The deal was finalized between Yanolja, the Korean travel-leisure platform, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 as the latter invested $1.7 billion in the former. Also, Yanolja strengthens its data security with Query Pie. BMQ & Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Naver Cloud & Ministry of SMEs, and Startups announce acceleration programs for Korean startups. Check some interesting news from the Korean startup ecosystem.
Yanolja snaps up $1.7b funding as SoftBank ramps up Korea tech bet
Source: Korea Herald
Travel and leisure platform operator Yanolja completed a $1.7 billion investment round by sole investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the company said on Thursday.
Yanolja said the company will use the proceeds to scale digital transformation of the global travel and hospitality industry and expand its technology offerings in new markets.
The company plans to build and operate an advanced global travel platform by enhancing its automated solutions using artificial intelligence and personalized offerings based on big data, in line with its expansion of its cloud-based hospitality solutions business.
“Powered by (artificial intelligence), we believe Yanolja is a leader in transforming the travel and leisure industry in South Korea through its Travel Super App approach,” Greg Moon, managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in a statement.
South Korea’s SD Biosensor leaps in Seoul trading debut
Source: Nikkei Asia
SD Biosensor rose sharply in its stock market debut on Friday as the South Korean coronavirus test kit maker benefited from a strong business performance and individual investor fever over initial public offerings in the country.
Shares in the Suwon-based company closed up 7.0% at 61,000 won, after starting trading 9.6% higher than the initial public offering price of 52,000 won. Its market cap reached 6.3 trillion won ($5.5 billion), landing it in 59th place among companies listed on the benchmark Kospi index.
SD Biosensor is the third-largest IPO on the Kospi this year, raising 776.4 billion won by offering 14.9 million shares. SK IE Technology, a battery materials company, has topped the IPO chart so far in 2021 by raising 2.2 trillion won in May, followed by drugmaker SK Bioscience, which raised 1.5 trillion won in March.
Yanolja strengthens global data governance through QueryPie
Source: Startupn
‘QueryPie’, which is being developed by Checker (CEO Hwang In-seo), a data collaboration and security solution development startup, announced on the 14th that it has successfully introduced the solution to Yanolja, a global leisure platform.
By introducing this solution, Yanolja is a super app that provides everything for leisure, such as accommodation, leisure, transportation, and restaurants, and further strengthened the level of data governance and security management according to the expansion of the service.
Yanolja has implemented data governance internalization that strengthens access control and auditing functions for each user of the database for the safe operation of the hotel’s independently developed Property Management System (PMS). Through this, the security level has been upgraded to a level that can respond to PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and Information Security Management System (ISMS) certifications.
BMW, KITA join hands to nurture prospective startups
Source: Korea Times
BMW Group Korea has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (CCEI) in Gyeonggi Province and FuturePlay, to discover promising startups here and promote the “BMW Testbed Project” together.
The four parties will utilize BMW’s “Startup Garage” program to discover and foster new startups, provide them with opportunities for technology verification by CCEI and help them to advance in overseas markets. FuturePlay will give consultations about the startups’ business value.
BMW will be receiving applications to participate in this project until August and those who are selected will go through the technology verification process from September to November. The German automaker will announce five final winners in early November, and they will become the business partners of BMW here. BMW is currently running the program in five countries around the world: Germany, China, Israel, the United States and Korea.
NAVER CLOUD, in partnership with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Startup Promotion Agency, helps start-ups grow
Source: Platum
Naver Cloud will join hands with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Startup Promotion Agency to act as a guide for startups. NAVER CLOUD has signed a business agreement with the Korea Startup Promotion Agency and operates a program that can grow together with startups based on its own infrastructure in the ‘ Startup Leap Package – Large Enterprise Collaboration Program ‘.
The conglomerate collaboration program is a program that supports the growth of startups that are in the leap stage within 3 to 7 years of establishment through collaboration between the government and domestic large companies. Naver Cloud, SK Innovation (eco-friendly sector), and CJ Group (lifestyle sector) will also participate in this program and support each company’s infrastructure, know-how, and investment linkage to help start-ups secure a driving force for sustainable growth. to be.
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