Top 50 Payments Startup Investors in South Korea in October 2023

Portfolio highlights

• Pillyze — mobile health care startup
• InHandPlus — We are working to solve the issue of medical nonadherence, where patients don't follow their prescribed medical regimes. This is a common and costly problem, and can even result in serious consequences. Our proprietary smartwatch is able to tell what medicine users take, and when they take it. Our AI-based management platform then collects thedata and provides personalized healthcare services and insights.
• Test Valley — Test Valley sells smartphones, tablets, cameras, computers, and household appliances.

Portfolio highlights

• Delabs Games — At Delabs Games, we want to create fun games that last a thousand years.
• SupraOracles — We're supercharging oracles to provide blockchains better, faster, accurate, and more secure off-chain data.
• Story Protocol — Story Protocol is building open IP infrastructure to grow the creativity of the internet era.

Portfolio highlights

• NRISE — NRISE is develops MOCI and WIPPY services. NRISE research and develops social media services to bring people the joy of communication.
• Goodoc — Goodoc (굿닥) is a Korean smartphone application that helps users with a variety of medical services. The app allows users to access reliable information on doctors, hospitals, and other medical services. It also provides users with information on doctors' fees, hospital fees, contact numbers, and more.
• Sangwha — Sangwha is an immersive content production company.

Portfolio highlights

• Eastend — Eastend is an e-commerce company engaged in the fashion business.
• Pillyze — mobile health care startup
• Luten Technologies — Luten Technologies is a provider of AI portal services.

Portfolio highlights

• Axoni — Axoni is a New York-based capital markets technology firm that specializes in distributed ledger infrastructure. Product offerings include blockchain deployments, large-scale data management, bespoke smart contract development, analytics services, and connectivity tools.
• AlloyX — AlloyX makes it simple and accessible for protocols, DAOs, and institutional investors to create diversified RWA investment strategies. We provide lenders with a flexible and efficient platform for managing all of their RWA assets based on their yield, risk, and liquidity preferences.
• Coinflow Labs — Coinflow is a payment solution that allows Web3 companies to accept traditional payment methods and payout their customers by converting cryptocurrency to USD in their traditional bank account.

Portfolio highlights

• Artue — Explore a diverse collection of artwork by new and emerging artists on Artue.io. Buy and sell original paintings, sculptures, photography, and more.
• B GARAGE — B GARAGE is an autonomous drone and service company for warehouse inventory management. B GARAGE is an homage to Willow Garage, a widely respected robotics research company that developed an open-source robotics software platform.
• ZUZU Hospitality — ZUZU Hospitality is chain for independent hotels, delivering revenue growth through distribution and revenue management.As such, we are the indisputable primary partner to hoteliers in driving revenue. Acting as their hotel operating system, we power their back office revenue generation business operations, allowing them to focus on being greathoteliers.

Portfolio highlights

• Hyku — Hyku Biosciences is developing the next generation of covalent medicines by targeting histidine, tyrosine and lysine binding pockets in disease-causing proteins.
• Wonderwall — Wonderwall is an online art learning platform.
• Passionate Powerhouse — Passionate Power as a full-fledged multi-content IP in the future by designing and producing games, cartoons, movies, franchise items, and so on in constant partnership with domestic and overseas partners.

Portfolio highlights

• Bionsight — We are pioneering a new era of AI to facilitate the long journey from a laboratory to the patients in drug discovery
• Superblock — Superblock vision removes centralized web servers and puts blockchain run by the people in the system's core.
• Pribit Technology — Pribit Technology is a technology agency that provides cloud network security technology to related technology services.

Portfolio highlights

• Panmnesia — True composable resource disaggregation, CXL hardware/software infrastructure from the beginning to the end.
• Switchwon — Switchwon provides currency exchange services.
• Green Mineral — Green Mineral specializes in recycling metals in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner using microalgae. Green Mineral has developed technology to recycle lithium in an environmentally friendly manner by extracting lithium using a bio-mineralization technique rather than an existing organic solvent.

