January, February, March 2020
Each link below leads to the original Korean startup news article for that headline, gathered from online South Korean tech news coverage across the first quarter of the year- the months of January, February and March of 2020.
Our quarterly South Korean startup news listings provide a one-page at-a-glance listing of the startup headlines for South Korea as a quick reference focusing mainly on the country’s early-stage startup scene and, where applicable, looking at Korea’s startups making an impact on startup news headlines overseas.
Startup News Asia’s quarterly summaries can also be ordered online in hardcopy, printed, bound and delivered. Our hardcopy publications feature scan-able links to connect you from print to each headline’s online news article using the Startup News Asia mobile app, or any similar app you already have on your device.
January 2020 | February 2020 | March 2020
South Korea: January 2020
- South Korea: PUBLISH blockchain-based media solutions company accepted for Seoul Blockchain Support Center incubation program
- South Korea: Presidential Committee considers allowing financial institutions to offer cryptocurrency products such as derivatives
- South Korea: An intro to 20 Korean tech startups exhibiting at CES 2020
- South Korea’s Hyundai to make 4-passenger flying taxis for Uber, with Toyota, Volvo and Daimler backing similar startup activities
- South Korea: Daegu City signs agreement with Israel’s Mobileye to test and eventually deploy robotaxi service
- South Korea: Lunit medtech startup gains $26M with AI solutions for precision diagnostics and therapeutics, focusing on cancer
- An in-depth look at Samsung’s Neon project, humanoid AI-driven video chatbots, recently unveiled at CES 2020
- South Korea: Npixel games developer secures $25.9M series A funding to help launch its first game, Gran Saga, playable across mobile, PC and console
- South Korea: Farm8 partnered by Seoul Metro to rent idle spaces to grow vegetables, with on-sale to retailers and restaurants
- An interview-based overview of the current state of legal innovation in South Korea
- South Korea: A brief intro to Seoul Robotics’ lidar solutions for autonomous vehicles
- South Korea: An intro to Sleek Corporation, fitness-focused startup offering offline group training, online coaching and community
- South Korea: SuperTree blockchain game developer raises $2.5M Series A with sights set on development of PlayDapp blockchain game service platform
- South Korea: Seoul Metropolitan Gov’t partners Startup Genome to accelerate the growth of Seoul’s startup ecosystem
- Korean startups set for US showcase in San Francisco and Palo Alto via 2020 edition of TIPSX beSUCCESS Korean Startup Showcase Silicon Valley, February 4th and 5th
- South Korea: An overview of Mobiltech, providing smart spatial information solutions for autonomous driving via 3D environmental scanning
- Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank reportedly to buy LOLC Cambodian microfinance arm, PRASAC Microfinance Institution, for $603.4M
- Malaysia: TM ONE, arm of Telekom Malaysia, signs MoC with South Korea’s FNS Value Co around Blockchain Secure Authentication products across ASEAN
- Singapore’s iSTOX gains $5M from Korea’s Hanwha Asset Mgmt with regulated platform for issuance, settlement, custody and secondary trading of digitised securities
- Korea Start-up Centre to open in Singapore in May, allowing South Korean firms to plug into the city state’s start-up ecosystem
South Korea: February 2020
- Korea was the first in the world to commercialize 5G telecommunication, and has already surpassed 4.35 million subscribers.
- South Korea: StyleShare app-based startup raises $21M with multiple platforms focused on fashion discovery
- South Korea: An overview of the recent Ministry of SMEs and Startups roundtable event held in Seoul
- South Korea: Ministry of Science and ICT hits pause on further technological developments in their blockchain sandbox program until crypto policy is passed
- South Korea: Politician Ahn Chul-soo to create new political party which will use a blockchain-powered platform for voting, accounting and budgetary transparency
- South Korea: Central bank to launch second central bank digital currency team, a year after disbanding first group, likely in response to China’s digital yuan moves
- South Korea: A look at bepro11, AI-backed video analysis system startup focused on football skills development
- South Korea: Saramin job placement platform signs MOU with ICONLOOP for blockchain-based digital ID and authentication ecosystem
- South Korea: Pohang University of Science and Technology issues blockchain-based digital diplomas rather than have students graduate in person, due to coronavirus risks
- South Korea: Financial Services Commission and Seoul Metropolitan Government commit near $16M over 4 years to train fintech specialists
- A look at Samsung’s SelfieType, mobile device software which analyzes finger movements and converts them into QWERTY keyboard inputs for typing
- Samsung’s new flagship Galaxy S20 range continues crypto focus with secure processor to protect PINs, passwords, patterns and Blockchain Private Keys
- South Korea: Litecoin, world’s 7th-largest cryptocurrency, gains MeconCash partnership, enabling fiat withdrawals at over 13000 ATMs
- An overview of the North Korea cryptocurrency-and-sanctions case
- Download: How North Korea Revolutionized the Internet as a Tool for Rogue Regimes (pdf)
- As the North Korean regime finds ways to bring in cryptocurrency, it also needs ways to cash out…it relies on regional cryptocurrency exchanges that operate below the radar
- South Korea: A brief overview of Shinhan Financial Group’s moves in Vietnam’s fintech and banking-tech spaces
- Finalists for SXSW Pitch 2020 event include Australia’s AgUnity and Wriveted, South Korea’s Looxid Labs, and India’s NeelAgil
South Korea: March 2020
- South Korea: A look at Pangyo Techno Valley, the leading tech cluster in the country’s startup sector
- South Korea: Government passes legislation that fully integrates virtual currencies into the country’s economy, legalizing possession and trading of cryptocurrencies
- South Korea: FLETA blockchain platform partnered by France’s Ledger, digital asset storage supplier, to help clients comply with local regulations
- South Korea: Another look at Pangyo Techn Valley, the country’s startup epicenter
- South Korea: An intro look at 5 Korean startups working in the beauty industry
- South Korea: A brief intro to 3 startups helping employees work from home, spanning online collaboration, file sharing and discussion
- South Korea: Coupang e-commerce major reportedly planning to acquire major stake in eBay Korea before possible IPO on the Nasdaq
- South Korea: Dot Inc takes Inclusion and Empowerment category award win at UN World Summit Awards 2020 with digital devices for the visually impaired
- South Korea: S2W Lab data intelligence startup partnered by Interpol to analyze dark web activity, including cryptocurrency transactions
- South Korea: KB Kookmin bank to launch KB Digital Asset Custody service to hold digital assets and authorize transactions on behalf of clients
- South Korea: An overview of the government’s $1.2BN bid to become Asia’s leading startup hub, built on policies, support packages and cash injections
- South Korea: An intro to 5 of the country’s women entrepreneurs, working in fintech, AI and more
- SingTel, Thailand’s AIS and South Korea’s SK Telecom partner for regional gaming JV in play to gain presence in the sector and develop gaming-related revenue
