Startup fundraising continues despite heatwave... 'mega deal' by space company draws attention

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A total of 18 companies announced fundraising in the last week of July (the 27th–31): Bima Friends, Genohelix, Robai, Higher Corporation, VYOOVA (Bubba), M-ID, Gosan Tech, Mamkkot, Itnew, CrossCombine, Saepam, Unex, Lumora, Plantner, Xylo Labs, Glorang, SnapScale, and Toriden.

Among them, M-ID, a space component startup, secured the largest investment amount with a 15.7 billion won 'mega deal' (over 10 billion won). The company supports Korea's domestic space industry supply chain through its 'Space-grade Component Procurement and Testing Agreement (CPPA)' platform, which combines space component procurement and technical support, as well as space product warranty consulting. Additionally, it has accumulated capabilities in design, process development, and commercialization in the HTCC ceramic package field through its own pilot line.

Another space startup, Saepam, also succeeded in raising pre-Series A funding. Saepam is a startup that provides crop cultivation solutions by combining satellite data with AI (artificial intelligence), analyzing satellite imagery via AI to diagnose crop growth status at the plot level and even offering cultivation guidance.

Bima Friends attracted attention after securing overseas investment. The startup operates 'b.stage,' a total solution for fandom business, and received strategic investment from Japanese comprehensive entertainment company AMUSE. AMUSE was founded in 1978 as a comprehensive entertainment company. Both companies plan to combine their respective business capabilities and networks to fully launch fandom business in Japan and expand their operations comprehensively into the global market.

SnapScale, which develops manufacturing-specific generative AI (artificial intelligence) solutions for automating design in the plant and EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) industry, secured seed investment on the 31st. The investment included participation from KAIST Youth Venture Capital Holdings, Pohang University of Science and Technology Technology Holdings, and Base Ventures. SnapScale is a team composed of engineers who graduated from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Seoul National University, and Korea University.

Currently, the company is developing 'AutoFlow,' a solution that automates labor-intensive manual work at plant design sites, with senior advisors who have gained experience in engineering firms domestically and abroad joining to support product development and business strategy.

SnapScale aims to expand its R&D (research and development) personnel based on this investment and convert ongoing PoCs into formal adoptions to expand industry site references.

Kim Sang-yoon, CEO of SnapScale, emphasized, "Plant design can take years depending on scale, creating a bottleneck that determines the speed of the entire industry, yet no one has properly solved this problem until now. We will solve this issue with AI and create productivity innovation that customers can feel from the first day of adoption."

An Jun-hyun, director at KAIST Youth Venture Capital Holdings, stated, "The approach of structuring the tacit knowledge (knowledge latent in engineers' minds) at plant design sites into an ontology (organizing knowledge as concepts and relationships) that AI can understand is itself a unique moat in the closed field of plant design."

Saepam, which provides crop cultivation solutions by combining satellite data with AI (artificial intelligence), announced on the 30th that it secured pre-Series A investment from NovaVentures, a space and deep-tech specialized investment firm.

Founded in June 2022, Saepam analyzes satellite imagery using AI to diagnose crop growth status at the plot level and even provides cultivation guidance. The company has secured data from 12 global satellite companies including high-resolution, hyperspectral, and SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellites. Through analyzing over 500 million agricultural satellite data points across 35 crops over five years, it has improved crop yield prediction accuracy.

As a result of applying its solution to over 8,000 farms in Korea and 200,000 hectares (hectares) worldwide, Saepam confirmed an 18% increase in cultivation volume and a 95% detection rate for pests and abnormal signs. Accuracy was improved based on data from 168 rice farms and 52 soybean farms in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. In November last year, it won the 'CES 2026 Innovation Award.' Saepam's solution has expanded its application scope to include local agricultural cooperatives (rice), Pulmuone (soybean) contracted farms, and local governments such as Uiseong County (garlic) and Goesan County (soybean).

Jeong Seung-hwan, CEO of Saepam, said, "With an increasing number of deaths among farmers due to heatwaves, a new paradigm for agriculture is more urgent than ever. We will build a solution that automatically manages farming without requiring farmers to go directly to their fields by creating nationwide cultivation methods based on satellite AI data."

Park Ji-young, CEO of NovaVentures, stated, "The space economy is about solving Earth's problems with space technology. With climate change and declining farm populations making it difficult to pass down cultivation know-how to the next generation, Saepam, which provides cultivation solutions using satellite data and AI technology, has high growth potential in the era of the space economy."

On the 30th, it was announced that Unex, an AI (artificial intelligence) creator development company, secured seed investment led by Kakao Ventures. Schmidt and Mark & Company participated jointly in this investment.

Unex is an AI entertechnology startup that develops AI creators capable of conducting live broadcasts and communicating with fans without real-time human intervention. When humans set the overall broadcast direction and operational standards, the AI generates conversations and actions suited to the situation to lead the broadcast.