Portfolio highlights

• Korbit — Korbit provides online bitcoin exchange, wallet, and merchant processor services. Kangmo Kim, Louis Jinhwa Kim, and Tony Lyu founded it on July 5, 2013, with its headquarters in Seoul in South Korea as a subsidiary of NXC as of September 26, 2017.
• Pogoseat — Pogoseat provides innovative mobile ticketing solutions that helps live-entertainment venues sell more tickets and enhance the fan experience.
• Bluesmart — Bluesmart develops Internet connected travel products that include physical products combined with software. It offers Bluesmart app, a solution that allows users to control suitcases from their phones, receive smart alerts, and track their travel data to get insights about travel habits. Bluesmart also provides digital lock solutions for luggageand its contents; battery charging and location tracking solutions; and distance alerts and trip data. Alejo Verlini, Brian Chen, Diego Saez-Gil, Martin Diz, and Tomi Pierucci founded it on Novermber 5, 2013, with its headquarters in Mountain View in California.

Portfolio highlights

• Early Pay — Early Pay is a service to small businesses across the country that selects and calculates card and delivery platform transactions made in physical stores. The goal is to significantly improve small business owners' cash flow and, ultimately, lower the closure rate by extending the life cycle of small business owners by reducing the settlementcycle, which used to take up to 14 days, to one day.
• Gwanak Analog — Gwanak Analog is a supplier of high performance Power/Analog SoC and Sensor products
• Learning Spoons — Learning Spoons employs both online and offline ways to give professionals with courses in data science, business, real estate and many more.

Portfolio highlights

• Mars4 — Mars4 (MARS$) defines itself as a virtual reality platform powered by the blockchain, that allows users to create, experience, and monetize content and applications and earn passive income through revenue generating Mars NFT Land Plots. In this virtual world on Mars, users purchase plots of land that they can later navigate, build upon and monetize.
• Velo Labs — Velo Labs is software company revolutionizing the old correspondent bank system by creating a global settlement network. We are empowering financial institutions with blockchain-based and compliance-friendly solutions to move money across borders.
• Parex Market — Parex Market provides DAO ecosystem that includes a range of solutions.

Portfolio highlights

• Gapzone — Gapzone sells air-purifying plants, garden seedings, flower seedlings, pots, soil, and materials.
• Endorobotics — Endorobotics is a healthcare centre that offers endoscopic surgery services.
• Nature Mobility — Nature Mobility is a mobile application platform.

Portfolio highlights

• Deargen — DEARGEN advances the treatment of rare and intractable diseases through the integration of AI and collective intelligence.
• OpenPlan — OpenPlan develops an online platform that offers mini insurance packages. It offers insurance premiums for various types of daily activity. OpenPlan was founded in 2019 and is based in Seoul, South Korea.
• Toggle — Toggle provides customized one-day insurance that can be purchased even with a small amount.

Portfolio highlights

• Gaonchips — Gaonchips is a chip enterprise that engages in system semiconductor development. They provide an optical solution to clients based on technology. It also provides all solutions necessary for developing and producing massive system semiconductors, ranging from RTL and platform design and verification, DFT insertion, layout, and packaging to testing.
• onepredict — We offer a digital brain solution that diagnoses and predicts the status of key industrial assets based on industrial AI and IoT technologies.
• OPENEDGES Technology — OPENEDGES Technology, Inc. is the world's only total memory subsystem and AI platform IP provider that delivers NoC interconnect, DDR memory controller, DDR PHY, and NPU IPs.

Portfolio highlights

• RSN — RSN provides solutions that analyze changes in social awareness and trends in the flow of digital information and suggest their meaning.
• Letsur — Letsur developing automated solutions for AI development and data cleaning services.
• RichAlien — Rich Alien was founded with the intention of creating immersive mobile games ranging from worldwide casual social games to mid-core games based on well-known foreign animations and webtoon IPs.

