More diverse corporate information on the startups mentioned in this article can be found on Unicorn Factory's big data platform, Data Lab.
Startups in their first or second year of operation, founded by serial entrepreneurs with experience in founding and exiting companies and veterans from unicorn enterprises, are targeting global markets from the very beginning. Through a "Born to Global" strategy that aims at overseas markets larger than the domestic one, they are immediately launching attacks on North American and European markets.
According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 20th, among the "TIPS R&D Global Track Startup Companies" selected at the end of last year, several startups that have challenged global markets from the outset based on past success experiences and solid networks were named.
One of the startups that immediately ventured overseas upon its establishment is YejiX, which was selected for TIPS after receiving a recommendation from Kakao Ventures. YejiX achieved the milestone of being selected for the TIPS Global Track just six months after incorporating in July 2025.
The person leading the company, Jeong Seong-hyeon (CEO), is embarking on their first entrepreneurial venture. Previously, they were responsible for global business development at Lunit, a medical AI unicorn, and later served as CEO of Promedius, another medical AI company, where they led the commercialization of an osteoporosis AI solution. They graduated from Peking University and earned a master's degree from the Graduate School of Innovation Management in Biotechnology at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Before joining Lunit, they worked at Future Asset Management's Overseas Real Estate Investment Division, where they built a global network.
Jeong (CEO) thoroughly targeted the U.S. market from the selection of its startup idea. YujieX's "Heart Failure Patient Readmission Prediction Solution" is a model optimized for the U.S. healthcare insurance system (HRRP), which imposes penalties on hospitals based on their readmission rates. YujieX plans to accelerate its penetration into the local market by establishing a U.S. subsidiary.
Last Spring, established in August 2024, has challenged the global market based on "K-beauty." The startup was founded by CEO Kim Changwon, who previously created the pet commerce platform "Pet Friends" and sold it for 150 billion won. Since launching the cosmetics brand "PO:DL" last April, the company has rapidly moved to penetrate the global market.
Last Spring secured 3.5 billion won in investment from Murex Partners, Coupang, GS, Kakao Ventures, Spark Lab, The V, and Gentium Partners since its early establishment. Its rapid expansion of overseas sales by listing on Amazon and Japan's Quten from the early stages of Fold also contributed to the investment rationale.
Last Spring has selected cosmetics as its key item but plans to accelerate its entry into the North American market by leveraging technology and data. The company applied its past expertise in leading Pet Friends, where it identified customer-desired items based on data, to cosmetics development.
Hong Nam-ho (CEO), who leads Offright, established in 2023, is also a figure deeply rooted in the startup ecosystem. A former reviewer at Kakao Ventures, he co-founded the unlisted stock management platform 'QuotaLab' in 2019. Offright co-founder and COO Kim Jin-hong has experience co-founding and exiting Senior Life Research Institute.
Offright is developing a personal scheduling (daily planning) tool. It is creating and operating a tool that allows users to manage tasks scattered across various programs used for productivity improvement in one place. Since its incorporation, the company has developed the program targeting global users and has enhanced the product by reflecting feedback from overseas users. With this Tips selection, Offright appears poised to strengthen technology development and marketing in the North American market.
A venture capital (VC) industry insider stated, "Looking at the companies selected for the Tips Global Track, there is a clear trend of targeting overseas markets from the outset, rather than the past approach of securing the domestic market first before expanding abroad." The insider added, "Since entrepreneurs are now often repeat founders who have experienced the startup ecosystem or individuals with extensive industry experience, they seem to be pursuing businesses with larger global markets in mind."
[Money Today startup media platform Unicorn Factory]
in FUTURE
