Asia
South Korea AI startups & tech ecosystem (2026)
Seoul and Korean deep tech. South Korea is home to 101 AI & tech startups, 20 investors, and 2 tracked founders and operators, with the largest hub in Seoul. Total tracked funding to date: $26.3B.
Across 14 cities, the largest startup hubs are Seoul (83 startups, $22.4B raised), Icheon (3 startups), and Seongnam (2 startups, $95.0M raised). The most active sectors are E-commerce, Consumer App, Marketplace, AI, and Artificial Intelligence.
Top South Korea startups by total score include Samsung, Unastella, HANWHA, Gmarket, and Shift Up — browse the full ranked list below or jump straight into search.
- 1Samsung85Suwon
- 2Unastella85Seoul$10.0B
- 3HANWHA75Seoul
- 4Gmarket72Incheon$1.2B
- 5Shift Up71Seoul$63.0M
- 6Hanwha Ocean70Geoje-si$1.5B
- 7Karrot68Seoul$162.0M
- 8Mobilint63Seoul$53.7M
- 9NaraSpace63Seoul$14.5M
- 10SNOW62Seongnam-si$45.0M
- 11Tridge62Seoul$97.2M
- 12Lunit61Seoul$1.1B
- 13KREAM60Seoul$168.0M
- 14FuriosaAI60Seoul$405.0M
- 15Toss58Seoul$713.0M
- 16WRTN58Seoul$101.8M
- 17SK on57Seoul$3.2B
- 18DEEPX57Seoul$80.5M
- 19bemyfriends57Seoul$30.1M
- 20HAEGIN56Seoul$128.5M
- 21Acloset56Seoul$63.0M
- 22Epik56Seongnam$95.0M
- 2342dot55Seoul$775.5M
- 24Com2uS55Seoul$8.0M
- 25Rainbow Robotics54Daejeon$213.3M
- 26Yanolja54Seoul$1.9B
- 27Lunit Inc.54Seoul
- 28Joongonara54Seoul$134.1M
- 29Bithumb54Seoul$200.0M
- 30Buzzvil54Seoul$35.0M
- 31Nota AI53Seoul
- 32Config53Seoul
- 33Zigbang52Seoul$377.1M
- 34Krafton52Seoul$28.6M
- 35Korbit52Seoul$133.6M
- 36Kurly52Seoul$537.0M
- 37MarqVision51Seoul$89.0M
- 38MUSINSA51Seoul$371.3M
- 39Medicube50Seoul$63.0M
- 4011st50Seoul$448.0M
| # | Company | City | Funding | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung A global leader in consumer electronics, mobile devices, and semiconductors. | Suwon | — | 85 |
| 2 | Unastella South Korean rocket startup developing launch vehicles and engines for small satellite launch services. | Seoul | $10.0B | 85 |
| 3 | HANWHA South Korean conglomerate with diversified holdings in energy, materials, aerospace, finance, retail, and more. | Seoul | — | 75 |
| 4 | Gmarket Leading South Korean online marketplace offering a vast array of products for domestic and international e-commerce. | Incheon | $1.2B | 72 |
| 5 | Shift Up A South Korean video game developer known for its action-adventure titles. | Seoul | $63.0M | 71 |
| 6 | Hanwha Ocean Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd., formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, is one of the "Big Three" shipbuilders of South Korea, along with Hyunda | Geoje-si | $1.5B | 70 |
| 7 | Karrot South Korea's largest second-hand marketplace and a leading C2C mobile marketplace. | Seoul | $162.0M | 68 |
| 8 | Mobilint Introduces edge AI boxes for on-device AI applications. | Seoul | $53.7M | 63 |
| 9 | NaraSpace Develops and operates small satellites and provides AI-powered Earth observation data analytics. | Seoul | $14.5M | 63 |
| 10 | SNOW A camera and photo editing app with AR features and AI-powered enhancements. | Seongnam-si | $45.0M | 62 |
| 11 | Tridge Global B2B marketplace and intelligence platform for the food, agriculture, and marine industries. | Seoul | $97.2M | 62 |
| 12 | Lunit Lunit is a medical AI company developing AI-powered solutions for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. | Seoul | $1.1B | 61 |
| 13 | KREAM Online platform for trading sneakers and fashion items. | Seoul | $168.0M | 60 |
| 14 | FuriosaAI South Korean semiconductor company designing AI accelerator chips and software for LLMs and multimodal AI. | Seoul | $405.0M | 60 |
| 15 | Toss Builds a mobile financial super-app consolidating services like peer-to-peer payments, banking, and investments. | Seoul | $713.0M | 58 |
| 16 | WRTN South Korean AI startup developing a personalized AI platform for mainstream users. | Seoul | $101.8M | 58 |
| 17 | SK on Automotive Battery Manufacturing company. | Seoul | $3.2B | 57 |