Portfolio highlights

• InnoQD — InnoQD is a developer of thin-film materials for quantum dots, which are ultra-fine semiconductor particles on the nanometer scale
• CloudHospital — Founded in Seoul, South Korea, CloudHospital is a robust online platform helping patients around the world find the best providers for their needs regardless of where they are located. We are an experienced team from around the globe with ample experience in the fields of web technology, medical practice, and finance. Our mission is simple: to makeit easier for everyone to find the best medical solutions anywhere in the world.By investing in technology that takes the complexities out of world-wide medical services, icloudhospital.com can seamlessly connect millions of patients around the world to excellent medical services, both from the most demanding surgeries to the most accurate health checkups as well as the world’s most advanced cosmetic procedures. As one of the world’s most well integrated medical concierge services firm, icloudhospital.com enables hospitals and clinics around the world reach their global audience efficiently.Our services, which are accessible through icloudhospital.com is available in English, Chinese and Russian and offers the best medical hospitals and clinics, including the best respected doctors in their field of expertise. For all your medical care needs, icloudhospital.com makes it easy and supports you with 24/7 customer support.
• Trash Busters — Trash Busters manufactures reusable cups and dishes.

Portfolio highlights

• sTraffic — sTraffic provides fast and safe transportation system solutions.
• Com2Verse — 'Com2Verse', the ALL-IN-ONE metaverse platform of Com2uS
• Source.ag — Our AI supports both experienced and new growers to produce more fruit and vegetables anywhere in the world, increasing business results while reducing risks

Portfolio highlights

• Difon — Difon is a developer of smart window solution technology, which is designed to regulate sunlight transmittance.Difon Co., Ltd. emerged as a spin-off from Hyundai Motor Group in 2021, with a vision to evolve into a leading provider of smart film solutions. The company is dedicated to enhancing consumers' living spaces by conducting researchand development while manufacturing smart films.To accelerate the adoption of smart film technology, Difon has established a robust supply chain through strategic alliances and investments in system integration with various relevant companies, including glass manufacturers, automobile OEMs, and construction firms.With a strong commitment to sustainability and social responsibility, Difon aims to foster a better environment and future through its endeavors. The company strives to maximize its impact by continually innovating and creating products that benefit both consumers and society as a whole.
• Switchwon — Switchwon provides currency exchange services.
• Fairy — Capture the high intent moments to persuade users outside of your app. Accompany your customers outside of your app and engage at an intent-rich moment in real time.

Portfolio highlights

• Bacu — Bacu provides restaurant technology and offer a comfort food concept.
• Kenzz — Kenzz is an e-commerce platform bringing shopping to the mass market in Egypt and MENA.
• Meliora Therapeutics — Bringing together modern molecular fingerprinting, machine learning, and cutting edge biology

Portfolio highlights

• Brine.fi — The best onchain spot trading crypto exchange
• Florida Street — PIXEL GG INC.
• Maverick Protocol — Trade. Earn. Any Asset. Stop paying for price discovery. Enjoy higher capital efficiency.

Portfolio highlights

• VCAT.AI — VCAT.AI is a business-to-business (B2B) subscription software (SaaS) based on AI technology. Create mass marketing creatives as video and banner images just with an product URL or TEXT.
• Yipscell — Yipscell is a biotech company that develops IPSC stem cell therapy to diagnose and treat incurable diseases.
• Onconic Therapeutics — Onconic Therapeutics specialises in the research and development of cancer treatments.

Portfolio highlights

• Opolis — Opolis is next-gen Digital Employment Platform for Freelancers providing payroll, benefits and other services for independent workers and freelancers.
• GAST Clearwater — GAST Clearwater is a US-based, next-generation water treatment company with a mission to provide Water for Mankind one drop at a time. Operating in various industries and markets from Real Estate, Wastewater Treatment, Municipal Potable Water, and various others in particular focusing on the recovering and recycling of different waters in acentralized or decentralized way. The company also does artificial beaches, urban lagoons, wave pools, surf parks, aquatics to sewerage treatment, wastewater, and drinking water.
• Alef Aeronautics — Armada operates in a stealth mode

Portfolio highlights

• AiderX — AiderX is a technology startup that creates AI assistants for everyone. We believe that AI should be available to everyone and that it has the potential to change the way we live and work. Our goal is to make AI simple, intuitive, and simple to use.
• MathFLAT — MathFLAT is a B2B mobile solution for mathematics education.
• PlayList — PlayList is a web drama production company that produces dramas and music content. The company's two flagship web drama series, Love Playlist and A-Teen have gained huge popularity amongst the 18-24 age segment. Playlist dramas have over 10 million subscribers and 1.3 billion views.

