Forbes Asia 100 to watch 2022 (south korea)

포브스가 아시아 스타트업 중 지켜볼 만한 스타트업 100선을 꼽았다. 

그 중 한국인이 창립한 회사들을 분야별로 살펴보고 디깅해보고자 한다. 

 

Bio technology & healthcare

 

AI For Pet

Year founded: 2020 • CEO: Euna Hur

AI For Pet operates an app that can detect eye and skin diseases in cats and dogs using software that analyzes photos users take with their phones. Over 1 million samples of imaging data, labeled by veterinary experts, were used to develop its AI models, the company says.

 

Doctornow

Year founded: 2019 • CEO: Jiho Jang

The telemedicine startup partners with hospitals and pharmacies to provide remote treatment and prescription-drug delivery services. Its app has reached more than a million downloads on the Google Play store, making it one of the top medical apps in South Korea. The startup said it raised $32 million in funding in June.

 

Counsumer Technology 

 

Apartmentary

Year founded: 2015 • CEOs: Junyoung Kim, Soyeon Yoon

Apartmentary aims to digitalize South Korea's large but fragmented home renovation market. The Seoul-based startup developed a website and app for end-to-end home renovation services. It claims almost 60% of its customers were very satisfied with its services, higher than the industry average.

 

 

WAD

Year founded: 2017 • CEO: Yong Tae-soon

WAD operates a real-time restaurant reservation platform called CatchTable. According to the startup, the platform hosts about 3,000 restaurants throughout South Korea. Users can also write and read restaurant reviews. In April, WAD raised 30 billion won (about $25 million) in series C funding.

 

E-commerce

Backpackr

Year founded: 2012 • CEO: Donghwan Kim

Backpackr operates an online marketplace for handmade goods called Idus, a Korean version of Etsy. Idus has garnered more than 5 million downloads on the Google Play store and about 30,000 artisans are on the platform. In 2015, Backpackr acquired crowdfunding site Tumblbug to develop a creator ecosystem.

 

Kmong

Year founded: 2012 • CEO: Hyeonho Park

Kmong is the largest online freelance marketplace in South Korea as measured by users, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play store. In 2019, it launched an enterprise version of its platform that connects skilled freelancers with employers. The Seoul-based startup raised $28 million in series C funding in May last year.

Lifelab

Year founded: 2016 • CEO: Hyunjoo Yeon

Lifelab operates Cleaning Lab, one of the most popular house-cleaning apps in South Korea. The app, which connects cleaners with residents, has more than 1 million downloads in the Google Play store. The Seongnam-based startup is led by Hyunjoo Yeon, the former head of Kakao's O2O home services business.

 

Mobidoo

Year founded: 2013 • CEO: David Lee

Mobidoo is a one-stop live shopping platform. It operates an app called SauceLive, which allows companies to sell their products via shopping livestreams. Mobidoo also provides software that analyzes customer behavior, including viewing time and purchase conversion, and livestream-support services, such as content planning and casting.

N.Code

 

Year founded: 2015 • CEO: Jun Jung

N.Code is trying to solve one of the luxury fashion industry's biggest problems: unsold inventory. Its platform, called D.Code, allows users to pre-order luxury items so that brands can better forecast demand, thereby reducing unwanted items.

 

Finance

 

Payhere

 

Year founded: 2019 • CEO: Jungi Park

Payhere operates cloud-based software and an app that uses a customer's smartphone camera to transact payments without expensive point-of-sale terminals. More than 20,000 brick-and-mortar stores in South Korea use Payhere, according to the startup's website. In March, it raised about $9 million in series A funding.

 

PeopleFund

 

Year founded: 2015 • CEO: Joey Kim

The fintech startup operates a peer-to-peer lending platform focused on South Korean subprime borrowers, whose household debt ranks among the world’s highest. PeopleFund says it has a low delinquency rate, thanks to its AI-powered credit-scoring system. The startup has raised about $80 million in funding, including a $63 million series C round in December.

 

Enterprise technology

Toss Lab

Year founded: 2014 • CEO: Matt Kim

Aiming to become the Slack of Asia, Toss Lab's workplace-collaboration tool, Jandi, is available in Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, as well as English. The startup says its customers include Lotte Department Store, Korean furniture maker Hanssem and LG CNS, LG Group’s IT services unit. Toss Lab raised $13 million in series B funding in 2020.