A Team Ventures, which operates an online manufacturing platform CAPA, has attracted a total of 5 billion won ($4 million) in Series B investment from LX International (formerly LG International), Hana Securities, and Altos Ventures, an existing investor.
As a financial investor (FI), Hana Securities, a domestic securities company, investing for the first time, and among existing investors, Altos Ventures, an American venture capital (VC), participated. This is the third investment since Altos Ventures invested 2.3 billion won ($1.8 million) for the first time in 2017. LX International participated as a strategic investor (SI).
A Team Ventures developed ‘CAPA,’ an online manufacturing platform that helps customers who want to manufacture outsourced products to find manufacturers (factories). It also has a drawing-based collaboration tool developed for manufacturing/construction officials. CAPA has about 2,200 professional manufacturers participating as partners. It has grown into Korea’s leading B2B manufacturing platform, securing about 10,000 manufacturing customers.
A Team Ventures plans to invest the money secured this time in research and development (R&D), including securing new customers, upgrading CAPA services, and automating AI-based estimates. In addition, it plans to utilize the global business capabilities and networks of LX International, a strategic investor, to discover new business opportunities for Capa and seek overseas expansion.
This year, CAPA, launched in 2020, will install a profit model including a payment function while expanding the scope of manufacturing services, which currently consists mainly of parts and prototype manufacturing, to equipment manufacturing and original equipment manufacturing (OEM).
Gosan, CEO of A Team Ventures, said, “In a situation where the startup industry is facing a cold investment season, it seems that investors sympathize with CAPA’s vision of ‘online service of manufacturing'” and added, “We are gathering partners centered on domestic industrial complexes and going ‘offline.’ We aim to attract familiar prospects online and make online Manufacturing as easy and convenient as internet shopping.”
An official from LX International, who participated as a strategic investor this time, said, “Manufacturing and logistics are promising fields where digitalization will proceed rapidly according to the recent block trend, and A Team Ventures expects to lead the digitalization of Manufacturing based on its superior technology and rich manufacturing experience. “We will actively support the growth of A Team Ventures by utilizing LX International’s global business capabilities and network.”
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