Pickle, a South Korean startup developing AI-powered real-time avatar (clone) technology, has secured approximately $4.35 million USD(6 billion KRW) in seed funding from domestic and international venture capital firms.

The funding round was led by South Korea-based Bass Ventures, with participation from Silicon Valley’s Rebel Fund, Pioneer Fund, and prominent U.S.-based angel investors, including Y Combinator alumni Kulveer Taggar and Nate Matherson. Prior to this, Pickle had raised pre-seed funding from Y Combinator, NFX, and Krew Capital.

Founded in September 2024, Pickle is an AI startup with a vision of “Building the Infrastructure for Your AI-Powered Online-Me.” Its flagship service, AI Self by Pickle, enables users to create real-time avatars that replicate their face and voice without the need for a camera. By scanning a user’s face for just six seconds, Pickle generates customizable clones for use in video conferences, social media, and live streaming.

Pickle’s proprietary voice and video generative foundation model delivers ultra-low latency, minimizing delays between video and audio, while its identity preservation algorithm accurately captures users’ expressions and individuality. A key feature is the integration of a deepfake misuse prevention module, ensuring security and trustworthiness.

Since May 2025, Pickle has seen explosive growth, with 200 new users joining daily, resulting in a fivefold increase in its user base within a month. Approximately 70% of its users are based in the United States, 20% in Europe, with users leveraging Pickle avatars for meetings and online gatherings an average of five times per week.

Last year, Pickle gained global recognition after being selected for Y Combinator’s accelerator program and securing investment from the prestigious Silicon Valley accelerator, affirming its innovation and growth potential.

Pickle’s CEO, Chaekeun Park, stated, “Generative video AI models are evolving faster than ever in early 2025. With this seed funding, Pickle aims to become the most intuitive and innovative AI product for self-expression and communication.”

Joining the company as co-founder in 2025, Sangjun Lee added, “With the upcoming launch of Pickle 2.0 next month, we plan to expand our user base and build a data flywheel by developing our proprietary model with a new AI research team based in San Francisco.” Lee, a graduate of Wharton’s economics program and Harvard MBA, previously led Growth & Strategy for North America at Carrot and worked on late-stage startup investments at UK-based VC Greyhound Capital.

Hyungjun Yang, Director at Base Ventures, which led the investment, commented, “Pickle is among the fastest-growing startups we’ve encountered recently. By pioneering AI technology that replicates or substitutes one’s online presence, we believe Pickle will create significant business opportunities in the global market.”