Cleversteps, a Korean derma K-beauty brand founded by Latin American K-content influencer Jason Bae, has closed a seed investment round from The Ventures.

Bae, a KAIST industrial engineering graduate who built his early career at Naver Snow, is better known across Latin America as “Jason Coreano” — an influencer with approximately 7 million followers. He has collaborated with major brands including Hyundai Motor Company and Rakuten Viki, and his broader creator network across the region collectively reaches 250 million followers.

Latin America’s beauty market — spanning Brazil, Mexico, and beyond — is valued at approximately $67 billion (KRW 95.8 trillion), yet K-beauty penetration stands at just 0.13%, making it a largely untapped opportunity. Cleversteps plans to enter the market in August 2026, launching three hero products first in the U.S. Hispanic and Mexican markets before expanding into Brazil, Chile, and neighboring countries in the second half of the year.

The debut lineup — Rice-Vita Complex, Hydra Gentle Cleanser, Niacin Glow Essence, and B5 Extra Repair Cream — was developed in collaboration with global contract manufacturer Kolmar Korea. The formulations are built around high-concentration active ingredients including six types of ceramides, 10% niacinamide, 10% D-panthenol, a 12-peptide complex, 10-layered hyaluronic acid, and fermented rice extract. True to its brand name — “clever steps” — Cleversteps takes an education-first approach, guiding consumers through proper skincare routines before selling them products.

What sets the brand apart is its structural advantage in customer acquisition. Bae’s social media channels generated approximately 127 million views over the past 90 days without any paid advertising — an organic reach equivalent to roughly $1 million (KRW 1.43 billion) in paid media value. That built-in marketing engine significantly reduces customer acquisition costs and gives the brand a competitive edge that most new entrants lack.

“Cleversteps brings deep market insight into Latin America and a wide creator network to match,” said Cheol-woo Kim, CEO of The Ventures, in a statement. “The fact that they’ve achieved this kind of reach without spending on ads shows the brand has already internalized a powerful marketing asset.”

“Starting with Cleversteps, we plan to build ‘Corazón’ — Spanish for ‘heart’ — a creator commerce platform that opens the Latin American market to Korean brands,” Jason Bae, CEO of Cleversteps, said in a statement. “Our goal is to grow into a global platform generating approximately $279.7 million(KRW 400 billion) in revenue by 2029.”

The seed funding will be used to build out the Amazon sales channel and fund initial production runs ahead of the August launch.