| 18 | DEEPX AI semiconductor company focused on edge AI solutions. | Seoul | $80.5M | 57 |
| 19 | bemyfriends Global fandom business company providing a platform for creators and brands to build and monetize fan communities. | Seoul | $30.1M | 57 |
| 20 | HAEGIN Casual Games Online Games Software Video Games company. | Seoul | $128.5M | 56 |
| 21 | Acloset A digital closet and outfit recommendation app. | Seoul | $63.0M | 56 |
| 22 | Epik AI-powered photo and video editing app by SNOW Corporation with 73M+ downloads. | Seongnam | $95.0M | 56 |
| 23 | 42dot Pioneering frictionless transportation services with autonomous driving, connected vehicles, and smart city infrastructure. | Seoul | $775.5M | 55 |
| 24 | Com2uS South Korean mobile game developer and publisher known for titles like Summoners War and MLB 9 Innings. | Seoul | $8.0M | 55 |
| 25 | Rainbow Robotics Develops advanced humanoid robots and AI-powered robotic solutions for diverse applications. | Daejeon | $213.3M | 54 |
| 26 | Yanolja Spearheading innovation in travel and hospitality with an AI-powered ecosystem for property management and travel planning. | Seoul | $1.9B | 54 |
| 27 | Lunit Inc. Deep learning AI technology-based software developer in the field of medical data analysis. | Seoul | — | 54 |
| 28 | Joongonara South Korea's largest peer-to-peer resale platform for convenient and secure used goods exchange. | Seoul | $134.1M | 54 |
| 29 | Bithumb Cryptocurrency Finance Financial Services company. | Seoul | $200.0M | 54 |
| 30 | Buzzvil Operates as a lock screen ad platform provider. | Seoul | $35.0M | 54 |
| 31 | Nota AI AI Software company. | Seoul | — | 53 |
| 32 | Config The data layer for robotic foundation models. | Seoul | — | 53 |
| 33 | Zigbang Real estate platform offering services for apartments and officetels. | Seoul | $377.1M | 52 |
| 34 | Krafton South Korean video game publisher and holding company known for PUBG, TERA, and Subnautica. | Seoul | $28.6M | 52 |
| 35 | Korbit South Korean cryptocurrency exchange offering trading, staking, and NFT services. | Seoul | $133.6M | 52 |
| 36 | Kurly Online platform offering groceries, beauty care products, and household items. | Seoul | $537.0M | 52 |
| 37 | MarqVision AI-powered brand protection and anti-counterfeiting platform for e-commerce. | Seoul | $89.0M | 51 |
| 38 | MUSINSA E-Commerce Fashion Retail company. | Seoul | $371.3M | 51 |
| 39 | Medicube K-beauty brand offering active skincare and at-home beauty devices. | Seoul | $63.0M | 50 |
| 40 | 11st South Korean e-commerce marketplace with 15M+ products | Seoul | $448.0M | 50 |
Frequently asked questions about South Korea startups
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South Korea AI startup ecosystem — frequently asked
How many AI startups are in South Korea?
StartupHub.ai tracks 101 startups headquartered in South Korea, with $26.3B in total tracked funding across 14 cities.
What are the top startup cities in South Korea?
The top startup cities in South Korea are Seoul (83 startups), Icheon (3 startups), Seongnam (2 startups), Suwon (2 startups), Seongnam-si (2 startups).
Which sectors are South Korea startups focused on?
The most common sectors for South Korea startups are E-commerce, Consumer App, Marketplace, AI, Artificial Intelligence.
How many investors are active in South Korea?
There are 20 investors tracked in South Korea on StartupHub.ai — venture capital firms, angel investors, corporate investors, and family offices. Browse all South Korea investors.
How is South Korea startup data sourced?
Every South Korea profile on StartupHub.ai is built from structured HQ-country fields, public registry data (Companies House, SEC, INSEE, OrgBook, etc.), founder LinkedIn signals, and verified company websites. Profiles are refreshed continuously as new funding rounds and team changes are detected. More on our methodology.
What is the total startup funding in South Korea?
Startups headquartered in South Korea have raised a total of $26.3B in tracked funding on StartupHub.ai.