korea

Twitch to shut down in Korea over ‘prohibitively expensive’ network fees

Twitch, the popular video streaming service, plans to shut down its business in South Korea on February 27 after finding that operating in one of the world’s largest esports markets is “pr

Korea Blockchain Week focused on web3 gaming, institutional involvement, investors, regulation…and more

Welcome back to Chain Reaction. To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important crypto stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday at 12 p.m. PT, subscribe here. Annyeong, or hello, f

Kakao confirms it is removing its external payment option after standoff with Google 

South Korean messaging giant Kakao confirmed today it will remove an external payment option after Google blocked the South Korean company behind KakaoTalk from issuing updates.  Kakao continued usin

Neosapience gets $21.5M to use AI-powered synthetic avatars for creators 

Artificial intelligence-powered voice and video technologies have been gaining steady popularity in recent years. A Korean startup called Neosapience has developed a synthetic voice and video platform

Automotive simulation platform Morai secures $20.8M Series B to expand its global footprint

Morai, which provides autonomous vehicle developers with automotive simulation tools to verify the safety and reliability of self-driving systems, announced today it has raised $20.8 million (25 billi

Kyoto Fusioneering secures $11.7M to build out its fusion reactor technologies

With startups getting into nuclear technology, it’s no surprise to see more fundraising happening. Now, Kyoto Fusioneering, a fusion energy startup based out of Japan but increasingly expanding

South Korean proptech startup Zigbang acquires Samsung SDS’ smart home IoT business

Zigbang, a South Korean proptech startup that provides real estate transactions service, announced on Thursday that it will acquire Samsung SDS’ home internet of things (IoT) unit to make a foray i

Kurly lands $210M pre-IPO at a $3.3B valuation months after its last funding

  Just half a year after its last Series F round announcement, Korean online grocery startup Kurly has closed $210 million in a pre-IPO round from single backer Anchor Equity Partners, a Hong

Primer Sazze Partners plans to close $127M second fund aimed at South Korean entrepreneurs in 2022

Primer Sazze Partners, a San Jose-based venture capital firm, plans to set up its second fund at $127 million (150 billion won), aiming in the first half of 2022 to invest in startups founded by Korea

UK names John Edwards as its choice for next data protection chief as gov’t eyes watering down privacy standards

The U.K. government has named the person it wants to take over as its chief data protection watchdog, with sitting commissioner Elizabeth Denham overdue to vacate the post: The Department of Digital,

Final vote delayed for Korea’s plan to ban Google and Apple in-app payment rules

As Apple and Google continue to face increasing scrutiny over the rules they set for how third-party apps in their app stores charge for services, a significant development in that story is going down

Dating juggernaut Match buys Seoul-based Hyperconnect for $1.73B, its biggest acquisition ever

In a large win for the Korean startup ecosystem, dating powerhouse Match Group announced this afternoon that it would buy social networking company Hyperconnect for a combined cash and stock deal valu

South Korea pushes for AI semiconductors as global demand grows

The South Korean government has made no secret of its ambition to be a key player in the global artificial intelligence industry, including making the semiconductors powering AI functionalities. This

With $4B food delivery acquisition, Korea poised to enter upper tier of startup hubs

Seoul and South Korea may well be the secret startup hub that (still) no one talks about. While often dwarfed by the scale and scope of the Chinese startup market next door, South Korea has proven ove

Pavegen, which harvests energy and data from footsteps, secures crowd and Hinduja Group funding

Pavegen, a UK startup which harvests energy from people’s footsteps and also tracks that data, has raised £2.6m on its crowdfunding push having doubled its initial £950k target. The campaign secur

Telegram’s crypto tokens are (kind of) going on sale to the public for the first time

Telegram, the most hyped ICO in the history of ICOs, is finally making its tokens available to retail investors through a limited listing that will precede a full sale later this year — but ther

Kurly, a grocery e-commerce startup in Korea, closes upsized $113M Series D round

Kurly, a startup that operates a grocery delivery service in Korea, said today that it has closed an upsized Series D round that reached a total of $113 million. The company announced the round in Apr

Tencent replaces hit mobile game PUBG with a Chinese government-friendly alternative

China’s new rules on video games, introduced last month, are having an effect on the country’s gamers. Today, Tencent replaced hugely popular battle royale shooter game PUBG with a more go

India’s Cashfree raises $5.5M from Korea’s Smilegate, Y Combinator and others

Cashfree, an India-based startup that specializes in making corporate banking services more accessible and easier to use, has closed a $5.5 million Series A round. The deal is led by Smilegate Investm

Blackpink’s “Kill This Love” sets new YouTube records, including the biggest Premiere

Blackpink, one of the highest-profile Korean pop groups, is breaking YouTube records with its latest video. A Google spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that “Kill This Love” is the fastest music
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