Portfolio highlights

• Bold — Bold is your home for personalized, science-backed workouts shown to reduce fall risk. Assess your strength, mobility, and balance with a free 1-minute test.
• Atropos Health — Atropos Health rapidly provides personalized real-world evidence for any clinical decision
• Mesh — Mesh enables safer, easier crypto transfers and payments from 300+ leading exchanges and wallets, all without leaving your platform

Portfolio highlights

• Bind — Bind is a start-up that operates the mobile and PC version of 'Athler'.
• Inertia — Developer of natural sanitary napkins designed to solve women's problems with empathy and technology.
• Epic Corporation — The Epic One platform services will be improved, and Epic Corporation will broaden its business sectors. First, the global bidding system in four significant Asian nations will be improved overall, coupled with an update to the AI function that determines the anticipated contract price, in order to maximize the transaction completion rate for thesale of luxury assets. Additionally, there is a plan to considerably broaden its brands and product categories, which currently include luxury watches, luggage, hypercars, and artwork.

Portfolio highlights

• AB180 — AB180 is a data-driven performance marketing firm that assists organizations in the digital age using data analytics & marketing technology.
• AIDIN ROBOTICS — AIDIN ROBOTICS redefine interactive sensors. Advanced force/torque sensor, proximity sensor for human-robot collaboration.
• Daejin Advanced Materials Co. — Daejin Advanced Materials Co. is a research institute that manufactures fullerene, electric, and thermally conductive polymer materials.

Portfolio highlights

• Paywork — PayWal is a payment platform that provides dedicated project teaming, task execution checks, and contract management services.
• InHandPlus — We are working to solve the issue of medical nonadherence, where patients don't follow their prescribed medical regimes. This is a common and costly problem, and can even result in serious consequences. Our proprietary smartwatch is able to tell what medicine users take, and when they take it. Our AI-based management platform then collects thedata and provides personalized healthcare services and insights.
• Medi Whale — We believe that early detection is the best prevention. Our innovative diagnostic technology helps you take action before symptoms appear.

Portfolio highlights

• Paywork — PayWal is a payment platform that provides dedicated project teaming, task execution checks, and contract management services.

Portfolio highlights

• Paywork — PayWal is a payment platform that provides dedicated project teaming, task execution checks, and contract management services.
• Solvook — Solvook is a copyright licensing platform for educational materials intended to provide copyright clearance services.
• Paraform — Get paid to recruit for the most exciting startups on your own terms. Recruiting has never been so accessible.

Portfolio highlights

• BRLab — BRLab is a healthcare company in the sleep tech area. We serve sleep tracking and enhancing platform but also ai-based life coaching services. BRLab's platform allows you to use top notching sleep technologies to any type of related applications.
• Returnit — RETURNIT is a service that replaces single-use containers with reusable containers used for food delivery.
• Live Anywhere — Live Anywhere is a tour guide that recommends houses suitable for monthly living.

Portfolio highlights

• Kigle — KIGLE, KIDS' FIRST PLAYGROUND
• Kinolights — Kinolights is a movie rating and recommendation services provider.
• Fassker — Fassker is a fashion magazine and community for the digital native generation.

Portfolio highlights

• FraSen — Frasen Inc. provides software and hardware related to healthcare services. It developed a hardware known as Neurofeedback Sleep Mask and a software known as Personal Sleep Care Service.Neurofeedback Sleep Mask is based on the neuroscience of sleep. It is able to measure the brain waves to monitor sleep stages precisely and to stimulate thebrain using sound and light to synchronize brain waves from light sleep stages to deep sleep stages.Frasen has received investments from FastTrackAsia.It was established on March 8, 2010.
• Melephant — Melephant Inc. is a Korea based startup established in October 2013.
• Jumping Nuts — Jumpingnuts is an app designed to provide a new social experience for teens around social modes, and the app also provides granular controls over followers to ensure that users can decide who sees their content.

Portfolio highlights

• Gatenox — Gatenox brings 4x more clients by streamlining the Corporate KYC process while enhancing the user experience
• League of Traders — The one-stop-shop to maximize your profits, see all of your exchanges in one portfolio, Copy Trade the best Traders, and compete in trading competitions to win cash prizes! Sign up now and become a member of the League of Traders.
• Stableton Financial — Challenge the boundaries of conventional investment portfolios. Stableton is a partner for fast-growing companies and founders across FinTech, Consumer, B2B SaaS and Mobility globally, with a focus on Europe and North America.

