Japan’s Toray
LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s top chemical maker, and Japan’s Toray Industries Inc. will set up a joint venture (JV) for separators, cor...
Jul 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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M&As
Blackstone may team up with Mahle to buy Hanon Systems
The Blackstone Group is in discussions with German automotive parts manufacturer Mahle GmbH to make a joint bid for South Korea's Hanon Systems Corp...
Jul 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
Indonesia's HappyFresh draws half of new funding from Korea
Indonesia's online grocery platform HappyFresh will receive another $33 million from South Korean investors, including the Asian startup fund of Nav...
Jul 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Online players head S.Korea's biggest month for IPOs
South Korea's initial public offering market in July is expected to see its largest-ever amount of share issues for a single month, worth over 8 tri...
Jul 01, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Atlas Labs makes it easy to transcribe phone calls via AI technology
South Korean startup Atlas Labs is making it easier for people to keep track of their phone conversations via Switch, an app that uses artificial in...
Jun 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean games
Why Google is getting heat from game companies on recent commission cuts
Global IT giant Google is facing strong backlash from South Korean game companies angry with having to pay a 30% commission on in-app purchases whil...
Jun 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fintech
Toss en route to being Korea’s first fintech decacorn; valuation tops $7 bn
South Korea-based mobile financial platform Toss is en route to becoming the country's first fintech decacorn, or a company valued at over $10 billi...
Jun 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Electric vehicles
Kia, Uber form electric mobility partnership in Europe
South Korea’s second-largest automaker Kia Corp. has forged a partnership with Uber Technologies Inc. to supply electric vehicles in Europe fo...
Jun 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Korean PEFs buy Spyder's S.Korean license for over $50 mn
A consortium of three South Korean private equity firms has acquired the domestic operations of the US sportswear brand Spyder for 60 billion won ($...
Jun 11, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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The Deep Dive
Misandry controversy rattles Korean retailers; CEO of No.1 fashion app steps down
Gender-discrimination controversies are rattling South Korean retailers, with two companies recently accused of misandry in publicity campaigns. In...
Jun 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Shopping app Ably raises another $55 mn
South Korea-based Ably Co., operator of the fashion app Ably, announced on Jun. 2 that it has raised 62 billion won ($55.7 million) in a Series B ex...
Jun 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
Samsung, Bayer join $90 mn investment in AI healthcare app Ada Health
Samsung Electronics Co. and Germany’s pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG have made a joint investment in the Berlin-based artificial intelligence (...
May 28, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Energy
POSCO, Orsted form offshore wind and hydrogen partnership
South Korea’s steelmaker POSCO has taken another big step in accelerating the industry’s shift toward renewable energy. POSCO said on Ma...
May 28, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank to invest $2 bn in Yanolja
Vision Fund, led by billionaire SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, has decided to invest around $2 billion in South Korea's largest travel platform Yan...
May 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
Travel app Yanolja seeks $900 mn from SoftBank pre-IPO
South Korea’s largest travel platform Yanolja is in negotiations with SoftBank Vision Fund for an investment up to 1 trillion won ($900 millio...
May 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Fashion platform Ably looks to raise over $20 mn
South Korea-based Ably Corporation, the operator of fashion platform Ably, is seeking to raise around 40 billion won ($35.3 million), attracting a p...
May 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Chat fiction app operator eyes global expansion, webtoon market
As smartphones have become essential to everyday life, chat fiction -- storytelling in the form of fictional text messaging -- has become popular am...
May 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
SoftBank Ventures invests in fashion app targeting middle-aged women
South Korea-based Queenit, a fashion mobile platform targeting middle-aged women, has secured around 5.5 billion won ($5 million) from a pool of hig...
May 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Delivery app Yogiyo bidders narrowed to Shinsegae, PEFs
Germany's Delivery Hero SE has narrowed down the list of bidders for South Korea’s second-largest food delivery platform Yogiyo to Shinsegae I...
May 11, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Heated shopping platform M&As shake up fashion industry
South Korea's fashion industry is all shook up following the No. 1 online fashion platform Musinsa's decision to acquire 29CM, the country’s s...
May 10, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
Delivery app Yogiyo draws bids from retailers, PEFs
South Korea’s second-largest food delivery app Yogiyo has drawn about 10 preliminary bidders, including retailer Shinsegae and private equity ...
May 05, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Hyundai Motor Group forms TaaS division to be led by 42dot CEO
Hyundai Motor Group has created a new Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) division that will oversee the mobility businesses of Hyundai Motor Co. and...
Apr 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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