From Defense Tech to K-Content: The Startups VCs Backed in Mid-November

Money Today’s Unicorn Factory rounded up 12 domestic startups that announced funding during the third week of November, from the 17th to the 21st. The outlet noted that four of the 12 secured more than 10 billion won, and that there were many funding announcements from companies running media and entertainment businesses such as K-content and short-form video.

Among them, Kyndof, a K-POP-based fashion brand house startup, raised 2.6 billion won in seed funding. The round was led by Bluepoint Partners, with Murex Partners, Base Ventures and the Incheon Center for Creative Economy and Innovation-The Invention Lab taking part.

Kyndof operates 2000Atelier, which produces stage costumes for K-POP artists, and 2000Archives, a B2C fashion brand built on that base. It has produced stage costumes for major Korean groups including BLACKPINK, aespa, LE SSERAFIM and IVE, as well as for artists in the United States, Europe and Japan. Working through a structure that exposes the brand by way of stage costumes, the company posted a profit in 2023, its first year in business, and overseas sales now account for more than 30 percent of its revenue.

Ryu Go-eun, the senior investment manager at Bluepoint Partners who led the round, said, “Kyndof is building a singular model that converts K-POP, a global cultural asset, into revenue,” adding that the company “will lead structural innovation in the fashion industry by combining a data-based operating system with AI.”

Kyndof plans to use the funding to upgrade its design and manufacturing infrastructure under the concept of “fast haute couture.” Kim Seon-bin, chief executive of Kyndof, said, “This is the point at which the competitiveness Korea has secured in the global content industry should be extended into brands,” adding, “We will complete a brand house model that supports a range of K-lifestyle brands with vertically integrated infrastructure.”