The Korean startup investment database platform ‘THE VC‘ released the ‘2023 Korea Startup Investment Briefing‘(in Korean) on the 29th. According to the report, in 2023, the total investment in startups and SMEs amounted to 1,429 cases, with a total investment value of KRW 7.3095 trillion won. Compared to the previous year, the number of investments decreased by 36.1%, and the investment amount dropped by 52.8%.

This represents a significant contrast to the year 2021, when investment amounts peaked due to low-interest rate policies, increasing by 192.9% compared to 2020. In comparison to 2020, the investment amount in 2023 increased by 15.9%, but the number of investments decreased by 21.4%. This suggests a considerable contraction in the investment market compared to the pre-pandemic period.

In 2023, early-round investments (Seed to SeriesA) constituted 80.0% of the total number of investments, slightly down from 80.8% the previous year. The proportions of mid-round (SeriesB to SeriesC) and late-round (Series D and above) investments were similar to the previous year, at 16.6% and 3.4%, respectively.

The sectors that experienced an increase in the number of investments compared to the previous year were aerospace/military, electronics, and semiconductor/display. This trend indicates a growing preference for manufacturing startups during the investment downturn. The sectors that saw an increase in investment amounts compared to the previous year were limited to three out of 25: pet care, media/entertainment, and environment/energy.