The core technology, 'Fandom Engine,' helps characters maintain their unique personas and worldviews while interacting in real time with multiple viewers. Unlike existing one-on-one text-based AI character chats that provide shared experiences in live broadcast format, it is characterized by its ability to maintain a consistent tone and manner without being influenced by human factors, unlike existing virtual creators performed by humans.

Based on this investment, Unex plans to hire talent in the AI engine and content fields and proceed with producing live content for AI creators and enhancing the Fandom Engine. It also plans to fully launch partnerships to expand external IPs from webtoons, entertainment, games, beauty, etc., into AI creators.

Kim Ji-woong, director at Kakao Ventures who led this investment, explained the reason for the investment: "The core of AI creators lies not in the technology itself but in the capability to stably operate interactions with many fans during live broadcasts and accumulate data. We highly evaluated that they implemented their experience in building platform and creator ecosystems on TikTok into the Fandom Engine system."

Kim Kwang-min, CEO of Unex, said, "Unex is a company that creates systems to expand attractive IPs into fandoms. We will build an ecosystem where AI creators not only broadcast independently and connect with fans but also act as influencers, expanding into the global market."

On the 29th, it was announced that M-ID, a space component specialist company, secured a 15.7 billion won Series A investment. Existing investors DSC Investment and Schmidt participated alongside new investors including Korea Development Bank, Medici Investment, IBK Capital, Credit Guarantee Fund, POSCO Technology Investment, and Pioneer Investment. As a result, M-ID's cumulative fundraising amount reached 17.7 billion won.

M-ID has supported Korea's domestic space industry supply chain through its 'Space-grade Component Procurement and Testing Agreement (CPPA)' platform, which combines space component procurement and technical support, as well as space product warranty consulting. Additionally, it has accumulated capabilities in design, process development, and commercialization in the HTCC ceramic package field through its own pilot line.

The company plans to invest this funding into expanding semiconductor packaging and ceramic package manufacturing capabilities. By November, it will build a space and aerospace package manufacturing line of approximately 6,612 square meters (about 2,000 pyeong) at Pyeongchon Industrial Complex in Daejeon City, and will promote the advancement of HTCC ceramic package Yangsan process technology and facility construction.

Jeong Seong-geun, CEO of M-ID, stated, "This Series A investment is a turning point toward becoming a company with capabilities in space semiconductor packaging and ceramic package manufacturing. We will focus on internalizing the component supply chain required by Korea's domestic space and aerospace industries."

On the 28th, it was announced that Robai, an AI robot control platform developer, secured seed investment from Korea Investment Accelerator. The investment amount is undisclosed.

Robai is developing a general-purpose robot control platform called 'Robot Academy' based on 'AI self-exploration' technology, where robots learn their own joint structures, sensors, and movements independently. The goal is to overcome the limitations of existing methods that require redesigning control systems whenever the type of robot changes.

With this investment, Robai plans to advance its self-exploration technology, conduct technical verification based on physical robots, and secure R&D personnel. Its strategy is to expand application areas from industrial robots to service robots, humanoid robots, and soft robots in the future.

Jeong Won-young, CEO of Robai, said, "We will build a general-purpose AI control infrastructure that allows robots to understand their own body structures and movements independently and quickly adapt to various environments, accelerating the spread of the robot industry."

Yoo Dong-heon, head of investment at Korea Investment Accelerator, explained the background of the investment: "Robai is a team with technical capabilities to solve the final control area where robot AI decisions are implemented in actual hardware. We expect them to secure meaningful competitiveness in the era of physical AI."

On the 27th, it was announced that Bima Friends, which operates the fandom business total solution 'b.stage,' secured strategic investment from Japanese comprehensive entertainment company AMUSE.

AMUSE recognized the growth potential of fandom business and business synergies, leading to this strategic investment and collaboration. Both companies plan to combine their respective business capabilities and networks to fully launch fandom business in Japan and expand their operations comprehensively into the global market.

Through this investment, Bima Friends will strengthen its role not only as a platform operator but also as a multi-faceted supporter of artist and IP business expansion. It also plans to further solidify Japan and global business partnerships covering fan communities, content, live tours, and promotions.

Seo Woo-seok, CEO of BimaLee Peu-ren-jeu (CEO), said, "This investment is significant as it recognizes the business competitiveness and growth potential of Bima Friends in the Japanese market. We will continue to expand local partnerships so that artists and IPs can broaden their touchpoints with fans and create new business opportunities."

Kiyoyama Kozue, CEO of AMUSE Entertainment (AMUSE Korea branch), stated, "We are highly focused on the growth potential of fandom business that creates new value based on relationships with fans. We expect Bima Friends' unique global fandom business capabilities and experience accumulated over time to meet AMUSE's rich entertainment assets and global network, creating new synergies."

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