Portfolio highlights

• Iskra — Iskra is the premier destination for web3 gaming and innovation. Play and earn Web3 Games where everybody wins. The future of play happens here.
• Epic League — Epic League is a company specializing in Online RPG and blockchain ecosystem.
• Brassica Finance — Brassica Finance develops an investment infrastructure for private securities and digital assets. Its API-forward solutions are designed to seamlessly integrate with the existing infrastructure of the investment platform.

Portfolio highlights

• Aethir — Aethir’s Decentralized Cloud Infrastructure (DCI) is the framework that unbinds the macro trajectory of the AI and gaming industry, from the walled garden resources of the incumbent cloud hegemony.Aethir's make complex cloud resources more accessible.
• dappOS — dappOS a project aimed at developing an operating protocol to lower the barriers to entry for Web3 apps by developing solutions that increase their usability and accessibility.
• Solv Protocol — Decentralized Liquidity Infrastructure

Portfolio highlights

• Kollider — Kollider build tools and services to make financial markets available to everyone, across borders, instantly and simply using Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.
• LiveArtX — LiveArtX is a premium NFT platform that connects the art world with web3. Built by art industry leaders, LiveArtX brings creators, collaborators, and collectors into the metaverse.
• Coinshift — Coinshift is a crypto treasury management platform that helps businesses and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO's) manage their crypto easily and empowers users to collaborate and approve transactions, execute mass pay-outs, etc.

Portfolio highlights

• TabTrader — TabTrader - Cryptocurrency trading terminal. Over 20K+ trading instruments on 20+ major exchanges in one app.
• Sparrow — Sparrow is the leading options trading platform, providing the simplest way to control risk and monetize digital assets. This revolutionary platform empowers institutions and individuals to trade options that are settled by smart contract. Headquartered in Singapore, Sparrow offers fully-customizable options settled by smart contract in anintuitive and easy-to-use trading interface. Professional traders can use Sparrow trading APIs for maximum performance. Sparrow serves the needs of all traders by providing a wide range of industry-leading trading tools.Sparrow is backed by renowned organizations such as: Signum Capital, Hyperchain Capital, Kyber Network, LuneX Ventures, Arrington XRP Capital, Digital Currency Holdings, Du Capital, The Yozma Group, QCP Capital, 256 Ventures and Jubilee Capital who firmly believe in the project and have committed to use Sparrow as their preferred hedging partner.
• League of Traders — The one-stop-shop to maximize your profits, see all of your exchanges in one portfolio, Copy Trade the best Traders, and compete in trading competitions to win cash prizes! Sign up now and become a member of the League of Traders.

Portfolio highlights

• MetaBeat — The MetaBeat platform is an incentivization community platform powered by fan activities rewarded by a set criteria, the FANomance Index. Creators/artists and fans grow as partners through engagements and rewards on the MetaBeat platform.
• Data Mynt — B2B2C web3 fintech platform

Portfolio highlights

• Aravita — Intelligent Fresh Food Ordering
• Ethernovia — Embrace the future of vehicle networks with Ethernovia's new Ethernet approach. Explore our cutting-edge technology today.
• Verity — Our automated inventory tracking system powered by self-flying inventory drones makes the zero-error warehouse a reality.

Portfolio highlights

• MetaBeat — The MetaBeat platform is an incentivization community platform powered by fan activities rewarded by a set criteria, the FANomance Index. Creators/artists and fans grow as partners through engagements and rewards on the MetaBeat platform.
• Cypher — Cypher is a decentralized synthetic asset protocol, allowing retail and institutional investors to create and trade pre-public markets.
• Synesis One — Synesis One provides a play-to-earn model on the Solana blockchain that develops games on the frontend to incentivize users and on the backend creates datasets that train AI. This fully functional system has already been integrated with its beneficiary, Mind AI, which relies on natural language reasoning to produce conversational AI systems. Withcustomers already lined up, Synesis One's key appeal is its ability to attract other projects that will pay to use their AI solutions within the blockchain space and across different industries.

