KoreaTechDesk | Korean Startup and Technology News

Fri, August 22, 2025

RCPS Investment Practices in Korea Put Startups at Risk, Driving Momentum for Change

In Korea’s startup ecosystem, one funding instrument dominates early-stage investment: Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (RCPS). While designed to protect investors, RCPS investment contracts often carry high-interest repayment clauses that can weigh heavily on startup founders if growth stalls. Recent disputes and rehabilitation cases are drawing attention to how these practices…
by Dae-jung Park . 22 Aug 2025

Latest Article

Bill Gates Spotlights Korean SME With Masters in US$8.5M Reinvented Toilet Project for Global Sanitation Innovation

The meeting between Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Korean SME With Masters Inc. has placed a spotlight on a US$8.5…

by Chloe kim . 22 Aug 2025
Korea Launches First Chungnam Venture Fund Worth ₩101.1B ($74M), Boosting Regional Startup Competitiveness

Korea is stepping up efforts to decentralize startup investment beyond Seoul. With the establishment of the Chungnam Venture Fund worth…

by Zee Cindy . 22 Aug 2025
Opensurvey’s Dataspace Platform: Redefining Enterprise Research with AI-Driven Experience Analytics

As Asia-Pacific enterprises race to transform customer and employee insights into business growth strategies, South Korea’s Opensurvey is positioning itself…

by Daehyun Song . 21 Aug 2025
K-Beauty Startup BENOW Eyes IPO After Unicorn Valuation, Expands Global Reach Beyond Korea

K-Beauty has given Korea some of its strongest global brands, and now a new startup is carrying that momentum into…

by Dae-jung Park . 21 Aug 2025
Korea Expands Startup Policy 2025 with Joint Liability Reforms, Aiming for Global Top Four Venture Ecosystem

For years, Korean founders have pointed to joint liability in venture investment as a barrier to second attempts. Hence, the…

by Chloe kim . 21 Aug 2025
KVIC Launches H2 Global Fund 2025: ₩768B ($560M) Drive to Attract Global VC into Korean Startups

South Korea is intensifying its global venture capital strategy. With the launch of the H2 Global Fund 2025 round, KVIC…

by Zee Cindy . 20 Aug 2025

Popular posts

Japan’s enterprise leaders, system integrators, and venture…
by Vallabh Rao . 12 Aug 2025

KOCCA LAUNCHPAD UAE 2025 — organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) in collaboration with Cuvee April and Plug…
by James Jung . 12 Aug 2025

Korea is stepping onto the global R&D stage with unprecedented force. Backed by strategic alliances with Purdue University, Fraunhofer, and…
by Daehyun Song . 11 Aug 2025

Reno, Nevada is fast becoming the U.S. West Coast’s next tech powerhouse — and Korean startups now have a direct…
by Daehyun Song . 11 Aug 2025

In a field dominated by global talent, one Korean AI startup has just outperformed 93 teams at a major OpenAI…
by Daehyun Song . 13 Aug 2025

MOST READ ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Rebellions: First Korean AI Chipmaker to Establish Saudi Subsidiary, Targeting Middle East Sovereign AI Market

South Korea’s AI hardware innovation is stepping onto one of the world’s fastest-growing stages. Rebellions, an AI semiconductor startup backed…

by Daehyun Song . 20 Aug 2025

Upstage Teams with AWS to Scale Solar LLM in APAC and US, Signaling Confidence in Korea’s AI Innovation

Korea’s AI ecosystem is gaining global traction, and one of its most prominent startups has just secured a new milestone.…

by Dae-jung Park . 20 Aug 2025
Use GPT-5 Without Paying: Korean AI Startup Wrtn Launches Unlimited Free Access

Wrtn Technologies, a Korean artificial intelligence (AI) service platform company, has announced it will provide unlimited free access to GPT-5,…

by Zee Cindy . 10 Aug 2025
AIM Intelligence secures $1.3M Pre-A to set global standard in generative AI security

AIM Intelligence has raised $1.3 million in a Pre-A round as demand for safe, aligned AI reaches unprecedented levels. The…

by KoreaTechDesk Writer . 7 Aug 2025
Korea Expands Startup Policy 2025 with Joint Liability Reforms, Aiming for Global Top Four Venture Ecosystem

For years, Korean founders have pointed to joint liability in venture investment as a barrier to second attempts. Hence, the government has now announced Startup Policy 2025 reforms to address this gap, extending protections to startup planners and expanding re-startup funds, positioning second-chance entrepreneurship as part of Korea’s global venture strategy. MSS Updates Startup Policy 2025, Strengthening Korea’s Re-Startup Framework South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) has announced new reforms to its venture investment framework, expanding exemptions from joint liability to include startup planners and investment associations where they serve as general partners. The change is designed to eliminate a long-criticized blind spot in the system, which has hindered entrepreneurs seeking a second chance after failure. The announcement was made on August 20 during the ministry’s policy on-site tour at Daejeon Startup Park, part of the government’s effort to ground Startup Policy 2025 in feedback from entrepreneurs, investors, and academics. Joint Liability Reforms in Startup Policy 2025: Addressing Barriers to Re-Startup and Re-Challenge The reforms target a structural issue in Korea’s venture ecosystem: the burden of excessive joint…

21 Aug 2025
Korea Eyes Stronger Regulatory Reform as SME Ombudsman Pushes for Presidential Office Role

Regulation remains one of the most persistent hurdles for Korea’s small and medium enterprises. At the one-year mark of his…

19 Aug 2025
Korea’s ‘Top Four Global Venture Nations’ Strategy Tested on Mother Fund and Pension Financing Reform

South Korea’s ambition to rank among the world’s “Top Four Global Venture Nations” now hinges on startup financing reform. Industry…

