250608 11 Startups Secure Funding in First Week of June Despite Holiday Slowdown

In the first week of June (June 2–8), 11 startups (excluding undisclosed deals) publicly announced their funding rounds. Despite a week filled with holidays, including the presidential election and Memorial Day, the number of startups reporting investment news remained the same as the previous week.

The startups that secured investment are: △AIMED BIO △AS WE MAKE △MEDIBUILDER △LIGHTBRIDGE △PETBOM △PODLARS △BICHEDAM △BOMCHAN △KOREA NANO OAT △PICKLE △JOABRO.

The startup that raised the largest investment was AIMED BIO, which develops antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), securing KRW 51.1 billion in its pre-IPO round. Following it, MEDIBUILDER, a hospital management support company, raised KRW 14 billion in a Series B round. PICKLE and KOREA NANO OAT each raised over KRW 1 billion in seed (bridge) funding rounds.

“Precision Strike on Cancer Cells” AIMED BIO Raises KRW 51.1 Billion in Pre-IPO Investment

AIMED BIO51.1 billion KRW pre-IPO investment included existing investors INTERVEST, DS Asset Management, Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation, SMB INVESTMENT PARTNERS. The new investor participating was MIRAESSET SECURITIES.

Founded in 2018, AIMED BIO was established by Professor Nam Do-hyun of the Neurosurgery Department at Samsung Seoul Hospital based on his research achievements. The ADCs developed by the company are a therapeutic technology that attaches drugs to antibodies to deliver them precisely to cancer cells. This method minimizes damage to other cells, resulting in fewer side effects while maintaining high treatment efficacy.

In December of last year, AIMED BIO licensed its ADC candidate “AMB302” to the U.S.-based Biohaven. The company plans to use the newly raised funds to focus on preclinical development of other candidates, AMB303 and AMB304, and to pursue additional technology exports. AIMED BIO stated that it will “significantly expand its preclinical pipeline and accelerate high-speed growth.”

“Partner Hospital Management” MEDIBUILDER Raises 14 Billion KRW in Series B Funding

MEDIBUILDERraised 14 billion KRW in Series B funding. The investors included the Korea Development Bank, LB Investment, LSK Investment among others. The company’s total cumulative funding has reached 27 billion KRW.

MEDIBUILDER is a hospital management support company that assists partner hospitals throughout their entire growth cycle, including operational efficiency, marketing strategy development, and brand building. While traditional hospital management support companies were often operated for tax purposes or lacked independent legal status separate from hospitals, MEDIBUILDER has established its position as a management support company by separating clinical services from management support through a partner-model approach.

MEDIBUILDER stated that it will focus on launching new hospital brands targeting foreign patients, attracting domestic and international talent to strengthen global marketing, and developing AI chatbots for multilingual consultations.

“QMARKET” ASWEMAKE Raises 10 Billion Won in Funding

Aswemake,which operates the digital transformation (DX) integrated management solution for food ingredient marts, “QMarket,” raised 10 billion won in Series C funding. LB Investment, Partners Investment, and Wonik InvestmentPartners participated as new investors, and Aventures made a follow-up investment for the third consecutive time.

Aswemake operates “QMarket,” an online same-day grocery delivery service connecting neighborhood marts with nearby residents. Leveraging medium- to large-sized offline food ingredient marts as hubs, the service delivers to consumers within a 3 km radius in under three hours.

As of the end of Q1, QMarket has partnered with 1,347 food ingredient marts. Transaction volume for the quarter reached KRW 101.8 billion, surpassing KRW 510 billion cumulatively. Q1 revenue totaled KRW 7.7 billion on a consolidated basis, up 92% year-on-year, and KRW 5.3 billion on a standalone basis. Operating profit stood at KRW 1.2 billion consolidated and KRW 1.1 billion standalone.

Jang Hong-seok, Director at LB Investment, stated, “As digital transformation (DX) progresses in consumer goods sales, the online transaction ratio has surpassed 30%. However, in the food and beverage sector, it remains around 18%, so we expect AsWeMake to become a leading player in the DX field moving forward.”

AI Avatar Developer PICKLE Raises 6 Billion KRW in Seed Investment from Domestic and International VCs

PICKLE, a startup developing real-time avatar services, has raised 6 billion KRW in seed investment.

The investment included domesticVC Base Venturesand U.S. VCs Level Fund and Pioneer Fund, as well as angel investors such as Y Combinator alumni Coolbeer Taga and Nate Maderson. PICKLE had previously received pre-seed investments from Y Combinator, NFX, and Cru Capital.

PICKLE generates a variety of avatars for video conferencing, social media, and live streaming by scanning a user’s face in just six seconds—without the need for a camera. Its proprietary voice-video generation foundation model minimizes latency between audio and video while accurately capturing the user’s expressions and personality. The platform also includes a module to prevent misuse of deepfake technology.

In May, PICKLE recorded a daily influx of 200 new users. Seventy percent of its total user base is from the United States, while 20% are from Europe. Hyungjun Yang of Base Ventures stated, “We expect PICKLE to lead AI technologies and services that replicate or substitute oneself online, creating diverse opportunities in global markets.”

“K-Materials Developed with New Technology…’Performance Expectations’ KOREA NANOOTE Raises 1.75 Billion KRW in Funding”

KOREA NANOOTE, a startup processing industrial materials using ‘underwater plasma synthesis technology,’ raised 1.75 billion KRW in a seed bridge investment. Investors included MAGNA INVESTMENTand parts and equipment distributor JEONG & SEOK. With this funding, the company’s total cumulative investment has reached 2.05 billion KRW.

Founded in 2019, KOREA NANOOTE is a materials startup that processes industrial materials such as nickel, ceria, and copper sulfide into nanoscale fine particles for supply. By producing smaller and more uniform materials than competitors, the company helps client manufacturers improve production quality while reducing costs. It has achieved notable results particularly with nickel particles, a core material for MLCCs (multi-layer ceramic capacitors).

Investors focused on KOREA NANOOTE’s market potential, highlighted by its nickel material supply agreement with Japanese materials and chemical trading company Sakai Corporation. Sakai Corporation plans to supply KOREA NANOOTE’s nickel samples to its U.S. partner soon, with expectations for large-scale distribution within the year.

KIM WOO-SIK, CEO of KOREA NANOOTE, stated, “In addition to nickel particles, we plan to secure supply agreements for ceria (cerium oxide) particles used in semiconductor processes,” adding, “We aim to become a global materials company.”

Source : MoneyToday (https://www.mt.co.kr/future/2025/06/08/2025060815325919837)