The Merry Year Social Company (MYSC), based in Korea, announced on the 30th that in 2023, it executed investments in 47 cases across 45 startups, totaling approximately KRW 13 billion. MYSC focuses on ‘Next Patagonia’ startups, which are enterprises that drive industry-wide change, transcending individual growth.

The investment distribution included 15 cases (31.9%) in regional companies, 4 cases (8.5%) in overseas companies, 29 cases (61.7%) in early-stage startups (less than 3 years old), and 8 follow-up investments (17.0%).

This marks an increase from 2022, when MYSC invested KRW 9.3 billion in 35 cases across 34 startups. The figures show approximately a 40% increase in the investment amount and a 17% rise in the number of cases. Consequently, MYSC’s investment portfolio has now exceeded 160 entities. In 2023, MYSC formed four new investment funds, totaling KRW 14.5 billion. This increased its total assets under management (AUM), including its main account, to over KRW 65 billion.

As an operator of TIPS and LIPS, last year MYSC achieved six TIPS recommendations, including projects like △Changtalk (development of an alternative credit rating model for small businesses), △ARTWA (development of an autonomous robot for optimizing crop transportation), △PitterPetter (development of a biometric age estimation test for pets), △REVISIONARY (a fashion platform for ESG measurement and textile industry process standardization), △Constacts Korea (a platform for reputation prediction technology in professional recruitment), and △VPPlab (VPP platform service based on wind power generation prediction, DeepTech TIPS).  Through LIPS, MYSC facilitated investment matching of KRW 83.99 billion for 20 companies.

Investments spanned various sectors, with the environmental/energy sector receiving the most at 9 companies (19.1%). This was followed by 4 companies (8.5%) each in finance/fintech/insurance, food/agriculture, real estate/construction, and manufacturing/hardware. Other sectors included blockchain/AI (3 companies), mobility/transportation (3 companies), social media/commerce (3 companies), logistics/distribution (2 companies), travel/leisure (2 companies), fashion/beauty (2 companies), education/parenting (2 companies), healthcare/biotech (2 companies), home living/pet (1 company), and culture/arts (1 company).

Kim Jung-tae, CEO of MYSC, stated, “The three major global challenges of social polarization, economic inequality, and climate crisis are crises for industries and societies, as well as opportunities for innovation. In 2023, MYSC executed its largest annual investment, supporting innovative entrepreneurs and startup teams in quickly securing funds. We are preparing for a corresponding scale of investment and execution in 2024.”