18 Aug 2025
KOCCA and K-Sure Launch Cultural Industry Guarantee to Boost K-Content Global Competitiveness

Korean cultural content has become one of the nation’s strongest exports, but securing financing for overseas expansion remains a challenge.…

18 Aug 2025
KOCCA LAUNCHPAD UAE 2025: AI, XR, Smart Tourism & Lifestyle — Korea’s Proven Innovations Arrive in Dubai

KOCCA LAUNCHPAD UAE 2025 — organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) in collaboration with Cuvee April and Plug and Play Korea, and supported by media partners KoreaTechDesk and AsiaTechDaily — will showcase Korea’s leading innovations in Dubai this September. KOCCA, a government-affiliated organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has served for over two decades as Korea’s gateway for advancing creative industries abroad. Its portfolio spans AI, XR and immersive media, smart tourism, gaming, music tech, and cultural exports, helping Korean startups secure footholds in global markets. When KOCCA leads companies overseas, participants are government-vetted for quality, scalability, and credibility. These startups are beyond experimental concepts, but proven businesses generating revenue in competitive markets. Each arrives prepared for localization, supported by follow-up programs and dedicated resources designed to ensure adaptation, long-term growth, and meaningful collaboration in new environments. Dubai’s Opportunity: Market-Ready Solutions in AI, Immersive Content, and Smart Tourism The MENA region is entering a new phase of growth in digital transformation, experiential retail, AI-powered infrastructure, and cultural tourism innovation. KOCCA LAUNCHPAD UAE 2025 brings ten…

12 Aug 2025
Invitation to Japan’s SaaS Leaders: Meet Korea’s Top SaaS companies at GSMP Tokyo 2025

Japan’s enterprise leaders, system integrators, and venture investors are invited to connect with nine of Korea’s most innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)…

12 Aug 2025
Korea Innovation Convergence Summit Returns to Japan IT Week 2025 with Breakthrough SaaS Startups

South Korea’s most forward-thinking SaaS innovators are headed to Japan IT Week Autumn 2025, as part of the highly anticipated…

12 Jul 2025
Content Apex Japan 2025: Korea’s IP Leaders to Explore Cross-Media Innovation in Tokyo in September

Korea’s most forward-thinking content companies are heading to Japan this September for Content Apex Japan 2025, a high-impact international exchange…

8 Jul 2025
Reimagining Real Estate Development with AI: Meet the Founders of Zenerate

What if you could design smarter buildings in minutes instead of months—and boost returns while doing it? That’s the vision…

by Aditi Dave . 4 Jun 2025
Mednaath CEO Nitish Kumar on Revolutionizing Multilingual Customer Service with Voice AI in Korea & Beyond

Mednaath is a company founded by Nitish Kumar, IIT Alumni, in India in 2021 and expanded to South Korea in…

by Dae-jung Park . 1 Jun 2025
Pioneering Precision: How South Korea’s Galux is Redefining Antibody Discovery with AI

Korean biotech startup Galux Inc. is making waves on the global stage with its groundbreaking AI-driven platform, GaluxDesign, designed to…

by Aditi Dave . 26 May 2025
Opensurvey’s Dataspace Platform: Redefining Enterprise Research with AI-Driven Experience Analytics

As Asia-Pacific enterprises race to transform customer and employee insights into business growth strategies, South Korea’s Opensurvey is positioning itself…

by Daehyun Song . 21 Aug 2025

STCLab’s NetFUNNEL: A Telecom-Grade Traffic Control for Japan’s Digital Frontlines

As digital services face unpredictable surges in online demand, STCLab is helping enterprises turn traffic from a liability into a…

by Chloe kim . 19 Aug 2025
2025 OKTA Global Startup Competition to Link Korean Innovators with Global VC Networks

South Korea’s startup ecosystem is preparing for one of its most ambitious global showcases yet. The 2025 OKTA Global Startup…

by Zee Cindy . 19 Aug 2025
Korea Leverages Singapore FinTech Festival 2025 to Expand in Southeast Asia’s Fintech Markets

For global fintech and investment leaders, Singapore has long served as the gateway to Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital finance markets.…

by Dae-jung Park . 15 Aug 2025
Unlocking Innovation: How Startups Can Leverage IMDA’s Open Innovation Platform

In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, innovation is key to staying ahead. Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has taken a…

4 Apr 2025
Factagora Launches South Korea’s First Cloud-Based AI Legal Service at Law Firm Shin & Kim

In a first of its kind instance in South Korea’s legal industry, prominent law firm Shin & Kim has implemented…

25 Dec 2024
Top Co-working Spaces for Startups & Companies to Explore in South Korea

For startups, the beginning years are the most crucial ones, when the pitches to VCs are to be made, teams…

3 Apr 2024

POPULAR POSTS

Japan’s enterprise leaders, system integrators, and venture…
by Vallabh Rao . 12 Aug 2025

KOCCA LAUNCHPAD UAE 2025 — organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) in collaboration with Cuvee April and Plug…
by James Jung . 12 Aug 2025

Korea is stepping onto the global R&D stage with unprecedented force. Backed by strategic alliances with Purdue University, Fraunhofer, and…
by Daehyun Song . 11 Aug 2025

Reno, Nevada is fast becoming the U.S. West Coast’s next tech powerhouse — and Korean startups now have a direct…
by Daehyun Song . 11 Aug 2025

In a field dominated by global talent, one Korean AI startup has just outperformed 93 teams at a major OpenAI…
by Daehyun Song . 13 Aug 2025