Portfolio highlights

• MetaBeat — The MetaBeat platform is an incentivization community platform powered by fan activities rewarded by a set criteria, the FANomance Index. Creators/artists and fans grow as partners through engagements and rewards on the MetaBeat platform.
• Metabase — Play Blockchain Games and Use Axie Infinity Guild Tools
• Mecha Morphing — Mecha Morphing is a browser-based, decentralized, play-to-earn ARPG game. They offer PVE, PVP loot mode, PVP arena, and bounties. They also provide weapons, mecha armour pieces, land, and characters.

Portfolio highlights

• Inabooth — Inabooth is a character licensing platform that connects character IP owners and character IP users.
• Revation — Revation is an eco-friendly product development company that focuses on environmental issues through design and technology.
• Junction Med — Junction Med develops and operates CareBom, a child-based senior healthcare communication service.

Portfolio highlights

• Webling — Weebling is concentrating on infrastructure investment for service differentiation in addition to introducing high-end DTG (Direct to Garment) printing technology from Cornit, Israel for the first time in the domestic POD sector to increase the printing quality of its key product, apparel.
• I-Aurora — I-Aurora is a fintech startup that operates the Namane Card
• WizSchool — We employ real-time user code analysis algorithm based on compiler technology to diagnose learners’ levels and status of the software education. And our AI tutor for coding education using deep learning technology offers learner-centered customized learning contents to the users. Aiming for the global market, we are developing and growing ourbusiness to solve the shortage problem of software education instructors and also provide the market with the best quality software education service.

Portfolio highlights

• Casual Steps — Casual Steps provides Snapshop, the easiest cross-border shopping ever. Initially serves Koreans buying fashion products from US.
• Postcard Game Studio — A Brand New AAA Game Development Studio located in Irvine, California
• Quantit — Quantit is a fintech company that develops and operates AI platform solutions for investment and automatic management of securities and digital assets. Quanta intends to lead the ' digitization of the capital market & capitalization of the digital asset market, which is rapidly taking place recently through the platform.

Portfolio highlights

• MetaBeat — The MetaBeat platform is an incentivization community platform powered by fan activities rewarded by a set criteria, the FANomance Index. Creators/artists and fans grow as partners through engagements and rewards on the MetaBeat platform.

Portfolio highlights

• AI Spera — AI Spera provides AI driven security based on cyber threat intelligence
• Together — Together will enable researchers, developers & companies to leverage and improve artificial intelligence with an intuitive data, models & computation platform.
• Light Field Lab — Escape the Screen. We're creating a world where content escapes the screen and merges with reality.

Portfolio highlights

• CTEE — CTEE is an online solution that empowers content creators to monetize their passion.
• Refeely — Refeely provides sustainable carton packaging solutions for beverages.
• TRUCK LINX — TRUCK LINX is a software to check and pay transportation cost online.

Portfolio highlights

• Stari — Stari is an entertainment tech platform that connects stars and fans through personal stories.
• ASWEMAKE — ASWEMAKE is a shopping app that delivers groceries.
• KevinLAB — KevinLAB is a company specializing in platforms of energy management systems.

Portfolio highlights

• Lambda256 — Founded in 2012, Dunamu (CEO Lee Seok-woo) is currently providing services as the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Korea, 'Upbit'​ and stock trading platform based on social network, ‘Kakao Stock'​. Both services are leading in the industry and ecosystems. (Upbit launched in Oct. 2017, Kakao Stock launched in Feb. 2014) Dunamuprovides the best service in the fields of cryptocurrency, securities, and asset management. Dunamu is getting much attention in both domestic and global market with professional specialists, innovative services and excellent technology. Recently, it announced to make investment of 100 billion dollars in the blockchain industry, leading the way in creating blockchain ecosystem.
• Openknowl — OPENKNOWL is an online career management system, offering mentoring facilities and careers camps for those wanting to develop a career in the IT sector.
• Reasoned Art — Reasoned Art is the Italian gallery dedicated to CryptoArt. it selects the best digital artists worldwide, curates physical and virtual exhibitions, and certifies the authenticity of works allowing their sale through NFT.